For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

1God is known in Judah;
         His name is great in Israel.

2His tabernacle is in Salem;
         His dwelling place also is in Zion.

3There He broke the flaming arrows,
         The shield and the sword and the weapons of war.

4You are resplendent,
         More majestic than the mountains of prey.

5The stouthearted were plundered,
         They sank into sleep;
         And none of the warriors could use his hands.

6At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
         Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.

7You, even You, are to be feared;
         And who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?

8You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
         The earth feared and was still

9When God arose to judgment,
         To save all the humble of the earth.

10For the wrath of man shall praise You;
         With a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.

11Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them;
         Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.

12He will cut off the spirit of princes;
         He is feared by the kings of the earth.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song. God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a psalm by Asaph; a song. God is known in Judah. His name is great in Israel.

King James Bible
<or Song of Asaph.>> In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, in praises, a psalm for Asaph: a canticle to the Assyrians. In Judea God is known: his name is great in Israel.

Darby Bible Translation
{To the chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph: a Song.} In Judah is God known, his name is great in Israel;

English Revised Version
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song. In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

Webster's Bible Translation
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

World English Bible
In Judah, God is known. His name is great in Israel.

Young's Literal Translation
To the Overseer with stringed instruments. -- A Psalm of Asaph. -- A Song. In Judah is God known, in Israel His name is great.

Cross References

Psalm 4:1 For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

Psalm 48:3 God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold.

Psalm 99:3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

PSALM 76

This psalm seems to have been penned upon occasion of some great victory obtained by the church over some threatening enemy or other, and designed to grace the triumph. The Septuagint calls it, "A song upon the Assyrians," whence many good interpreters conjecture that it was penned when Sennacherib's army, then besieging Jerusalem, was entirely cut off by a destroying angel in Hezekiah's time; and several passages in the psalm are very applicable to that work of wonder: but there was a religious triumph upon occasion of another victory, in Jehoshaphat's time, which might as well be the subject of this psalm (2 Chr. 20:28), and it might be called "a song of Asaph" because always sung by the sons of Asaph. Or it might be penned by Asaph who lived in David's time, upon occasion of the many triumphs with which God delighted to honour that reign. Upon occasion of this glorious victory, whatever it was, I. The psalmist congratulates the happiness of the church in having God so nigh (v. 1-3). II. He celebrates the glory of God's power, which this was an illustrious instance of (v. 4-6). III. He infers hence what reason all have to fear before him (v. 7-9). And, IV. What reason his people have to trust in him and to pay their vows to him (v. 10-12). It is a psalm proper for a thanksgiving day, upon the account of public successes, and not improper at other times, because it is never out of season to glorify God for the great things he has done for his church formerly, especially for the victories of the Redeemer over the powers of darkness, which all those Old-Testament victories were types of, at least those that are celebrated in the psalms.

To the chief musician on Neginoth. A psalm or song of Asaph.

Verses 1-6

The church is here triumphant even in the midst of its militant state. The psalmist, in the church's name, triumphs here in God, the centre of all our triumphs.

I. In the revelation God had made of himself to them, v. 1. It is the honour and privilege of Judah and Israel that among them God is known, and where he is known his name will be great. God is known as he is pleased to make himself known; and those are happy to whom he discovers himself-happy people that have their land filled with the knowledge of God, happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge. In Judah God was known as he was not known in other nations, which made the favour the greater, inasmuch as it was distinguishing, Ps. 147:19, 20.

II. In the tokens of God's special presence with them in his ordinances, v. 2. In the whole land of Judah and Israel God was known and his name was great; but in Salem, in Zion, were his tabernacle and his dwelling-place. There he kept court; there he received the homage of his people by their sacrifices and entertained them by the feasts upon the sacrifices; thither they came to address themselves to him, and thence by his oracles he issued out his orders; there he recorded his name, and of that place he said, Her will I dwell, for I have desired it. It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among them by his ordinances; but his dwelling-place is a tabernacle, a movable dwelling. Yet a little while is that light with us.

III. In the victories they had obtained over their enemies (v. 3): There broke he the arrows of the bow. Observe how threatening the danger was. Though Judah and Israel, Salem and Zion, were thus privileged, yet war is raised against them, and the weapons of war are furbished.

