GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
PSALM 76:1-6
PSALM 76
The God of Victory
In Psalm 74, Asaph asked the question: “Why have you rejected us forever, O God? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?” (Ps. 74:1; cp. Job 19:11). Psalms 75 and 76 bring answers to that question. First, God is the God of history and his judgments are always righteous (Psalm 75). Now we will learn the marvelous gospel: God is the judge, but God also rose up to save us.
For the choir director.
With stringed instruments.
A psalm of Asaph. A song.
Like Psalm 75, King David’s choir director Asaph intended this psalm to be used in public worship, even including the direction that it be presented accompanied by strings, but it is also appropriate for private meditation.
God’s fame
1 In Judah God is renowned,
in Israel his name is great.
2 His tent is in Salem,
his dwelling place is in Zion.
David was planning to build the temple of God on Zion, the hill above Jerusalem. At this time, when David reigned and when Asaph composed, the tabernacle was still in use. Some of the tabernacle—the tent and the altar—had been at Shiloh for a long time, since the latter days of the Judges at least. But the Ark and possibly some other furnishings had been moved to Nob not far from Jerusalem (there was showbread there, and the ephod of the high priest, 1 Samuel 21:6,9). References like this one in verse 2 make us wonder, had David already moved some of the tabernacle furnishings up to the hill above Jerusalem?
More importantly, David was making God’s name known by giving God glory and respect. David made mistakes. Some of the things he did were sinful indeed. But David’s faith and trust were in the Lord—and it was his faith that made David the apple of God’s eye (Psalm 17:8).
God’s victory
3 There he broke the flames from the bow,
the shield, the sword,
and the weapons of war. Selah (Interlude)
David is remembering the battle when his soldiers captured the city of Jerusalem from the arrogant Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6-9). “Flames from the bow” are either a reference to flaming arrows—a common weapon, defended against by soaking a leather-covered shield in water—or simply a way of talking about a furious volley of arrows. Or it could be both. Having described the battle in the simplest of words—flames, bow, shield, sword, and weapons—David has us pause in an interlude for reflection, perhaps about battles we have been in personally, or what a great thing it was for God to hand Jerusalem over to David’s people.
4 You are shining!
The Mighty One descending from the leaf-covered mountains.
Asaph praises God for his radiant glory, and paints a mental picture of God descending from green, leaf-covered mountains. Many translations try to use the more common definition of tereph, which is “prey; food torn from an animal” (Psalm 111:5). In combination with “mountains,” tereph means the more vegetarian version of food: leaves in abundance. This is a reference to the olive groves and other trees in the area—a sign of God’s grace and providence; a picture of paradise, where the trees will give fruit all year round (Revelation 22:2).
About Hebrew Accents: This verse is not easy to understand in Hebrew. The accent mark that shows the main division of the verse is a version of rebi (there are four versions of rebi in the poetic books), which seems to connect “Mighty One” (or “majestic”) to the first phrase. However, the first word of the verse is accented with tarha, which is a rare accent serving (occurring prior to) a stronger accent mark such as rebi mugrash, and therefore the rebi in the verse is not great rebi or little rebi, but defective rebi mugrash, which does not carry much of a disjunctive force at all. In the book of Job, defective rebi mugrash always occurs in a verse introducing either a new section of a speech or a new speaker (such as in Job 4:1), and note that Asaph uses it here following selah—therefore a new section of speech.
5 The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slept their last sleep.
None of the warriors could lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both chariot and horse lie still.
Asaph continues to praise God’s victory. It is his victory over the devil for which we praise him the most, but all his victories give God glory and are worthy of praise. He is our Champion, our Redeemer and our Savior. When we understand that our salvation comes from God, and from God alone, then we understand the role of our good deeds. Our good needs merely praise God and serve him. They don’t contribute to our place in heaven. Yet we have that place, just as certain as the sun rose this morning, all because of what Christ accomplished on the cross in our place.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota