Psalm 76 English Standard Version Who Can Stand Before You? To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. 76 In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. 2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah 4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains full of prey. 5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands. 6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned. 7 But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused? 8 From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still, 9 when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. Selah 10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt. 11 Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared, 12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth. The psalm beings with praising the LORD that He is known by His people, yet there is a special knowledge that the people of Judah, specifically the people of Jerusalem have with Him, because the Ark of the Covenant resides there. Also, the psalmist praises the LORD for giving them peace at this time, for David's early years were filled with war (and so were his later years after his sin with Bathsheba, but that conflict came from within his own house). One item I want to note here is that the use of the word "Salem" is intentionally used to take our minds back to Genesis 14 and the great victory provided to Abraham. It was at that time that he met Melchizedek, the King of Salem--a very interesting character cloaked in mystery and intrigue, but also referenced many times directly and indirectly in the Psalms to refer to the Messiah. Melchizedek was the LORD's priest but was also king and a mighty warrior. We see tithes made to Him, and we see unleavened bread and wine offered to Him. He'll be mentioned again in the book of Hebrews as being the head of an eternal priesthood that is better than that of Aaron, because it is not limited to members of the tribe of Levi who come from the clan and family of Aaron (you are not in or out of Melchizedek's priesthood because of genealogy). Keep an eye out for more direct and indirect references to the person of Melchizedek in the Psalms and be thinking about Jesus when these references are made because the Psalmists intend not only for us to look backwards, but forwards think about the coming warrior-king who would also be High Priest of the LORD and would even be God in the Flesh--Immanuel, God with Us--so that He was worthy of worship. Even though the Land is great, the LORD is greater, because He is the Creator of the Land, and the one who gave the Land to His people as an inheritance. He is the one who causes it to bring forth a fruitful harvest when they people humbly worship Him, but He is also able to cause the Land to withhold its bounty when the people become proud and arrogant or when the enemies of the LORD tried to conquer the Land. The vast armies that often came to try to take what the LORD had given to His people ended up fighting against the LORD and His angel armies, and there was nothing that their hands could do to fight against Him or His heavenly warriors, for no physical weapons touch or harm the LORD. Therefore, the LORD is to be feared. This is a two-fold idea. The enemies of the LORD should be afraid of His power and vengeance and should want to quickly make peace with Him and become His servants. That leads to the second meaning. The servants of the LORD are to respect Him and obey Him because He is Lord over them, and they should live like it. For the believer, to fear the LORD is to obey Him, and the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom--this is true in both ways that I described it. It is wise first to surrender your life and heart to Him. If you have not done so, that is the wisest decision you will ever make. Next, it is wise to obey the LORD's commands, because He is all knowing, all wise, and all good. We'll get to Psalm 119 later, but if you want a taste of how we should feel and act towards the Law of the LORD, take a quick peek at that psalm. It is certainly not the way that most people, including people that call themselves by the name of the LORD, think about the Law. Coming back to the text now, the paragraph focuses on the fear of the LORD focuses on not only His judgment, but also His salvation, because we have example after example of how the LORD works through judgment to save His people. His salvation comes by way of "a mighty hand and an outstretched arm." Just a few examples to think of where judgment and deliverance coincide in the Bible--The Flood where Noah and his family and the animals that God called and caused to come inside were safe in the Ark, but the world on the outside was destroyed by the deluge. We also have the Exodus where Egypt was destroyed by the plagues, but God's people were saved through the Passover. We also have the Red Sea immediately following the Passover. Israel crossed over safely, but the LORD caused the chariots of Egypt to get stuck in the mud when they tried to give chase, and the LORD threw horse and rider into the Red Sea so that the entire army of Egypt was destroyed that day. We have the story of Esther that we just finished studying together where the Jews were miraculously saved, and the day marked for their destruction became the day of destruction for their enemies (now celebrated as the Feast of Purim). Then we have an unusual picture of judgment and salvation meeting at the cross of Christ. He took our judgment so that we could have the salvation that only He can offer. It is a strange picture unless you understand biblically that justice and mercy coincide. The last example I'll use is still in the future and it's the Second Coming of Christ which will bring ultimate salvation for His people but will bring ultimate judgment for His enemies. We will read about the Day of the LORD in the prophets, but we also read about it in some other books of prophecy like the book of Revelation that we've already studied. So it is that we should expect the Second Coming to be a time of both judgment and salvation. Will He find His servants living in the fear of the LORD and obeying Him, or will He find them living in open rebellion and proving they are not His servants at all and are really His enemies? Jesus told parables of this, and it was clear that some who claimed to belong to Him would prove that they did not belong to Him because they neither honored nor obeyed him with their lives. There will be people of this world that will try to rebel against the LORD, even when Messiah returns in full power and authority to set up His kingdom, and His wrath will be poured out on them. He will speak and all His enemies will be torn to pieces. The blood will flow like a river that is deep enough to come up to a horse's bridle. After that point, all the peoples of the world will be judged and they will be forced to acknowledge that He is Lord, and they will bow before Him. Since there is no victory to be had in fighting against the LORD, it is wiser to surrender now and become a servant in His kingdom than to try to be a noble in the kingdom of darkness that will soon be destroyed by the kingdom of His marvelous light. For, light will always destroy the darkness--darkness has no chance of destroying the light. It is physically impossible because darkness is not substantive, but the lack of something. To quote a radio show host that I listen to often, Abraham Hamilton, II, "Darkness is not an affirmative force, it simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light." So it will be when Jesus the Light of the World is revealed in all power, majesty, and authority, and all darkness and wickedness is destroyed before Him. Not even kings or princes who command vast armies and great nations will have a chance against the LORD Almighty. Comments are closed.
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Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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