The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
76 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.
2 His [a]tabernacle is in Salem;
His dwelling place also is in Zion.
3 There He broke the [b]flaming arrows,
The shield and the sword and the [c]weapons of war. [d]Selah.4 You are resplendent,
[e]More majestic than the mountains of prey.
5 The stouthearted were plundered,
[f]They sank into sleep;
And none of the [g]warriors could use his hands.
6 At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both [h]rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7 You, even You, are to be feared;
And who may stand in Your presence when once [i]You are angry?8 You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared and was still
9 When God arose to judgment,
To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.
10 For the [j]wrath of man shall praise You;
With a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;
Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.
12 He will cut off the spirit of princes;
He is [k]feared by the kings of the earth.
As this psalm begins, the writer reminds us of the battles that God won on behalf of His children. From their entry into the Promised Land, through the time of David, various enemies came against the children of Israel. Though they had seen defeat, whenever they were following God no one stood a chance. All the weapons of war that came against God were brought to nothing.
We see God’s power on display throughout their story, and highlighted in this psalm. From his victory over any weapon to his triumph over horse and rider, his strength towers above the mountains. Yet, there’s another aspect of God on display here.
In verse 10 we have this odd statement, “the wrath of man shall praise you…” What’s that about? There’s plenty of “wrath” going around, both then and now. From the Philistine kings who thought the ark of God would give them more power (1 Samuel 5) to Nebuchadnezzar’s boasting of his own power, majesty, and glory–after being warned by God in a dream (Daniel 4)–there’s no shortage of men making their own plans and trying to fight against God’s will.
And so we see His sovereignty in the most unlikely places. Despite the wars and struggles we see even today, God uses the unlikeliest of things for His plan to be accomplished. There is no prince or king or president who can stand in His way. All play their part, whether they desire it or not, in God’s sovereign plan.
If God can do all that, then He can and will lead us through every situation we face. There is no mountain too high, or valley too low, that He cannot carry us through. We are at no time out of His sight, nor out of His hand. As Paul would later write, when we put our trust in God, “he who began a good work in you, will perfect (complete) it”.