Psalm 76:1

Psalm 76:1

God is renowned in Israel

It is not always easy to place the Psalms in their actual context. This one is clearly a celebration of all that the Lord God has done to defend Jerusalem and His people, Israel. It is a song of hope and certainty, attributed to Asaph but, as we have seen, it could have been penned by a later member of his Levitical family. Sennacherib, the King of Assyria was defeated by the power of God as a consequence of the faith and prayers of Hezekiah, and Jerusalem was saved from what could have been, complete destruction. Some believe that this song was written at that time. 

We will study the Psalm against the background of Israel’s salvation and the protection that God provides for His people, the church. 

 

v1        Isn’t it great to hear of a time and a place where God’s glory and fame reverberate across a land? As a consequence of His saving power and His defence of His people, everyone is talking about the amazing God of Judah and Israel. This gives us a clue that the song was composed after the reigns of David and Solomon, when the land was divided into two in the reigns of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. The 10 northern tribes were now collectively called “Israel” and Judah and Benjamin had come together and were called “Judah”. At the time when Psalm 76 was being penned, it didn’t matter where your allegiance or family ties placed you, all that everyone could talk about was the greatness of their God and the wonder of His mighty acts. The conversations at home, in public and amongst the ruling classes were all driven by an awareness that the people had the Lord God on their side. Their enemies had been overcome and the land and its inhabitants were safe.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in our land was talking about the saving power of our God? In fact, they should be. Every problem, every need, every threat, every crisis can be resolved if only people will trust in the Lord. The same principle still applies to modern Israel, they are being blessed in amazing ways but cannot see the hand of their God in this. How we long for the day when they, and we, can all say together, “God is renowned, His Name is great.”

 

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