Any guesses which Psalm is being talked about here? It’s Psalm 68 and the writers making this claim are Robert G. Bratcher and William D. Reyburn in their Translator’s Handbook on The Book of Psalms (United Bible Societies).

Here’s a bit more of the quote:

“Both as to text and meaning, this psalm is the most difficult of all psalms to understand and interpret. There is no discernible unity in the composition. Some have suggested that the psalm is no more than a list, a catalogue, of some thirty poems, whose first lines, or strophes, are cited one after the other; or else that separate songs have been brought together for use in worship. The one theme which predominates is that of Yahweh as God of Israel waging war against Israel’s enemies and defeating them.

Some procession in the Temple is described in verses 24–27, and the psalm was evidently meant to be used at a celebration by the people in the Temple. Weiser suggests the autumnal Covenant Festival of Yahweh, which he considers to have been the most important of all festivals.

There is no way to show any progression of thought, and no outline is possible.”

This Psalm is being analyzed by Suzanne McCarthy at Better Bibles Blog (1, 2, 3) and also by John Hobbins at Ancient Hebrew Poetry (1).

Compared to Bratcher and Reyburn (and McCarthy and Hobbins, for that matter), my exegetical abilities are akin to those of a protozoa. But like the protozoa (or amoeba if you prefer) I possess a simple eye-like apparatus that allows me to detect light and be drawn to it. And I am feeling all sorts of attraction to this psalm.

Here are some quotable quotes from this psalm:

• “Let God arise and his enemies be scattered!”
• “When the Lord scattered the kings there it was snowing in Zalmon.”
• “That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.”
• “O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places.”
• “When you lie down among the sheepfolds, You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And its pinions with glistening gold.”

Beyond the image of God as a wrathful deity revelling in the bloody demise of Israel’s enemies, what fascinates me most about this Psalm is the different interpretations possible for many of the phrases. Do we “prepare the way for he who rides in the desert” or “exalt him who rides on the clouds”? There are many, many interesting translation problems.

Finally, I’d like to look at how we can read Psalm 68 devotionally. How can we understand and appreciate the whole message of this “most difficult” of Psalms in its context, rather than just focusing on the little bits here and there that we like. It won’t be easy, but I’m going to give it a try.

But in the meantime, maybe you’d like to check this psalm out. If you click on this link you can read Psalm 68 in the version I grew up with, the New American Standard Bible:

Psalm 68 (New American Standard Bible)

Once you click on the link you can choose other versions to look at and even listen to.