Psalm 68 seems to be related to three events in the Old Testament and two in the New Testament. The three in the Old Testament are Israel’s journey in the wilderness on the way to Canaan, the return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, and the transfer of the ark from the tent David had prepared for it to the temple which Solomon had built. The New Testament events are the triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem and his ascension into heaven.
The first words of the psalm are, Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. These were the words that Moses proclaimed when the priests took up the ark of the covenant to lead the people in the wilderness way (cf. Num. 10:35). The ark was the throne of God, the place on which the pillar of cloud and fire rested. God was enthroned above, or upon, the cherubim (cf. Ps. 99:1). When the ark went forward all God’s host marched out behind it to conquer his enemies. Therefore, Psalm 68:7f recounts briefly the journey through the wilderness and the conquest of Canaan, though in somewhat metaphorical language.
The connection of the psalm to the ark’s return to Jerusalem is not quite as clear, but there are good reasons to think that this was actually the occasion for its composition. It is a psalm of David who made it his business to bring the ark back (2 Sam. 6 and 1 Chron. 15). The psalm also describes a procession into the sanctuary in which singers, players on instruments, damsels with timbrels and rulers of Israel took part (vv. 25 and 27). 1 Chronicles 15:16 tells us that the Levites appointed singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps and cymbals, and verses 25 and 28 tell us that Israel and its leaders were present to bring up the ark with joy.
There is a similar description of celebration when Solomon brought the ark into the newly constructed temple (2 Chron. 5), and in 2 Chronicles 6:41 Solomon prayed, Now therefore, Arise, O LORD God, to your resting place, You and the ark of your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your saints rejoice in goodness. This language looks back to the time of Moses. Numbers 10:36 tells us that after a day’s traveling, when it [the ark] rested, he said: Return, O LORD, to the many thousands of Israel. Note the word ‘rest.’ The language is also very similar to that of Psalm 132, the psalm that most clearly celebrates David’s bringing the ark to Jerusalem. There David says, Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of your strength (v. 8). And a little later, I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy (v. 16).
Psalm 68, therefore, ties together three events: the ark’s march through the wilderness, David’s bringing the ark to Jerusalem, and Solomon’s settling the ark in the temple.
With regard to the New Testament, Paul quotes and interprets Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8-10 and says that it is prophetic of the ascension of Christ into heaven, from there to give gifts to his people. He enumerates some of the gifts in the verses that follow. The ascension of our Lord into heaven is the fulfillment of all those Old Testament events.
But there is one more even that also ties in with these: the triumphal entry. Psalm 118 is also a psalm about the ascension. The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone (v. 22), and Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD (v. 19). At our Lord’s triumphal entry the people shouted the words of verse 26: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! (cf. Matt. 21:9). We must see the triumphal entry as a kind of foreshadowing of the ascension.
One unifying element in all these events is conquest of enemies. Numbers 10 mentions it. David brought the ark back after he had defeated many enemies. Solomon was a man of rest (1 Chron. 22:9) and spoke of rest from enemies when he built the temple (1 Kgs. 5:3-5). The triumphal entry was, of course, triumphal because of our Lord’s soon-to-be-achieved victory over the enemies of his people. His ascension into heaven exalted him to God’s right hand and made his enemies his footstool (Ps. 110:1). Psalm 68 is a joyful celebration of the same. A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever (vv. 15-16). He has said, This is my resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it (Ps. 132:14). The ascension of our Lord means that Satan has been cast out of heaven and that his final defeat is assured (Rev. 12), indeed that all our enemies have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright (Ps. 20:8).