Read
Psalm 68:5
A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
3But let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
4Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to the LORD, his name! Rejoice before him!
5A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6God sets the lonely in families. He brings out the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
7God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness... Selah.
Notice
Fatherless children and widows stand at the center of this description of God, whose holy dwelling is named together with his care for them.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does the word “defender” add to your understanding of God’s care for widows?
Write on thisWhat hopes or difficulties surface when you read that God is a father of the fatherless?
Write on thisWho in your church or neighborhood comes to mind when this verse names widows?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
James 1:27Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the …Both name the fatherless and widows: the psalm describes God’s care, and James names visiting them in affliction as pure religion.
Psalm 10:14But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.Both describe God’s care for the fatherless, with Psalm 10 naming his attention to trouble and grief.
Jeremiah 49:11Leave your fatherless children. I will preserve them alive. Let your widows trust in me.”Both name fatherless children and widows as recipients of God’s care, with Jeremiah speaking of preservation and trust.
Deuteronomy 10:18He executes justice for the fatherless and widow and loves the foreigner in giving him food and clothing.God’s defense of widows and fatherhood toward the fatherless correspond to his justice for both groups in Deuteronomy.
Psalm 82:3–4“Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.Psalm 68 names God as father and defender; Psalm 82 commands defense of the fatherless and protection of the oppressed.
Psalm 146:9The LORD preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.Both psalms name the fatherless and widow as people God supports, describing him as father, defender, and the one who upholds them.
Jeremiah 5:28They have grown fat. They shine; yes, they excel in deeds of wickedness. They don’t plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and …Jeremiah condemns those who neglect the cause of the fatherless, contrasting with the psalm’s description of God as their father.
Luke 18:2–7saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God and didn’t respect man.The shared ground is limited to defending and judging: the psalm names God as defender, while Luke introduces a judge who disregards God.
Psalm 72:4He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.Both passages describe protection for vulnerable people, with Psalm 72 naming the rescue of needy children and judgment against their oppressor.
Isaiah 57:15For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble …Both connect God’s holy dwelling with his care for people in low places: the fatherless and widows, and the humble and contrite.
Isaiah 1:23Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They don’t defend the fatherless, neither does the …Isaiah names rulers who neglect the fatherless and widows, the same people for whom the psalm declares God’s care.
Hosea 14:3Assyria can’t save us. We won’t ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’ for in you the fatherless finds mercy.”The fatherless receive God’s fatherly care in the psalm and find mercy in him in Hosea.
Where this verse fits
Grief. loneliness. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
God is named as father and defender here. His holy habitation does not put fatherless children or widows beyond his concern; their care belongs to him.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 68:5. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 68 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).