Introduction
Today’s psalm is another psalm of Asaph. The title says it’s for the director of music and it’s with stringed instruments. It also says it’s a psalm and a song. So, this is a psalm which the people were to sing and which was accompanied with strings.
There’s an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was written about 200 years before the birth of Christ. And it translates the title slightly different. It calls this psalm a hymn and a psalm and a song. A hymn, psalm and song. You might recall from Colossians 3 that Paul tells us to let the word of Christ dwell in us as we teach and admonish one another and as we sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts to God. When I was preaching on that passage on Sunday evening, I said that the commentators discuss whether there’s a difference between psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Is Paul referring to three different kinds of song or are these three words for the same thing? I said that it doesn’t really matter, because the point is that we teach one another when we praise God. However, it’s possible that Paul had Psalm 76 in mind when he wrote Colossians 3. In that case, when Paul said ‘psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs’, he may have been referring specifically to the psalms. But the point still stands: we teach one another whenever we praise God.
The Greek translation also adds the words, ‘for the Assyrians’ to the title. And that’s a possible clue to the background of the psalm. Some of the commentators think it’s about the time in the reign of Hezekiah when the Assyrians invaded Judah. You can read about it in 2 Kings 19 and 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 37. They laid siege to the fortified cities; and the king of Assyria sent a messenger to Jerusalem to threaten the king and the people. He told them they were foolish to trust in the Lord, because the Lord will not be able to save them from the Assyrians. In his distress, Hezekiah turned to the Lord. And the Lord answered his prayer by sending an angel to annihilate the Assyrian army. And we’re told that the king of Assyria withdrew to his own land in disgrace, where some of his sons murdered him. And so, it says, the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. He took care of them. And many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and for the Hezekiah. And from that time on, Hezekiah was highly regarded by all the nations.
That’s what we read in Kings and Chronicles and Isaiah. And this psalm fits that, because the psalm describes how the Lord came as a mighty warrior and terrifying king to judge and destroy the enemies of his people. And at the end of the psalm, people are instructed to fulfil their vows to the Lord and to bring gifts to him.
In Psalm 74 the psalmist asked the Lord, ‘How long?’ How long will our enemies mock God? How long will they revile God’s holy name? In Psalm 75 the Lord announced that he will punish his enemies at the appointed time. And now, in this psalm, the appointed time has come. And what we read here foreshadows the day of the Lord, when Christ will come in glory and with power to judge the living and the dead and to punish the wicked for what they have done and to save his people who trust in him. And so, we should always trust in him, because he promises salvation for his people.
Verses 1 to 3
Let’s turn to verses 1 to 3 where it says that God has made himself known throughout the land of Israel. The psalmist mentions Judah and Israel to designate the whole land. Then he mentions Salem and Zion, both of which are names for Jerusalem. And then he refers to ‘there’ in verse 3. So, ‘there’ in Jerusalem, in the land of Israel, God made himself known.
He says in verse 1 that God’s name is great. So, throughout the land, the people heard what God did for them and it became clear to them that their God is great. The Assyrians, when they came, boasted about the power of their king and how the gods of the nations could nor stand up to the Assyrian king. But the Lord demonstrated that he is far greater than the gods of the nations and he’s far greater than the Assyrian king. The Lord is greater than all other powers and authorities.
And this great God has chosen Jerusalem as his dwelling-place. So, what a privilege for the people of Israel to have this mighty God live among them. And he’s living among them to protect them. And so, when the Assyrians threatened them, God was there to break their flashing arrows and their shields and swords — all their weapons of war.
So, God revealed his greatness by destroying their enemies and their weapons and by restoring peace to Jerusalem.
Verses 4 to 9
In the next part of the psalm, which is from verse 4 to verse 9, the psalmist addresses the Lord and recounts who he is and what he has done for them.
He says: ‘You are resplendent with light.’ That is, God is glorious. And he’s more majestic than mountains, rich with game. The psalmist is comparing the Lord to a high mountain which is obviously splendid and big and awesome and secure. Who can move a mountain? But God is greater than a mountain. When he mentions that the mountain is rich with game, he perhaps means the mountain can sustain the wild animals who feed there. But God is more majestic than even the highest mountain and he’s able to sustain the lives of his people. Nothing can move him. No one can threaten him. He is from everlasting to everlasting.
And the psalmist goes on to say that valiant men lie plundered and they sleep their last sleep. In other words, they sleep the sleep of death. These valiant men are now dead. And not one of the warriors can lift his hands, let alone his weapons, because God has struck them down. At God’s rebuke, both horse and chariot lie still. God spoke the word and their enemies were destroyed. The courage of the valiant men, the strength of the warrior, the speed of the horse and chariot are no match for the Lord.
