Psa 76:5 | KingComments | STEP | When Messiah comes, He will rob the “stouthearted” of their weapons ( ). Their stoutheartedness doesn’t mean anything. He will rob them while “they sank into sleep”, that is, in the night (cf. ). They think they can gain an easy victory, but then are caught unawares. Together with their weapons, the strength in their hands is also gone. “None of the warriors” is yet able to fight. In the past, of the Assyrians 185,000 men were slain by the Angel of the LORD in one night ( ). In the future, Assyria, the king of the North, will suffer the same fate. The punishment inflicted upon them comes from the “God of Jacob” ( ). Judah and Israel have no strength to defend themselves. By God’s punishment, the enemy’s entire military strength is eliminated forever (cf. ). The “dead sleep” is the sleep of death, the sleep that ends in death (cf. ). No more threat emanates from them. They need have no more fear of the enemy. The only One Who inspires awe is God ( ). To emphasize this the sentence begins with an emphatic “You, even You”. How awesome He has shown Himself in eliminating the enemy. This automatically raises the question: “Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?” (cf. ). There is only one conceivable answer to this question: no one. In the presence of Him Who has made His judgment heard from heaven, the earth is in fear, and it becomes still ( ). This means that the LORD will come, not only as a formidable Warrior, but also as the Judge Who will judge everyone. He is the One Who can say: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” ( ). That He makes His judgment heard “from heaven” emphasizes His exaltation above all else. From His throne in heaven He governs the universe. On earth everything and everyone is hushed up at the hearing of His voice. No one dares to stir his tongue anymore. “Every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God” ( ; cf. ). God has not only made His voice heard from heaven, but He has also risen “in judgment to save all the humble of the earth” ( ). The meek, or humble, are all those who belong to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. From Him they have learned to be meek, or gentle ( ). They are being redeemed to receive the promise He pronounced in the ‘beatitudes’: they, the humble, or gentle, shall inherit the earth ( ). All the actions and feelings of all men are under God’s control and contribute to His glorification, often against their will. Thus, even “the wrath of men shall praise” Him ( ). The clearest evidence of this is the greatest sin ever committed by man. He crucified the Son of God in blind anger, while God used this sin to fulfill His counsel to the praise of His glory ( ; ). The “remnant of wrath”, all the anger that man still expresses under the inspiration of satan against His own, He will use for this purpose as well. For He will restrain that anger. He defines the limit of it. In this He reveals His power. Everything in which He reveals Himself, means His glorification. Prophetically, it points to God’s restraint of Assyria when it has done what God wanted. The end is the destruction of Assyria.

‏ Psalms 76:5

God’s Majesty and Power

When Messiah comes, He will rob the “stouthearted” of their weapons (Psa 76:5). Their stoutheartedness doesn’t mean anything. He will rob them while “they sank into sleep”, that is, in the night (cf. Psa 121:4). They think they can gain an easy victory, but then are caught unawares. Together with their weapons, the strength in their hands is also gone.

“None of the warriors” is yet able to fight. In the past, of the Assyrians 185,000 men were slain by the Angel of the LORD in one night (2Kgs 19:35). In the future, Assyria, the king of the North, will suffer the same fate.

The punishment inflicted upon them comes from the “God of Jacob” (Psa 76:6). Judah and Israel have no strength to defend themselves. By God’s punishment, the enemy’s entire military strength is eliminated forever (cf. Exo 14:23-28). The “dead sleep” is the sleep of death, the sleep that ends in death (cf. Jdg 4:21). No more threat emanates from them. They need have no more fear of the enemy.

The only One Who inspires awe is God (Psa 76:7). To emphasize this the sentence begins with an emphatic “You, even You”. How awesome He has shown Himself in eliminating the enemy. This automatically raises the question: “Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?” (cf. Heb 12:29 ; Heb 10:27-31). There is only one conceivable answer to this question: no one.

In the presence of Him Who has made His judgment heard from heaven, the earth is in fear, and it becomes still (Psa 76:8). This means that the LORD will come, not only as a formidable Warrior, but also as the Judge Who will judge everyone. He is the One Who can say: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18).

That He makes His judgment heard “from heaven” emphasizes His exaltation above all else. From His throne in heaven He governs the universe. On earth everything and everyone is hushed up at the hearing of His voice. No one dares to stir his tongue anymore. “Every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God” (Rom 3:19b; cf. Mt 22:12b).

God has not only made His voice heard from heaven, but He has also risen “in judgment to save all the humble of the earth” (Psa 76:9). The meek, or humble, are all those who belong to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. From Him they have learned to be meek, or gentle (Mt 11:29). They are being redeemed to receive the promise He pronounced in the ‘beatitudes’: they, the humble, or gentle, shall inherit the earth (Mt 5:5).

All the actions and feelings of all men are under God’s control and contribute to His glorification, often against their will. Thus, even “the wrath of men shall praise” Him (Psa 76:10). The clearest evidence of this is the greatest sin ever committed by man. He crucified the Son of God in blind anger, while God used this sin to fulfill His counsel to the praise of His glory (Acts 2:23; Eph 1:7-12).

The “remnant of wrath”, all the anger that man still expresses under the inspiration of satan against His own, He will use for this purpose as well. For He will restrain that anger. He defines the limit of it. In this He reveals His power. Everything in which He reveals Himself, means His glorification. Prophetically, it points to God’s restraint of Assyria when it has done what God wanted. The end is the destruction of Assyria.