Ⅳ
Psalm 68 reveals God's victory in Christ as the center, typified by the Ark:
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"Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered; / And let those who hate Him flee before Him"—wherever the Ark, a type of Christ, went, the victory was won (v. 1; Num. 10:35).
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"The kings of the armies flee. / They flee!"—these kings, who were defeated and scattered, typify Satan and the rulers, the rebellious angels (Psa. 68:12a, 14; Eph. 6:12).
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"The Lord gives the command; / The women who bear the glad tidings are a great host"—these women of Israel signify the weak ones who publish the gospel (Psa. 68:11).
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"She who abides at home / Divides the spoil"—the spoil signifies all the gains of the accomplishment, consummation, attainment, and obtainment of Christ as the reapings of the victory of His death, resurrection, and ascension (v. 12b).
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"Though you lie among the sheepfolds"—lying among the sheepfolds signifies resting in God's provision and care for His elect (v. 13a).
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"There are dove wings covered with silver, / And its pinions, with greenish-yellow gold"—this verse reveals four items among the spoil (v. 13b):
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The dove wings signify the moving power of the Spirit.
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Silver signifies Christ in His redemption for our justification, which is indicated by the color white, the color of approval.
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Pinions (the feathers at the end of a bird's wings giving it the strength to fly and soar) signify the flying and soaring power of the Spirit (cf. Isa. 40:31).
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The greenish-yellow, glittering gold with which the pinions are covered signifies God's nature glittering in the divine life and glory (2 Pet. 1:4; cf. John 4:24; 1 John 4:8; 1:5).
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The contents of the above four items, as Christ's spoil in His victory for the enjoyment of God's elect, are actually the Triune God with all the items of His complete, full, and all-inclusive salvation (cf. Rom. 5:10, 17, 21).
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God's elect enjoy all the above items as their portion in Christ and announce them to others as the glad tidings (Psa. 68:11).
Morning Nourishment
Psa. 68:11-13 The Lord gives the command; the women who bear the glad tidings are a great host. The kings of the armies flee. They flee! And she who abides at home divides the spoil. Though you lie among the sheepfolds, there are dove wings covered with silver, and its pinions, with greenish-yellow gold.In Psalm 68:1 we have the prayer of Moses, the representative of God's elect, for Jehovah to arise and for His enemies to be scattered (v. 14). The enemies here typify Satan and his forces in the heavenlies (Eph. 6:12). This prayer was actually the aspiration of all God's elect people.
These kings [in Psalm 68:12a], who were defeated and scattered, typify Satan and the rulers (Eph. 6:12).
[In Psalm 68:11b] these women of Israel signify the weak ones. As believers today, we are the weak ones, those who cannot do anything except bear, preach, the glad tidings.
The "she" [in verse 12b] is collective and refers to the women in verse 11. To abide at home signifies not to be at work. The spoil signifies all the gains of the accomplishment, consummation, attainment, and obtainment of Christ as the reapings of the victory of His death, resurrection, and ascension. This spoil includes dove wings covered with silver and pinions covered with greenish-yellow gold.
They will divide the spoil even though they lie among the sheepfolds (v. 13a). The "you" in verse 13a refers to the collective "she" in verse 12 and "the women" in verse 11. Lying among the sheepfolds signifies resting in God's provision and care for His elect. (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 321-322)
Today's Reading
Psalm 68:13b shows us that there are four items among the spoil....The dove wings signify the moving power of the Spirit....The dove wings are covered with white silver. Silver signifies Christ in His redemption for our justification, which is indicated by the color white, the color of approval.The pinions are feathers at the end of a bird's wings. The pinions give a bird the strength to fly and to soar. Hence, in verse 13b "its pinions" signify the soaring power of the Spirit.
The greenish-yellow, glittering gold with which the pinions are covered signifies God's nature glittering in the divine life and glory.
The contents of the above four items, as Christ's spoil in His victory for the enjoyment of God's elect, are actually the Triune God with all the items of His complete, full, and all-inclusive salvation. "Dove" signifies the Spirit with His moving and soaring power; "silver" signifies Christ in His all-inclusive redemption for His believers' justification as the entrance into His full salvation; and "greenish-yellow gold" signifies God in His nature glittering in His life and glory. Both Christ and God are brought in by the Spirit's power: Christ by the Spirit's moving power and God by the Spirit's soaring power....Verse 11 indicates that God's elect enjoy all the above items as their portion in Christ and announce them to others as the glad tidings. On the one hand, we are the great host of women bearing, preaching, the glad tidings. On the other hand, we are restfully enjoying our portion in Christ, enjoying the Triune God—the Spirit as the dove, Christ the Son as the silver, and God the Father as the gold. The Spirit as the dove moves with Christ as the silver and with God as the gold. While we are preaching the glad tidings, we are enjoying the Triune God as the spoil gained for us by Christ.
The dove, the silver, and the gold refer to the Triune God. The dove symbolizes the Spirit of God; in typology silver signifies Christ as the Redeemer who accomplished redemption for God's salvation; and gold signifies God in His nature. Here the gold is greenish-yellow, with green signifying the divine life and yellow, the divine glory. Hence, greenish-yellow gold signifies God in His nature glittering in His life and glory. Here we have the Triune God—the Spirit, Christ, and God—with all His accomplishments for us to enjoy. (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 322-323, 315-316)
Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msg. 27