Our Enemies Have Been Plundered

Psalm 76

For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be accompanied by stringed instruments. A song.

1God is well known in Judah;

his name is great in Israel.

2Jerusalem is where he lives;

Mount Zion is his home.

3There he breaks the arrows of the enemy,

the shields and swords and weapons of his foes.

Interlude

4You are glorious and more majestic

than the everlasting mountains.

5The mightiest of our enemies have been plundered.

They lie before us in the sleep of death.

No warrior could lift a hand against us.

6When you rebuked them, O God of Jacob,

their horses and chariots stood still.

7No wonder you are greatly feared!

Who can stand before you when your anger explodes?

8From heaven you sentenced your enemies;

the earth trembled and stood silent before you.

9You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God,

and to rescue the oppressed of the earth.

Interlude

10Human opposition only enhances your glory,

for you use it as a sword of judgment.

11Make vows to the LORD your God, and fulfill them.

Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One.

12For he breaks the spirit of princes

and is feared by the kings of the earth.

In the days of Hezekiah, King of Judah, the Assyrian army threatened Jerusalem. Assyria was the superpower of the Near Eastern world at the time, and it was known for its efficient war machine and ruthless methods. So when an Assyrian envoy came knocking at the gates of Jerusalem and proceeded to taunt the people and their God, it was a terrifying, humiliating moment (see the devotional for May 1/Psalm 56:1-7).

But Hezekiah prayed about the matter, and God promised to save his people from the Assyrians. How? God didn’t elaborate, but Hezekiah trusted him.

We still don’t know exactly how it happened, in natural terms, but the deliverance happened. Food poisoning? An outbreak of some plague? Poisonous gas from some fissure in the earth? God may have used any of these natural forces to accomplish his divine purposes. All we know is that Scripture simply says the “angel of the Lord went out . . . and killed 185,000 Assyrian troops. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere” (Isaiah 37:36). You can imagine that the remaining soldiers hightailed it home.

After such an experience it would be no surprise if Psalm 76 was the featured psalm for the Temple worship the following Sabbath! The Awesome One had acted.

My Savior and my Lord,

My Conqueror and my King,

Thy scepter and thy sword,

Thy reigning grace, I sing:

Thine is the power; behold, I sit

In willing bonds beneath thy feet.

ISAAC WATTS

Fascinating Fact

In 1588 copies of this psalm were given out in Edinburgh by Robert Bruce when the news came of the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

Notable Quotable

“God has ever compelled the wrath of man to praise Him.”

G. CAMPBELL MORGAN