Psalm 68:18
You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive;
You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious,
That the Lord God might dwell there.
This psalm celebrates the Lord as the Divine Warrior-King who triumphs over His enemies, ascends Zion, and establishes His dwelling among His redeemed people. It portrays God ascending after battle, leading captives in His procession.
Ephesians 4:8 applies it directly to Christ:
Therefore, He says: When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.
Paul interprets the captives as those powers and forces once opposed to God’s reign. Through His death and resurrection, Christ has disarmed principalities and powers; He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (the cross) (Colossians 2:15). The ascension is therefore a royal procession.
Closely related to this victory is the theme of exaltation and lordship. Psalm 68 envisions God ascending to reign from His holy dwelling. The ascension of Jesus marks His exaltation to the right hand of the Father. Peter proclaims:
Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:33–36).
The ascension confirms that the crucified One is now enthroned as the sovereign ruler over heaven and earth.
While the psalm speaks of God receiving gifts among men, Paul interprets this in terms of Christ’s generosity toward His church. Having ascended, Christ pours out gifts upon His people for the building up of the body. Chief among these gifts is the Holy Spirit.
Through His ascension and the sending of the Spirit, God comes to dwell within the redeemed people. The church becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of God. Even those who were once rebellious are reconciled to God through Christ and brought near by His blood.
Psalm 68:18 also points forward to the hope and mission of the church. The ascended Christ continues to reign and intercede for His people. From His exalted position, He sustains His church, empowers its witness, and guarantees its future glory.
The angels at the ascension promised that this same Jesus would return in the same way He ascended, completing the redemptive story.
Prayer points:
- Praise Jesus Christ for ascending in triumph and for breaking the power of every force that once held us captive.
- Thank God for pouring out gifts through the Holy Spirit for the building up of the church.
- Ask God to shape you as a living temple of the Holy Spirit.
Soli Deo Gloria – to God alone be the glory! Rev. Luke Haisa