1. Here are bow and arrows, shield and sword, and all for battle; but all are broken and rendered useless. And it was done there, (1.) In Judah and in Israel, in favour of that people near to God. While the weapons of war were used against other nations they answered their end, but, when turned against that holy nation, they were immediately broken. The Chaldee paraphrases it thus: When the house of Israel did his will he placed his majesty among them, and there he broke the arrows of the bow; while they kept closely to his service they were great and safe, and every thing went well with them. Or, (2.) In the tabernacle and dwelling-place in Zion, there he broke the arrows of the bow; it was done in the field of battle, and yet it is said to be done in the sanctuary, because done in answer to the prayers which God's people there made to him and in the performance of the promises which he there made to them, of both which see that instance, 2 Chr. 20:5, 14. Public successes are owing as much to what is done in the church as to what is done in the camp. Now,

2. This victory redounded very much, (1.) To the immortal honour of Israel's God (v. 4): Thou art, and hast manifested thyself to be, more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. [1.] "Than the great and mighty ones of the earth in general, who are high, and think themselves firmly fixed like mountains, but are really mountains of prey, oppressive to all about them. It is their glory to destroy; it is thine to deliver." [2.] "Than our invaders in particular. When they besieged the cities of Judah, they cast up mounts against them, and raised batteries; but thou art more able to protect us than they are to annoy us." Wherein the enemies of the church deal proudly it will appear that God is above them. (2.) To the perpetual disgrace of the enemies of Israel, v. 5, 6. They were stouthearted, men of great courage and resolution, flushed with their former victories, enraged against Israel, confident of success; they were men of might, robust and fit for service; they had chariots and horses, which were then greatly valued and trusted to in war, Ps. 20:7. But all this force was of no avail when it was levelled against Jerusalem. [1.] The stouthearted have despoiled and disarmed themselves (so some read it); when God pleases he can make his enemies to weaken and destroy themselves. They have slept, not the sleep of the righteous, who sleep in Jesus, but their sleep, the sleep of sinners, that shall awake to everlasting shame and contempt. [2.] The men of might can no more find their hands than the stout-hearted can their spirit. As the bold men are cowed, so the strong men are lamed, and cannot so much as find their hands, to save their own heads, much less to hurt their enemies. [3.] The chariots and horses may be truly said to be cast into a dead sleep when their drivers and their riders were so. God did but speak the word, as the God of Jacob that commands deliverances for Jacob, and, at his rebuke, the chariot and horse were both cast into a dead sleep. When the men were laid dead upon the spot by the destroying angel the chariot and horse were not at all formidable. See the power and efficacy of God's rebukes. With what pleasure may we Christians apply all this to the advantages we enjoy by the Redeemer! It is through him that God is known; it is in him that God's name is great; to him it is owing that God has a tabernacle and a dwelling-place in his church. He it was that vanquished the strong man armed, spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly.

Calvin's Commentary

1. God is known in Judah; his name is great in Israel. 2. And his tabernacle was in Salem, and his dwelling-place in Zion. 3. There he broke the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. 4. Thou art more glorious and terrible than the mountains of prey. 5. The stout hearted were spoiled, they slept their sleep, [266] and all the men of might have not found their hands. 6. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob! the chariot and the horse were cast into a deep sleep.

1. God is known in Judah. In the outset, we are taught that it was not by human means that the enemies of Israel were compelled to retire without accomplishing any thing, but by the ever-to-be-remembered aid of Jehovah. Whence came that knowledge of God and the greatness of his name which are spoken of, but because He stretched forth his hand in an extraordinary manner, to make it openly manifest that both the chosen people and the city were under his defense and protection? It is therefore asserted, that the glory of God was conspicuously displayed when the enemies of Israel were discomfited by such a miraculous interposition.

