Psalm 76

Psalm 76 belongs to Book Three of the Psalms (Psalms 73–89) and is one of the psalms bearing the name of Asaph (Psalms 73–83). Whereas the preceding Psalm 75 sings of God, who judges uprightly at the appointed time, Psalm 76 carries that judgment forward into a scene in which the armies of the enemy are broken at Zion.

Structure

• Verses 1–3 God is known in Judah and Israel. His tabernacle is in Salem and His dwelling place in Zion, and there He broke the arrows, the shield, the sword, and the battle (Selah).
• Verses 4–6 The psalm celebrates the Lord's glory. The stouthearted warriors are spoiled and sink into sleep, and at the rebuke of the God of Jacob both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
• Verses 7–9 The Lord is to be feared, and when He is angry no one can stand before Him. When He caused judgment to be heard from heaven, the earth feared and was still. This was when He arose to save the meek of the earth (Selah).
• Verses 10–12 Even the wrath of man will ultimately praise the Lord. His people are told to vow and pay their vows, and all who are round about Him are told to bring presents. He cuts off the spirit of princes and is terrible to the kings of the earth.

Key Verses

• Psalm 76:2 "In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion." This is the central confession of the psalm, which ties God's presence to Jerusalem and Zion.
• Psalm 76:7 "Who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?" The verse declares that no one can withstand God's judgment.
• Psalm 76:9 "To save all the meek of the earth." This shows that God's judgment is also an act of delivering the weak.

People and Places

• Asaph: Named in the superscription. He was one of the Levites charged with leading praise at the sanctuary in the time of David (1 Chronicles 16:5).
• Jacob: In the expression "God of Jacob" (v. 6), the name of Israel's ancestor stands for the whole people.
• Salem: Generally understood as an ancient name for Jerusalem. In Genesis, Melchizedek is called "king of Salem" (Genesis 14:18).
• Zion: A name for Jerusalem, and especially for the mount on which the temple stood.

Points for Reflection

• Scholars sometimes read this psalm together with Psalm 46 and Psalm 48 as one of the "Songs of Zion."
• An event from the reign of Hezekiah is frequently proposed as the psalm's background: the army of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came against Jerusalem and was destroyed in a single night (2 Kings 19:35). The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) adds the words "a song concerning the Assyrian" to the superscription, and the phrase "both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep" (v. 6) has also served as grounds for this reading. The Hebrew text itself, however, does not identify any specific event.
• The Hebrew text of verse 10 is difficult, and translations and interpretations of it vary widely.
• Hebrews 7 interprets "Salem" as meaning "peace" (Hebrews 7:2). The question "who may stand" in verse 7 closely resembles "who shall be able to stand?" in Revelation 6:17.
• The word Selah in verses 3 and 9 is generally regarded as a musical term whose meaning is uncertain.