Sovereign Deliverance: An Exposition of Psalm 76
Psalm 76 is said to have been written by the sons of Asaph who were a priestly guild in Jerusalem. As such, they were responsible for the conduct of worship at the Temple. We don’t know exactly when this psalm was written, but tradition suggests it was written after the deliverance of Judah from Sennacherib. We can not determine this to be the case, but as Warfield suggests, it seems to be written for a mighty act of deliverance like this. The beauty of the Book of Psalms is that it can be generally applied to a multitude of historical situations, including the times that God has delivered us from oppression in our lives. The Book of Psalms as a whole reminds us of who the LORD is, and what He has promised to His people. It also reminds us of who we are, for good or ill. Some of the Psalms were written while we are still in despair. Others were written after God’s deliverance. There is a psalm for just about every situation we find ourselves in. Let us see what the 76th Psalm tells us.
The 76th Psalm is broken up into several stanzas. Each stanza is similar to the verses in one of our hymns. The first stanza covers verses one through three. It starts with the statement that “God is known in Judah.” This is paired with “His name is great in Israel.” This is known as a parallelism. These two statements say something very similar, but not exactly. The idea of being “known” has the idea of close relationship, whereas “His name is great in Israel” is somewhat more remote. So knowing God relationally is contrasted by knowing something about God. We remember that the Bible tells us that the devils also believe and tremble. It is not enough to know that the LORD is great. We must know Him!
Verse two is also parallel in construction. “In Salem also is His tabernacle” is followed by “And His dwelling place in Zion.” The two halves are quite similar and complement each other. “Salem” is probably short for “Jerusalem” and the Temple was set upon Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. What is interesting here is the fact that “Salem” is used rather than the longer “Jerusalem.” “Salem by itself is translated “peace” in English. His tabernacle is a place of peace for those who trust in Him. The mention of the fact that God’s dwelling place was in Zion becomes a little less important. I think the idea here is that the person who trusts in Yahweh can have peace anywhere. The tabernacle of God is in the heart of the believer and not just in a place called “Jerusalem.” Solomon reminds us that the Temple in Jerusalem could not contain Yahweh, as splendorous as it was. God’s presence was real and powerful in the Temple, but it was not limited to the Temple. When the Temple was destroyed and the people cast into exile, the believers had the assurance that God was still with them. Even in the midst of difficult times, we have hope and comfort. Deliverance will come it God’s way at the appointed time.
The third verse tells us that God breaks the arrows of our oppressors as well as their swords and shields. This means that Yahweh disarms the enemies of His people so that they can no longer wage war. This seems to be the emphasis of the psalm. It does not talk about the slaying of the wicked. Rather, it talks about disarmament. This does not mean that God does not slay the wicked, but for the Christian, it is enough that they are deprived of their weapons. We never pray for the destruction of our enemies. Rather, we pray that the Gospel of peace might disarm them and that they might become Christians themselves.
Verses four through six form another stanza. It is a confession of the glory and majesty of Yahweh. He is greater than the mountains of prey. Mountains are big, but God is greater. Our problems are large, but God is Sovereign over all things. We need to be reminded of this. The proud shall be stripped of their pride. God puts them to sleep. They find no strength to pull the bow with their hands. God rebukes the dreaded chariots, and they are put into a deep sleep. Even though sleep sometimes refers to “death,” this is more of a Greek thought than Hebrew. Therefore, in this context, sleep here probably means slumber.
Verses seven through nine form the third stanza. The theme of these verses is that God is the deliverer of the oppressed. Because God hates oppression, people need to fear before Him. It is the nature of human sin to oppress. All of us to some extend abuse our power. We take advantage of others. This makes it impossible to stand in our own right in his presence. If God is angry, who could come? Psalm 24 says those who have clean hands and a pure heart. It is those who have not made deceitful oaths or been filled with vain pride. But who, other than Jesus, could stand in the presence of the Father? We need to realize that we are part of the greater problem. God’s judgment pours forth on the earth to save the meek. Let us be the meek.
The last stanza begins with the startling words: “Surely the wrath of man shall praise you.” When I get angry, especially wrongfully angry, I hardly see myself as praising God. I can understand that the joyful strains of our worship praise you. But how can our wrath praise you? We need to be reminded that God is Sovereign. He is certainly praised by our sincere worship. But when we are angry, it does not change who God is. So whether we rage or the heathen rage, it sets up a great contrast between who we are and who He is. It makes God more holy than ever. We can be reminded of the rage of Saul of Tarsus in the Book of Acts, chapter eight. Saul, before his conversion was a raging bull of anger. He was more Saul of Taurus than Tarsus. He persecuted the church with great zeal which caused them to scatter to all the villages of Judaea. But it says that these scattered people also scattered the Word of God. What Saul meant for evil, God meant for good. God got His praise as much as when Paul after his conversion praised God in the dedication of his life for the gospel. The wrath of man does not cancel out the goodness of God. Neither does it have the last word.
This is a God to whom we can bring our offerings. As Lord of All, he is worthy of our reverence. The rulers of this world will be brought into subjection at some point, either willingly or unwillingly. He is able to cut off princes and make the rulers stand in awe before Him. Even Satan is limited in what he is able to do. So let us remember that God puts limits on those who would oppress us. He has promised that he will make all these things work out for our good. So let us be comforted. God is our peace. It is not the peace the world gives. The Peace of God is beyond our circumstances.
We will soon enter the season of Advent. This is a time we remember that the LORD shall return to establish a reign of peace. We remember also that this is the same Jesus who was born in a manger in Bethleham more than two thousand years ago. One of His titles is “Prince of Peace.” We think of a time when the swords will be beaten into plowshares and the spears into pruning hooks. The art of war will be forgotten. We have seen the first part of this promise fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. We shall see the rest fulfilled when Jesus returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Jesus has become our peace. It is He who has torn down the middle wall which separated us from the Father. The veil of the Temple has been torn. The presence of God is no longer confined to a dark. solitary room in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit is become the presence of God in the midst of His people. It is what Jesus did for us on the cross that solves the dilemma of how we can come into the presence of God. We come into His presence clothed in Jesus Christ. Jesus does more than just deliver us from outside oppressors. He delivers us from ourselves as well. So as we come into both the time of Advent as well as Thanksgiving, let us remember to be thankful. Our troubles shall soon pass.