2. And his tabernacle was in Salem Here the reason is assigned why God, putting the Assyrians to flight, vouchsafed to deliver the city of Jerusalem, and to take it under his protection. The reason is, because he had there chosen for himself a dwelling-place, in which his name was to be called upon. The amount, in short, is, first, that men had no ground to arrogate to themselves any share in the deliverance of the city here portrayed, God having strikingly showed that all the glory was his own, by displaying from heaven his power in the sight of all men; and, secondly, that he was induced to oppose his enemies from no other consideration but that of his free choice of the Jewish nation. God having, by this example, testified that his power is invincible for preserving his Church, it is a call and an encouragement to all the faithful to repose with confidence under his shadow. If his name is precious to himself, it is no ordinary pledge and security which he gives to our faith when he assures us that it is his will that the greatness of his power should be known in the preservation of his Church. Moreover, as the Church is a distinguished theater on which the Divine glory is displayed, we must always take the greatest care not to shroud or bury in forgetfulness, by our ingratitude, the benefits which have been bestowed upon it, and especially those which ought to be held in remembrance in all ages. Farther, although God is not now worshipped in the visible tabernacle, yet as by Christ he still dwells in the midst of us, yea even within us, we will doubtless experience, whenever we are exposed to danger, that under his protection we are in perfect safety. If the earthly sanctuary of Jerusalem afforded to God's ancient people succor while it stood, we may rest assured that he will have no less care of us who live in the present day, when we consider that he has vouchsafed to choose us as his temples in which he may dwell by his Holy Spirit. Here the prophet, in speaking of Jerusalem, uses merely the name of Salem, which was the simple and uncompounded name of the city, and had been applied to it very anciently, as appears from Genesis 14:18. Some think that the name in the course of time assumed its compound form, by having Jebus prefixed to Salem; for Jebus was the name by which it was afterwards known in the intervening period, as we learn from the Book of Judges, Judges 19:10, it being so called because it was inhabited by the Jebusites. But we will be more correct as to the etymology of the word, if we derive it from the verb yr'h, yereh, which signifies will see, [267] because Abraham said,

"God will look out for himself a lamb for a burnt-offering," (Genesis 22:8.)

3. There he broke the arrows of the bow. We have here stated the particular way in which God was known in Judah. He was known by the wonderful proofs of his power, which he exhibited in preserving the city. Under these figures is described the destruction of the enemies of the chosen people. [268] They could not otherwise have been overthrown than by being despoiled of their armor and weapons of war. It is therefore said, that the arrows, the swords, and the shields, were broken, yea, all the implements of war; implying that these impious enemies of the Church were deprived of the power of doing harm. The fact indeed is, that they were wounded and slain, while their weapons remained uninjured; but this metonymy, by which what befell themselves is represented as happening to their implements of war, is not improper. Some translate the word rsphym, reshaphim, points of weapons! Properly, it should be rendered fires; [269] but it is more accurate to take it for arrows. Even birds are sometimes metaphorically so called, on account of their swiftness; and flying is attributed to arrows in Psalm 91:6

It is farther added, (verse 4th,) that God is more glorious and terrible than the mountains of prey By the mountains of prey, is meant kingdoms distinguished for their violence and extortion. We know that from the beginning, he who exercised himself most in robbery and pillage, was the man who most enlarged his borders and became greatest. The Psalmist, therefore, here compares those great kings, who had acquired large dominions by violence and the shedding of human blood, to savage beasts, who live only upon prey, and their kingdoms to mountains covered with forests, which are inhabited by beasts inured to live by the destruction of other animals. The enemies of God's ancient people had been accustomed to make violent and furious assaults upon Jerusalem; but it is affirmed that God greatly surpassed them all in power that the faithful might not be overwhelmed with terror.

5. The stout-hearted were spoiled, The power of God in destroying his enemies is here exalted by another form of expression. The verb 'stvllv, eshtolelu, which we translate were spoiled, is derived from sll, shalal, and the letter ', aleph, is put instead of the letter h, he. [270] Some translate, were made fools; [271] but this is too forced. I, however, admit that it is of the same import, as if it had been said, that they were deprived of wisdom and courage; but we must adhere to the proper signification of the word. What is added in the second clause is to the same purpose, All the men of might have not found their hands [272] that is to say, they were as incapable of fighting as if their hands had been maimed or cut off. In short, their strength, of which they boasted, was utterly overthrown. The words, they slept their sleep, [273] refer to the same subject; implying that whereas before they were active and resolute, their hearts now failed them, and they were sunk asleep in sloth and listlessness. The meaning, therefore, is, that the enemies of the chosen people were deprived of that heroic courage of which they boasted, and which inspired them with such audacity; and that, in consequence, neither mind, nor heart, nor hands, none either of their mental or bodily faculties, could perform their office. We are thus taught that all the gifts and power which men seem to possess are in the hand of God, so that he can, at any instant of time, deprive them of the wisdom which he has given them, make their hearts effeminate, render their hands unfit for war, and annihilate their whole strength. It is not without reason that both the courage and power of these enemies are magnified; the design of this being, that the faithful might be led, from the contrast, to extol the power and working of God. The same subject is farther confirmed from the statement, that the chariot and the horse were cast into a deep sleep at the rebuke of God [274] This implies, that whatever activity characterised these enemies, it was rendered powerless, simply by the nod of God. Although, therefore, we may be deprived of all created means of help, let us rest contented with the favor of God alone, accounting it all-sufficient, since he has no need of great armies to repel the assaults of the whole world, but is able, by the mere breath of his mouth, to subdue and dissipate all assailants.