So, in verses 4 to 6, God is depicted as a mighty warrior. In verses 7 to 9, he’s depicted as an terrifying king who judges the people.
God is to be feared; and no one can stand before him when he’s angry. His anger makes everyone quake and fall down before him. From heaven, his throne-room, he pronounced his judgment. And therefore the land — that is, the earth — feared and was quiet. He means that the people of the earth stood still before God and they froze in fear, because God was about to pronounce his judgment. And there are two sides to God’s judgment, aren’t there? He will destroy his enemies, but he will save his afflicted people. In the days of Hezekiah, God saved the people of Jerusalem by destroying the Assyrians.
In this part of the psalm, God is depicted as a mighty warrior and as a terrifying king. He comes to destroy his enemies. But then, he also comes to rescue his people.
Verses 10 to 12
And so, we come to the final part of the psalm which is verses 10 to 12. Verse 10 is hard to interpret and the NIV’s translation is an attempt to make sense of it. It refers to the wrath of God and it says that it brings God praise. That is to say, people will praise God because of what he did to his enemies. However, the Hebrew text refers to human wrath, and not to God’s wrath, and to how it shall praise God. Another English translation tries to make sense of the verse by translating it as follows: ‘Human defiance only enhances your glory.’ Try as they might, God’s enemies cannot defeat the Lord. In fact, their attempts to attack him only enhance his glory, because he always overpowers them. Every attack which they launch against him is only another opportunity for the Lord to show his greatness and his glory. And so, human wrath brings praise to God.
In the second line of verse 10, the NIV refers to the survivors of God’s wrath who are restrained. Again, that’s an attempt to make sense of a difficult verse. The Hebrew text says that God puts on the remnant of wrath like a belt. It’s not clear what that means, but it perhaps means that God uses human defiance as a weapon. That is, he uses it for his glory. On his belt, God has lots of tools and weapons which he uses to display his greatness and glory. And one of the tools on his toolbelt is the defiance and disobedience and rebellion of sinful men and women. The story of Joseph in the Old Testament throws some light on this, because Joseph’s brothers intended to do him harm when they sold him into slavery. However, the Lord used their wickedness for his own good purposes. And if God is able to use our rebellion for his glory, then there’s no way to beat God.
In verse 11, the psalmist calls on the people to make and fulfil vows to the Lord. When the people were in trouble, they might make a vow to the Lord, promising that if God saved them, they would bring him an offering. And so, making a vow means trusting in the Lord. And fulfilling the vow means giving thanks to God for answered prayer. So, trust in the Lord and be thankful. And the people of neighbouring nations are invited to pay tribute to the Lord. After the Lord defeated the Assyrians, many people brought gifts to God in Jerusalem. They recognised God’s greatness and glory and came to worship him. They realised that he’s the one who can break the spirit of rulers, as he did to the king of Assyria. And so, he is to be feared or worshipped by the kings of the earth.
Conclusion
What we read here foreshadows the great and terrible day of the Lord when Christ will come in glory and with power to judge the living and the dead and to punish the wicked for what they have done wrong and to save his people who trusted in him for eternal life.
In the psalm, there were two sides to God’s judgment: punishment of the wicked and salvation for his people. And so it will be on the day of judgment to come. There will be condemnation and punishment for the wicked; and there will be salvation for all of God’s people. And God’s people will be saved, not because of anything they have done, but only because of what Christ has done for them on the cross, when he paid for our sins with his life in order to make peace for us with God. And since he has made peace for us with God, then we need not fear the day of judgment. In fact, we can look forward to it. And we can look forward to it, because when Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead, he will acquit his people of all the charges against us and he will bring us and all his people into the new Jerusalem to come in the new heavens and earth, where God will dwell with his people forever and where we’ll enjoy perfect peace and rest. And there will be no one and nothing to disturb us; and we’ll be happy forever in the presence of our God.
And so, what we read here in the psalm foreshadows the day of judgment to come, when God’s enemies will be destroyed, but when God’s people will be saved. And by referring to people from neighbouring lands who bring gifts to God, the psalm also foreshadows the preaching of the gospel throughout the world and how men and women and boys and girls of every nation will hear what God has done to save his people and they will worship him for it. They will gather together before the Lord in churches around the world to worship him. And, one day, they will gather in his presence in the new heavens and earth.
In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. That’s what the psalmist said. But now, God is known throughout the world and his name is great in every nation. And we must pray that more and more people around the world will acknowledge his greatness and glory and that they will worship him.
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