Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Reflections on Psalm 76

Psalm 76 (Contemporary English Version)

  1. You, our God, are famous in Judah and honored in Israel.
  2. Your home is on Mount Zion in the city of peace.
  3. There you destroyed fiery arrows, shields, swords, and all the other weapons.
  4. You are more glorious than the eternal mountains.
  5. Brave warriors were robbed of what they had taken, and now they lie dead, unable to lift an arm.
  6. God of Jacob, when you roar, enemy chariots and horses drop dead in their tracks.
  7. Our God, you are fearsome, and no one can oppose you when you are angry.
  8. From heaven you announced your decisions as judge! And all who live on this earth were terrified and silent
  9. when you took over as judge, ready to rescue everyone in need.
  10. Even the most angry people will praise you when you are furious.
  11. Everyone, make your promises to the LORD your God and do what you promise. The LORD is fearsome, and all of his servants should bring him gifts.
  12. God destroys the courage of rulers and kings and makes cowards of them.



Another psalm of Asaph praising the God who is known in Judah, whose name is great in Israel, and whose tent is in Salem, and dwelling place in Zion. Salem and Zion are both references to Jerusalem, and the reference to Judah and Israel separately might suggest that this psalm was written after the split of the kingdom. Since the psalm praises God's miraculous deliverance at the hand of a formidable enemy and the earlier reference likely places it after the split of the kingdom, many identify the occasion as the invasion of Jerusalem by the Assyrians under Sennacherib. If that be true, the writer would not be the same Asaph who wrote in David's time. On this occasion God shattered the weapons of the enemy and stilled the warriors as well as the horse and chariot. And I like verse 10 which says that "even human wrath will praise You."


What does this mean? To me it means that on this occasion or any other like it, the wrath of man aimed at other humans, was at God's mercy. Thus, praise was turned to God who stopped the wrath of Judah's enemy. So why does God stop man's wrath on one occasion and not on another? Scripture helps to offer an explanation for this particular occasion, if indeed it was Sennacherib's invasion of Jerusalem. On that occasion Sennacherib was blaspheming God saying that no other god had stopped Assyria from overpowering other nations nor would the God of Judah stop them from overpowering Judah. But probably the main reason was that King Hezekiah of Judah asked God for His help and He gave it. Beyond this we can only speculate as to why God stops the wrath of one nation and not that of another. The WHY question is often asked of God as an accusation. It is asked assuming that God must abide by our understanding and standard of what is right and wrong, or what is just and unjust. But the Creator is the one who sets all standards. It behooves us to try to learn His standard and abide by it.

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