Psalms 76

Psalms 76THEME: Prophecy of the Messiah upon the throneAs we study these psalms, I trust that you have your Bible open before you, and that you will read the entire text. These psalms are not only the Word of God, but their arrangement is important. I am not going to insist that the arrangement is inspired, but you will miss a great deal of the message if you ignore the arrangement because they do tell a story. There is a message that develops in each series of psalms. You recall that Psalms 74 was a cry for help"Arise, O God." Psalms 75 was a song of thanks for God’s deliverance out of the clutches of the northern power. They couldn’t get help from the east or west or south, and the north was where their trouble was coming from.

Russia will come from the north to invade the land of Israel, which we believe will be during the Great Tribulation Period. Now Psalms 76 shows the Lord Jesus reigning in His kingdom as King-Priest, the true Melchisedek. Man on this earth is in subjection to Him.

Psalms 76:1

Reading from Dr. Gaebelein’s translation, which I have used from time to time, these verses say, “In Judah God is known; in Israel His Name is great. In Salem is found His Tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion” (The Book of Psalms, p. 298). Salem is the ancient name for Jerusalem and means “the habitation of peace.” Four geographical places are mentioned. None of these places have to do with California or any state in the union, or any other country. Judah, Israel, Salem (Jerusalem), and Zion are all in Israel in the Mideast. The fact that this psalm has a blessing for us lies in its application, not in its interpretation, and I believe that all Scripture is for us.

Psalms 76:3

This is the day the prophet spoke of when he said, “…they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa_2:4). Until the Lord Jesus Christ reigns, you had better not apply that verse to the United Nations, because it doesn’t fit. Isaiah is speaking about the peace that will come to this earth when Christ comes back. Until the sin of the human heart is either dealt with in redemption or judgment, there can never be peace on earth.

Psalms 76:4

Dr. Gaebelein translates this, “Thou art shining forth gloriously above the mountains of prey.” The “mountains of prey” refer to Jerusalem. That city has been besieged twenty-seven times. It has certainly been a mountain of prey! The enemies have been there. The Lord is going to judge the arrogant and the proud who have walked on earth and those who have come against the city of Jerusalem.

Psalms 76:5

Or, as Dr. Gaebelein has it, “Spoiled were the stouthearted; they fell asleep in their sleep.” “They fell asleep in their sleep.” That is an interesting expression. How can you do that? It means that the stouthearted were no longer alert or aware. The apostle John writes that the whole world lies asleep in the arms of the wicked one (1Jn_5:19). And the Devil doesn’t want the world to wake up. He says to Vernon McGee, “Hush! Don’t give out the Word so loud. You’ll wake them up.” But, friend, I’m trying to wake up the babies by telling them that judgment is coming and also that there is salvation in Christ. You will also notice that “…none of the men of might have found their hands.” Waking out of sleep, they were like the Midianites in the days of Gideon when they were awakened by the sound of trumpets and saw the lights. They knew they had been taken, “…and all the host ran, and cried, and fled” (Jdg_7:21).

Psalms 76:6

When the Lord comes again, at His rebuke both the chariot and the horse will be brought down into a deep sleep. At that time the Lord will shine forth gloriously. Isa_60:1 speaks of that day, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.” We sometimes sing a song with these words at Christmas. Actually, this verse has no fulfillment at Christmas, at the birth of Christ. It will be fulfilled when the Lord comes again to this earth. It will be a great day, but it is still in the future. Isa_4:5 tells us more about this day: “And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.” The glory that will be there will be the person of Christ. The day of vengeance of our God will come.

Psalms 76:7

These verses can be translated, “Thou, Thou must be feared, and who can stand before Thee when Thou art angry? From heaven Thou didst thunder forth in judgmentthe earth feared and became silent, when God arose to judge, to save all the meek of the earth.” In Rev_6:17 John says, “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” When the Lord comes again to earth, all things are going to be put under His feet.

Psalms 76:10

“For the wrath of man praiseth Thee, Thou restrainest the remainder of wrath.” God says that He lets man go only so far. However, during the Great Tribulation it seems that the Lord will remove all restraint and let man go to the limit. Today man is being restrained. The Restrainer is the Holy Spirit. Who else can restrain evil in the world today? God is going to make the wrath of man to praise Him.

Psalms 76:11

The satanic raging against God and against His anointed He will restrain. And, as Psa_110:3 puts it, “Thy [His] people shall be willing in the day of thy [His] power.” His people vow and pay their vows. The Gentile nations are in submission to Him. “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him” (Psa_72:10-11). What a day that will be! My, this is a great psalm.