Today's Featured Psalm
Psalm 76

Read this Psalm

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

1 In Judah God is known;
   his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem,
   his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,
   the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

4 Glorious are you, more majestic
   than the mountains full of prey.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
   they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
   were unable to use their hands.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
   both rider and horse lay stunned.

7 But you, you are to be feared!
   Who can stand before you
   when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
   the earth feared and was still,
9 when God arose to establish judgment,
   to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;
   the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
11 Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them;
   let all around him bring gifts
   to him who is to be feared,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,
   who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

Scripture taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm Devotional
From Defeat to Victory

C.H. Spurgeon aptly describes Psalm 76 as “a paean [song of praise] to the King of kings,” for it celebrates a great victory in battle for God’s people. It could fit with David’s conquest of Jerusalem or with the destruction of the Assyrians three centuries later.

There is a certain timelessness in this song that reaches beyond the event that occasioned it, such that it has the widest application to all kinds of struggles, both temporal and spiritual, in which God’s will prevails for His people. It is about giving God glory for turning defeat into victory, on our road from here to eternity. It does so along four distinct lines.

First, God is glorious in making himself known to His people (vv. 1-3). His self-revelation is a glorious condescension to hell-deserving rebels. And it is about personal and saving knowledge, not mere ethnic or cultural heritage (v. 1).

Mention of Judah recalls His lordship (Gen. 49:10), and mention of Israel (“prince with God”) recalls His covenant mercy. Salem and the tabernacle, and Zion as His dwelling place, emphasize His amazing grace in providing sacrifice for sin to reconcile His people to Himself, so that He is present with them all the time (v. 2).

Listen to this Psalm

King of Kings album art God Is Truly Known in Judah (Psalm 76A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | King of Kings
Refuge album art God Is Truly Known in Judah (Psalm 76B)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Refuge
Power of Praise album art God the Lord is Known in Judah (Psalm 76A)
The Book of Psalms for Singing | Power of Praise