some things haven’t changed

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 68
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. [Psalms 68:5-6]
This is a violent psalm, but that should not surprise us because of the way things were back then.
Warfare, violence, torture, cruelty among the nations.
In war, the defeated run for their lives, they perish in the battlefield or escape to the desert (sun-scorched land).
On the battlefield, the victorious would literally be walking in the blood of the defeated, and dogs were among the scavengers in the field.
David is not delighting in evil, he does not have a sadistic pleasure in the suffering of people.
This is a psalm of praise and gratitude because God has stood up for the weak!
Our God is a God who saves! The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death. [Psalm 68:20]

This psalm reviews the return of the King in a victory parade, climbing the hill into Jerusalem.
When you ascended to the heights, you led a crowd of captives. You received gifts from the people, even from those who rebelled against you. Now the Lord God will live among us there. [Psalms 68:18]
Your procession has come into view, O God— the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary. Singers are in front, musicians behind; between them are young women playing tambourines. Praise God, all you people of Israel; praise the Lord, the source of Israel’s life. [Psalm 68:24-26]
We may not be able to relate to this context, but compare this to another time, when Jesus entered Jerusalem.

Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” [Matthew 21:8-9]
Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. [Matthew 21:12-14]
Jesus also returns to Jerusalem, but in a different kind of victory.
He has the same concern for the weak and needy, and the same anger over those who oppose God.
The change here is that the people He is angry with are the ones that claim to be serving God.

Many things have changed from when David wrote this Psalm, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, and today.
But what hasn’t changed is God’s heart for the weak and the poor.
God is still working to bring down the cruel, the violent, the rebellious.
God is still working to rescue the weak, the help the oppressed.
To all who are weary and burdened and oppressed, we can know that He is still committed to their rescue.
Our God is a God who saves! The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death. [Psalm 68:20]

PRAYER:
Lord, many things have changed through history, but not your commitment to the needy. Help me to rejoice in Your love and to actively share it with others, especially those broken and troubled.