Psalms 76

This psalm is about God breaking the power of the enemy. It is about the breaking of the power of Assyria or the king of the North, by the appearance of the LORD, that is the Lord Jesus. The presence of the Lord Jesus in the city of the great King (Mt 5:35) is the response of God to the power of the enemy. From that time on Jerusalem is given the name Yahweh Shammah, which means ‘the LORD is there’ (Eze 48:35).

To what historical event the psalm refers is not given. The defeat of the Assyrians does give an impression of what is represented in the psalm (2Kgs 19:32-35; Isa 37:36). This impression is supported by the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. In the title of this psalm, the Septuagint mentions “on the Assyrians”. In any case, God will rescue His people in the future from the encirclement of hostile nations by breaking the power of those nations.

For “for the choir director” (verse 1a) see at Psalm 4:1.

For “on stringed instruments” see at Psalm 4:1.

For “a Psalm of Asaph” see at Psalm 50:1.

This psalm is also “a Song”, meaning it is a song of praise.

By the extermination of the enemies of His people – that is, Judah, the two tribes, and Israel, the ten tribes, that is, all twelve tribes (cf. Eze 37:15-16) – God has made Himself known “in Judah” (verse 1b). Now He is not known there yet, He is not known, but rejected. This will change as soon as the Son of God, the Messiah, returns to Judah.

By His action in judgment against the heathen kings, “His Name is great in Israel”. He is coming for all Israel, which will consist of the righteous (Isa 60:21), for the apostates have been judged by Him. It is the day of His power, the day when His people will be a willing people (Psa 110:3).

“In Salem”, that is in Jerusalem (Gen 14:18; Heb 7:1-2), is “His tabernacle” [literally: shelter] (verse 2). Calling Jerusalem by its shortened name emphasizes its meaning. Salem means ‘peace’. He makes sure that His people can dwell in peace. The name Salem emphasizes that Christ is now truly King of peace (Heb 7:2). Now that the Prince of peace reigns, there is truly peace on earth.

And He dwells with His people in “His tabernacle”, or His shelter, indicating that He protects them with His presence (cf. Psa 27:5). The psalmist adds that “His dwelling place”, that is, His temple, is “in Zion”. Zion is the part of Jerusalem where God’s dwelling place stands. The relationship with the people of Israel is now restored. Jerusalem is now called Yahweh Shammah, which means ‘the LORD is there’ (Eze 48:35) and the temple has been rebuilt. The realm of peace can begin.

There, at Jerusalem, where He dwells, He has broken “the flaming arrows” verse 3). He has also rendered useless the other weapons of attack, “the shield” and “the sword”. God has deprived the enemy of his effectiveness. Thus He has put an end to “war”. The ending of the war is not due to skillful defending by the defenders of the city, but due to God’s action. The LORD is back in Jerusalem, the war is over (Isa 2:4b).

As a result, the long-despised LORD is now “resplendent, more majestic than the mountains of prey” (verse 4). ‘The mountains of prey’ – mountains represent mighty kingdoms – are a symbol of mighty rulers bent on robbery (cf. Eze 38:12-13). ‘Mountains of prey’ is difficult to translate. We can think of powerful rulers, such as the king of the North. We can also think of the rapacious Assyrians who were killed by the angel of the LORD on the mountains around Jerusalem.

Opposite the mountains of prey, Mount Zion radiates light by which it shines. This radiance of light is the result of the presence of God Who is light. God dwells there. That is why this mountain is more powerful than all earthly predatory powers. We can also think of the great mountain that will fill the whole earth (Dan 2:35), a kingdom that will not perish in eternity (Dan 2:44).

When Messiah comes, He will rob the “stouthearted” of their weapons (verse 5). Their stoutheartedness doesn’t mean anything. He will rob them while “they sank into sleep”, that is, in the night (cf. Psa 121:4). They think they can gain an easy victory, but then are caught unawares. Together with their weapons, the strength in their hands is also gone.

