Ps. 68.17-18 (the taking of Zion)

The chariots of God / are twice ten-thousand
with thousands / of warriors.
The Lord is among them / Sinai is among the holy ones.
You ascended / to the heights / with captives;
you receive gifts / from mankind;
even from those / who rebel / at the settling down
of the God Yah. 

Here we come to the divine ‘taking’ of Zion, of its capture, of the clearing of the land and of God’s ascent to the heights whereby he establishes his dwelling. Zion then becomes the magnetic center for the spoils and gifts of the entirety of mankind. It is a crucial, dramatic moment in the psalm. It summarizes the ‘arising-forth’ of God as he dispels and scatters those who oppose him as well as the centralizing force of his deliverance. He does not merely scatter; the removal of enemies is in service of his establishing Zion. Further, for the first time, God is perceived among a host of warriors. The psalm has been at some pains to this point to highlight the singular action of God in acquiring this land for his people. So much so that they are denigrated as “resting between the saddlebags” while God fights for them. Here, however, where the concern of God’s singular activity is no longer in doubt, the “holy ones” appear. And, in a rather frightening image, it is not merely God among them; it is “Sinai among the holy ones”. The movement up to Zion is the flaming mountain of God in the midst of a vast army. It is terrifying; as terrifying as the image at the beginning of Ezekiel with the flaming chariot of God storming toward Babylon. What we can now come to appreciate in a way we couldn’t before is that God’s provision and mastery is one that is accomplished in and through his holy ones—it is, in other words, a divine war being waged “for his people”. And, like Ezekiel, we can presume that the holy ones act in unison with the central flame of Sinai expressing its will and directives. In contrast to the “kings of hosts” that were scattered (vs. 12), we now see Yhwh Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. In addition, we must point out that the opening of the psalm called for God to “arise”. Here, God’s action in taking Zion is a movement of “ascent”. It is, importantly, a conquering ascent; as he rises he takes prisoners captive. What we see, then, is this: that the psalmist in relating this past conquering of Zion and of God’s ascent, is asking God to re-enact that same conquering ascent now, that same ‘arising-forth’ to Zion that not only ‘took Zion’ but ‘established it as his dwelling forever.’ This is foundational establishment conquering (much like the conquering of creation, we might say, over the waters of chaos). By re-calling these events, the psalmist is trying to re-mind God so as to compel him to move in a similar (astonishing) fashion. Lastly, the establishment of Zion results in its becoming the centralized vessel of world-gifts. This does remind one of Isaiah which speaks of “every knee” bending, for here even the rebels are forced to acknowledge the conquering mastery of God in his taking of Zion. We might say, in the conquering establishment of Zion God is revealed to be, or becomes, the Most High King. He becomes what he is. And in this the world becomes unified. God breaks the power of division and establishes (creates) order and unity.