Psalms 76:1 - Meaning and Application

The church is shown here as triumphant, even while it still lives in conflict. In the psalmist’s voice, the church gives praise to God, who is the center of every true victory.

First, God had made himself known to his people (Psalm 76:1). It is both the honor and the privilege of Judah and Israel that God is known among them. Where God is known, his name will be great. God is known in the way he chooses to reveal himself, and those are blessed to whom he shows himself. Happy are the people whose land is filled with the knowledge of God, and happier still are those whose hearts are filled with it. In Judah, God was known in a way he was not known among other nations, and that made the favor even greater, because it was a special gift (Psalm 147:19, Psalm 147:20).

Second, God showed his special presence among them through his worship and ordinances, that is, the public ways he appointed for his people to meet with him (Psalm 76:2). In all the land of Judah and Israel, God was known and his name was great, but in Salem, that is, Jerusalem, and in Zion, his tabernacle and dwelling place were set. There he held court. There he received the honor of his people through their sacrifices, and there he fed them with the meals that came from those sacrifices. They came there to speak to him, and from there he gave his commands through his messages. There he placed his name, and of that place he said, “There I will dwell, because I desire it.” It is a great blessing for a people to have God among them through his appointed worship. Yet even that dwelling is like a tent, a temporary home. The light we enjoy is only with us for a little while.

Third, God had given them victory over their enemies (Psalm 76:3). “There he broke the arrows of the bow.” Notice how serious the danger was. Though Judah and Israel, Salem and Zion, had these high privileges, war still rose against them, and the weapons of war were made ready. There were bow and arrows, shield and sword, all prepared for battle, but God broke them and made them useless.

This happened there in Judah and Israel, in favor of the people who were near to God. When weapons were used against other nations, they did their work. But when they were turned against that holy nation, they were quickly broken. Or it happened in the tabernacle and dwelling place in Zion. It was done on the battlefield, yet it is spoken of as done in the sanctuary, because it was in answer to the prayers God’s people made there, and in keeping with the promises God had made there to them, as in 2 Chronicles 20:5 and 2 Chronicles 20:14. Public success depends as much on what is done in the church as on what is done in the camp.

This victory brought great honor to Israel’s God (Psalm 76:4). He is more glorious and more excellent than the mountains of prey. That means he is greater than the powerful rulers of the earth, who seem strong and fixed like mountains, but are really mountains of prey, oppressing those around them. Their glory is to destroy, but God’s glory is to save and deliver. It also means he is greater than the enemies who came against Jerusalem. They threw up earthworks and set up batteries against the city, but God was more able to protect his people than they were to attack them. When the enemies of the church act proudly, it will be clear that God is above them.

This victory also brought lasting shame on Israel’s enemies (Psalm 76:5, Psalm 76:6). They were stubborn-hearted, brave, and determined, full of confidence from earlier victories, and angry against Israel. They were strong men, fit for war, and they had chariots and horses, which were highly prized and trusted in battle (Psalm 20:7). But all that strength came to nothing when used against Jerusalem.

Some read the words to mean that the stubborn-hearted stripped and disarmed themselves. When God wills it, he can make his enemies weaken and ruin themselves. They slept, but not the sleep of the righteous who sleep in Jesus. It was the sleep of sinners, who will one day rise to everlasting shame and contempt. The men of might could no longer find their hands, just as the proud could no longer find courage. The strong were disabled, unable even to use their hands to save themselves, much less to harm their enemies. The chariots and horses may truly be said to have fallen into a dead sleep when their drivers and riders did. God only had to speak, as the God of Jacob who commands deliverance for Jacob, and at his rebuke both chariot and horse were struck down. When the men lay dead by the destroying angel, the chariot and horse were no threat at all. See the power of God’s rebuke.

Christians can gladly apply all this to the blessings we have through the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. It is through him that God is known, in him that God’s name is great, and because of him God has a tabernacle and dwelling place in his church. He is the one who defeated the strong man armed, stripped principalities and powers, and displayed them openly.