Footnotes:

[266] "N'ont peu trouver leurs mains." -- Fr. "Have not been able to find their hands."

[267] From r'h, ra?h, he saw, or beheld

[268] "This seems to allude to the miraculous destruction of the Assyrian army, as recorded in Isaiah 27:36." -- Warner.

[269] "The Hebrew rsph, [here rendered arrows,] signifies fire, Job 5:7, where sparks that fly upward' are poetically expressed by vny rsph, the sons of the fire.' By metaphor it is applies to an arrow' or dart' shot out of a bow, and, by the swiftness of the motion, supposed to be inflamed. See Cant. 8, 6, where of love it is said, (not the coals, but) the arrows thereof are arrows of fire,' it shoots, and wounds, and burns a man's heart, inflames it vehemently by wounding it. The poetical expression will best be preserved by retaining some trace of the primary sense in the rendering of it -- fires or lightnings of the bow,' i e., those hostile weapons which are most furious and formidable, as fire shot out from a bow." -- Hammond Parkhurst renders "glittering flashing arrows," or rather, "fiery, or fire-bearing arrows;" such as, it is certain, were used in after times in sieges and in battles; the bele pepuromena of the Greeks, to which Paul alludes in Ephesians 6:16, and the phalarica of the Romans, which Servius (on Virgil, ?n. lib. 9, 5, 705) describes as a dart or javelin with a spherical leaden head, to which combustible matter was attached, which being set on fire, the weapon was darted against the enemy; and when thrown by a powerful hand, it killed those whom it hit, and set fire to buildings. Walford has, "fiery arrows." "The arrows," says he, "are described as fiery, to denote either the rapidity of their motion, or that they were tinged with some poisonous drugs to render them more deadly."

[270] The verb is in the praet. hithpahel; and it has ', aleph, instead of h, he, according to the Chaldaic language, which changes h, the Hebrew characteristic of hiphil and hithpahel into '

[271] As the verb signifies, has plundered, spoiled; and as it is here in the praet. hithpahel, which generally denotes reciprocal action, that is, acting on one's self, it has been here rendered by some, despoiled themselves of mind, were mad, furious. Hammond reads, "The stout-hearted have despoiled or disarmed themselves." The Chaldee paraphrase is, "They have cast away their weapons."

[272] "ydyhm l' mts'v, may be rendered have not found their hands, i e., have not been able to use them for resistance, for the offending others, or even for their own defense." -- Hammond The Chaldee paraphrase is, "They could not take their weapons in their hands," i e., they could not use their hands to manage their weapons. In the Septuagint, the reading is, heuron ouden tais chersin auton; "they found nothing with their hands," i e., they were able to do nothing with them: the vast army of Assyrians, the most warlike and victorious then in the world, achieved nothing, but "returned with shame to face to their own land," (2 Chronicles 32:21.)

[273] "They slept their sleep." "They slept, but never waked again." -- Hammond. There may be here a direct allusion to the catastrophe which befell the Assyrian army during the night, when, as they were fast asleep in their tents, a hundred and eighty-five thousand of them were at once slain, Isaiah 37:36.

[274] The chariot and horse may be put poetically for charioteers and horsemen. Chariots formed a most important part of the array in the battles of the ancients. See Judges 4:3. Instead of "both the chariot and the horse," Horsley reads, "both the rider and the horse." "It is not improbable," says he, "that the pestilence in Sennacherib's army might seize the horses as well as the men, although the death of the beasts is not mentioned by the sacred historian."

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