Psalms 76:7 - Meaning and Application

This great victory, which God gave and blessed to his church, teaches three things.

First, it brings fear to God’s enemies (Psalm 76:7-9). “You alone are to be feared. Your greatness must be honored, your rule must be accepted, and your justice must be feared by those who have sinned against you.” Let the whole world learn from this event to stand in awe of the great God. Everyone should fear his anger against the bold wickedness of sinners. “Who can stand before you when you are angry?” If God is a consuming fire, how can dry straw stand before him, even if his anger burns only a little? (Psalm 2:12).

All should also fear his concern for oppressed innocence and for the cause of his own people. “You caused judgment to be heard from heaven, when you rose up to save all the meek of the earth” (Psalm 76:8-9). Then the earth feared and was still, waiting to see what would come from these glorious acts of God. God’s people are the meek of the earth (Zech. 2:3), the quiet ones in the land (Psalm 35:20), people who can bear wrong, but do no wrong. Though their meekness leaves them open to harm, God will sooner or later appear for their rescue and defend their cause.

When God comes to save all the meek of the earth, he causes judgment to be heard from heaven. He makes the world know that he is angry with those who oppress his people, and that what is done against them is treated as done against himself. The righteous God may seem silent for a long time, but in the end he will make his judgment heard. When God speaks judgment from heaven, the earth should become still and reverent. It should be like silence in court when the judge takes his seat. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling” (Zech. 2:13).

Some think this psalm was written after Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, was defeated. If so, they believe the destroying angel who struck the army was accompanied by thunder, so God caused judgment to be heard from heaven, and the earth feared, meaning there was an earthquake. But that is uncertain.

Second, it brings comfort to God’s people (Psalm 76:10). We live in a world that often stirs up anger, and we often feel much from the wrath of man, which seems endless. Still, this is a great comfort: as far as God allows human anger to go, he will make it serve his praise. He will bring honor to himself and work out his own purposes through it. “Surely the wrath of man shall praise you” not only because God restrains it until it must admit its weakness, but even because he allows it for a time.

The troubles God’s people suffer from the anger of their enemies are made to bring glory to God and to his grace. The more the nations rage and plan against the Lord and his anointed one, the more God is praised for setting his King on Zion, his holy hill, in spite of them (Psalm 2:1, 6). When the heavenly hosts sing that God has taken his great power and has begun to reign, though the nations were angry (Rev. 11:17-18), then human wrath adds to God’s praise.

We also have this comfort: what will not serve God’s praise will not be allowed to break out. “The remainder of wrath you restrain.” People should never allow sin just because they cannot stop it whenever they want. God can stop it. He can set limits to human anger, just as he does to the roaring sea. “Thus far you shall come, and no farther.” God restrained the rest of Sennacherib’s rage by putting a hook in his nose and a bit in his mouth (Isa. 37:29). He let Sennacherib boast, but he kept him from doing what he planned.

Third, it gives duty to all people (Psalm 76:11-12). Let everyone submit to this great God and become his faithful subject. All who are near him, all who depend on him, and all who come near him in prayer and worship, are called to honor him. And who is there that does not? So each of us is commanded to pay our tribute to the King of kings. “Vow and pay” means take an oath of loyalty to him and be careful to keep it. Vow to belong to him, and then pay what you have vowed. Bind your soul to him, as a vow does, and then live up to the promise you made. It is better not to vow at all than to vow and not pay.

Since we have taken him as our King, we should bring gifts to him, as subjects bring tribute to their ruler (1 Sam. 10:27). “Send the lamb to the ruler of the land” (Isa. 16:1). God does not need any gift we bring, and he is not helped by it. Yet in this way we honor him and confess that we have everything from him. Our prayers, our praise, and especially our hearts are the gifts we should bring to the Lord our God.

There are also reasons that press this duty on us. Give to each what is due, fear to whom fear is due, and is fear not due to God? Yes. He is worthy to be feared, for that is what the word means here. His name is glorious and fearful, and he is the right object of our fear. With him is terrible majesty. The God of Abraham is called the fear of Isaac (Gen. 31:42), and we are told to make him our fear (Isa. 8:13). When we bring gifts to him, we must remember that he is greatly to be feared, for he is terrible in his holy places.

He will also be feared, even by those who think they alone deserve fear (Psalm 76:12). “He will cut off the spirit of princes.” He can strip their courage away as easily as a person slips a flower from its stem or grapes from a vine. He can crush the bold and make them weak, for he is, and will be, terrible to the kings of the earth. Sooner or later, if they do not wisely submit to him, he will leave them calling in vain to rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from his wrath (Rev. 6:16). Since no one can contend with God, it is as wise as it is right to submit to him.