Let us look firstly at a few verses in Revelation.
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder; and the voice which I heard was as of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Rev. 14:1-4).
Notice it says that they sang a new song, and no man could learn that song. Why? Praises have been established by the Lord out of the mouths of babes and sucklings: even the little babes can praise. Why then does it say here that no man could learn that song? The answer is that no man can learn it without experience. There are some praises which require experience. Look at the moon and the stars—how majestic and lovely they are! Look at the trees, the flowers, and the birds—how pleasant! For this kind of praise, we need no experience. But for these one hundred and forty-four thousand to praise Christ in a special way, they must have the proper and particular experiences of Christ. If we lack these experiences, we can never praise the Lord to such a degree. We all can praise Him in a general way, in a religious way, in a natural way; but if we would praise Him in a special and deeper way, we need some experience of Him. Our praises are limited by our experiences of Christ. How much, how deeply, or how highly we have experienced Christ will be the measure of our praise. Our praises can never exceed our experiences of Christ. If our experiences of Him have not reached a certain stage, when others sing praises so highly and deeply, we cannot follow, we cannot learn. Not until our experiences of Christ have reached that extent can we also sing that new song. This is the foundation for the message of this chapter.
Now before we turn to Psalm 68, let us consider briefly another Psalm, Psalm 19. The first part of this Psalm speaks marvelously of creation—the heavens and the sun. The second part, beginning with verse 7, speaks about the law. This is really good. I do not think I need to say anything concerning this Psalm—everyone can understand it. But do you understand Psalm 68? Now compare these two Psalms. Do you see the difference? Psalm 19 is certainly good, but the praises there are just according to nature, according to the law. I would not say it is a natural and religious praise, but it is not so deep and so rich as Psalm 68. We Christians have always been appreciating Psalm 19 so much. I have no intention to depreciate it. I only ask you to compare it with Psalm 68. There is a real progress in the praises in the Psalms; we must go on from Psalm 19 with its praises according to nature and the law to Psalm 68 with praises according to the experiences of Christ.
Let me in a simple way point out the main points in this Psalm. First of all, we have the victory in the battle over the enemies: “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered” (v. 1). This is not just the battle, but the victory in the battle. The battle is over, and now we have the victory. This is a triumphant Psalm, a Psalm with triumph and victory.
The second main point of this Psalm is the dwelling place of God on earth—“That the Lord God might dwell with them” (v. 18). Several times we see the words “the dwelling place of God,” “the habitation of God,” “the sanctuary,” “the holy place.” “A Father of the fatherless, and a protector of the widows, is God in his holy habitation” (v. 5). The victory in the battle, the victory won by Christ, is for the building up of God’s habitation even today on this earth. On the earth usurped by Satan, among a rebellious people, God could accomplish such a marvelous thing as building up a habitation. Do you think that in a city so sinful as Los Angeles God could have a habitation, a local church? Yet it is here! In such a pit of corruption there is a holy habitation built up by God. God could say to Satan, “Regardless of how much you have corrupted the people, I can still build My holy habitation, even in Los Angeles, the city of Hollywood!” It is glorious! Los Angeles is famous for new cults: all the strange things, all the far out things, all the evil things of the earth make their nest here. But in such a place God has built up the local church as His habitation. Is not this a real victory? If the Lord had never won the victory, how could He accomplish this? To my realization, the city of Los Angeles, which takes the lead in evil throughout the world, is the best place for a testimony for the Lord. In the midst of the most corrupt, the most evil, the most sinful place, God could have a holy sanctuary. The victory of Christ is for the habitation of God on this earth, in this last age, among a rebellious and corrupted people.