“None of the warriors” is yet able to fight. In the past, of the Assyrians 185,000 men were slain by the Angel of the LORD in one night (2Kgs 19:35). In the future, Assyria, the king of the North, will suffer the same fate.

The punishment inflicted upon them comes from the “God of Jacob” (verse 6). Judah and Israel have no strength to defend themselves. By God’s punishment, the enemy’s entire military strength is eliminated forever (cf. Exo 14:23-28). The “dead sleep” is the sleep of death, the sleep that ends in death (cf. Jdg 4:21). No more threat emanates from them. They need have no more fear of the enemy.

The only One Who inspires awe is God (verse 7). To emphasize this the sentence begins with an emphatic “You, even You”. How awesome He has shown Himself in eliminating the enemy. This automatically raises the question: “Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?” (cf. Heb 12:29; 10:27-31). There is only one conceivable answer to this question: no one.

In the presence of Him Who has made His judgment heard from heaven, the earth is in fear, and it becomes still (verse 8). This means that the LORD will come, not only as a formidable Warrior, but also as the Judge Who will judge everyone. He is the One Who can say: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18).

That He makes His judgment heard “from heaven” emphasizes His exaltation above all else. From His throne in heaven He governs the universe. On earth everything and everyone is hushed up at the hearing of His voice. No one dares to stir his tongue anymore. “Every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God” (Rom 3:19b; cf. Mt 22:12b).

God has not only made His voice heard from heaven, but He has also risen “in judgment to save all the humble of the earth” (verse 9). The meek, or humble, are all those who belong to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. From Him they have learned to be meek, or gentle (Mt 11:29). They are being redeemed to receive the promise He pronounced in the ‘beatitudes’: they, the humble, or gentle, shall inherit the earth (Mt 5:5).

All the actions and feelings of all men are under God’s control and contribute to His glorification, often against their will. Thus, even “the wrath of men shall praise” Him (verse 10). The clearest evidence of this is the greatest sin ever committed by man. He crucified the Son of God in blind anger, while God used this sin to fulfill His counsel to the praise of His glory (Acts 2:23; Eph 1:7-12).

The “remnant of wrath”, all the anger that man still expresses under the inspiration of satan against His own, He will use for this purpose as well. For He will restrain that anger. He defines the limit of it. In this He reveals His power. Everything in which He reveals Himself, means His glorification. Prophetically, it points to God’s restraint of Assyria when it has done what God wanted. The end is the destruction of Assyria.

Deliverance has been accomplished. Now it is a matter of fulfilling the vows made in the distress “to the LORD your God” (verse 11a). This refers to the votive offering, a form of the peace offering (Lev 7:16). That is what the remnant is reminded of here.

The LORD is now their God. Like Elijah, whose name means ‘the LORD is my God’, the faithful remnant through the service of Elijah, the service of the maskilim, can now say ‘the LORD is my God’. They are addressed here as “all who are around Him”. They live around Him, He is in their midst. That makes the fulfillment of their vows all the more desirable.

Next, the surrounding peoples are also addressed (verse 11b). They are told to “bring gifts to Him who is to be feared”. They will be wise to acknowledge Him in His supremacy which He has proved in the judgment on His enemies. They can express their fear of Him, which includes the acknowledgment of His authority, by bringing Him gifts.

The spirit or breath of the princes of the surrounding nations is in His hand (verse 12; Dan 5:23b). We see these princes in the two beasts of Revelation 13 – the beast coming out of the sea, which is the leader of the then restored Roman Empire, and the beast coming out of the earth, which is the antichrist –, in the king of the North, and in Gog and Magog.

God cuts off their spirit, i.e. their breath, with the ease with which one ‘cuts off grapes’ to throw them into the wine press to be trampled on (Psa 2:1-6; cf. Rev 14:18-20). “The kings of the earth” fear Him, for He is “the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev 1:5). To Him all kings must give an account. When the time of their sentencing comes, they will rightly fear Him.