The Mind of Christ

Psalm 68:21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.

This Psalm is said to be the most difficult to understand and translate according to almost every commentator. So I’ll do my best to break it down in a manner that is consistent with scriptures, while making Christ the center of attention…

The Psalm begins in the first 6 verses praising God for His deliverance and singing praise for caring for the ones in need. Simply, this is something often overlooked and rarely emphasized. When our lives are going well we often forget the “why.” We need to remember where our joy comes from. Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

The main idea of this Psalm is in this middle section. It proclaims God’s victory over the battle against evil and kings in which the battle was fought on a mountain (verses 11-23) Mountains have a huge theology related to them. The Garden of Eden was a mountain, the giving of the ten commandments was on a mountain, we have Christ appearing in his Glory on Mt. Transfiguration, and finally Mt Zion where the Temple is built. This battle that was won on a mountain is significant because God uses mountains when His divinity is meeting his creation (or humanity). This is exactly what is about to happen. God’s desire is not to allow us to flounder but to be present with us. Revelation 21:3:“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’” This is true from Genesis to Revelation…God loves His creation and loves His people! That includes you!

We end this section with our focus verse…and God says He strikes the enemy and the “hairy crown” of Him who walks in his guilty ways. Sounds a little strange but it is cool what is being said. One commentator, Poole, said “The hairy scalp, i.e. his most fierce and terrible enemies. For in ancient times many people used to wear long and shaggy hair, that their looks might be more terrible to their enemies.”  So what is being pictured for us is God being victorious over the most fierce enemy, Satan. In Genesis 3:15 we are given this promise that God will through Christ give a fatal head wound to Satan. This victory is certain and final! Praise the Lord!!!

Ok so far we see that God is worthy of praise because the battle has been won and now we can be in the presence of God..so this last section we praises God for just that in verses 24-35. In the Old Testament God was present with His people in the Temple. So in this part of the Psalm we see the Ark of the Covenant being ushered into Jerusalem, the promise land. The Ark symbolizes the presence of God and the covenant or promise that God made to them that He would be their God and tabernacle (dwell) with them. This is fully realized in John 1:14, which states: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Christ who became flesh for one purpose, to dwell among us and become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. This all is prefigured in this Psalm with the return of the Ark of the Covenant.

The Psalm concludes with the praise of God for His perfect eternal plan. Don’t let life and lies from Satan get you down. God loves you and has made a way for you. Rest in His Providencial ways and trust in His unending love!!!