Psalm 76
This psalm of Asaph is entitled “Who Can Stand Before You.” As Christians we know the answer to that question. Only Jesus, the Son of God, who is with God and is God can stand before The LORD. The people of earth will not stand before Him. We will fall to our knees, either in adoration or terror. God is awesome. He is not awesome in its vernacular meaning like that cake is awesome, Dude. He is awesome as in, He fills us with awe, amazement, wonderment, veneration, and reverence. Verses 1-3 reads,
“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”
We, the followers of Christ know God, and we make Him known to all those around us. We are distinctive in our actions, words, and faith. (John 13:31-35). He has established His tabernacle in us now, and His home in New Jerusalem with us after The Day of Fire. (2 Peter 3:10-13, Revelation 21:1-4). Here and now He fights for us, He is our armor and our sword. (Ephesians 6:10-20). And when we live in eternity with Him there will be no more need of weapons. Isaiah 2:4-5 describes it this way,
“He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.”
God is awesome! He is bigger than any problem we face. He is stronger than any chain, more powerful than the fiercest opponent, and more desirous of us than the hungriest predator. The enemy cannot stand up to The Lord. Not one of God’s enemies will prevail, not one will live. None will even be able to face Him. God’s presence brings them to their faces in shame and dread. Verses 4-6 say,
“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.”
Our Lord is so powerful He only needs to rebuke and His Word is enough to disable the enemy. All those fighting against God with their pride will find out that this temporary earth is just that and they will perish without any of the gains they made in this life. They will find out that 120 years is an extremely short amount of time. The money they made as they stepped on the backs of the poor will mean nothing in eternity. Their pride was misdirected. Their faith was misplaced. Their souls were lost.
There are so many who need to know who The Lord is. They need to be brought to peace with Him through Jesus Christ so their condemnation will become reward, their terror at God’s wrath will become joy at His love, and their subjugation under the enemy will become victory and freedom in Christ. On Judgement Day we will all face God, with or without Christ. The sentence will be either eternal death or eternal life, eternal Hell or eternal Paradise, eternal prison or eternal freedom. Verses 7-9 read,
“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”
Submitting to Jesus as Lord seems to the lost, to be foolish. Humility seems ridiculous to people who take pride in themselves and their works. But in the end, the humble will be exalted and the proud will be bought down. 1 Peter 5:4-11 tells us,
“And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
We are on this earth for just a little while, 120 years at most. That is nothing, not even a drop in the bucket of eternity. While we are here we do our best to honor the Lord, to glorify Him and make Him known to the world. We know one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:9-11, Romans 14:11-12). We want all of those knees to be compelled by veneration of The Lord, not by terror and dread. Verses 10-12 read,
“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.”
Our covenant with The Lord is simple, He has made many promises to us and He fulfills them all. We make one vow to Him and that is He is our Lord, our Master, He has charge over our lives. When we live in obedience to Jesus, He is glorified. People want to know what it so extraordinary about us, they want to know what we have. As we use the gifts He gave us for Him, others want to know too and then they can bring Him their gifts. Like the old shampoo commercial, you will tell two friends, and they will tell two friends and so on until Jesus’ name is acclaimed all over the world.
To us God is Love and Peace, to the world He will be wrath.
This psalm of Asaph is entitled “Who Can Stand Before You.” As Christians we know the answer to that question. Only Jesus, the Son of God, who is with God and is God can stand before The LORD. The people of earth will not stand before Him. We will fall to our knees, either in adoration or terror. God is awesome. He is not awesome in its vernacular meaning like that cake is awesome, Dude. He is awesome as in, He fills us with awe, amazement, wonderment, veneration, and reverence. Verses 1-3 reads,
“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”
We, the followers of Christ know God, and we make Him known to all those around us. We are distinctive in our actions, words, and faith. (John 13:31-35). He has established His tabernacle in us now, and His home in New Jerusalem with us after The Day of Fire. (2 Peter 3:10-13, Revelation 21:1-4). Here and now He fights for us, He is our armor and our sword. (Ephesians 6:10-20). And when we live in eternity with Him there will be no more need of weapons. Isaiah 2:4-5 describes it this way,
“He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.”
God is awesome! He is bigger than any problem we face. He is stronger than any chain, more powerful than the fiercest opponent, and more desirous of us than the hungriest predator. The enemy cannot stand up to The Lord. Not one of God’s enemies will prevail, not one will live. None will even be able to face Him. God’s presence brings them to their faces in shame and dread. Verses 4-6 say,
“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.”
Our Lord is so powerful He only needs to rebuke and His Word is enough to disable the enemy. All those fighting against God with their pride will find out that this temporary earth is just that and they will perish without any of the gains they made in this life. They will find out that 120 years is an extremely short amount of time. The money they made as they stepped on the backs of the poor will mean nothing in eternity. Their pride was misdirected. Their faith was misplaced. Their souls were lost.
There are so many who need to know who The Lord is. They need to be brought to peace with Him through Jesus Christ so their condemnation will become reward, their terror at God’s wrath will become joy at His love, and their subjugation under the enemy will become victory and freedom in Christ. On Judgement Day we will all face God, with or without Christ. The sentence will be either eternal death or eternal life, eternal Hell or eternal Paradise, eternal prison or eternal freedom. Verses 7-9 read,
“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”
Submitting to Jesus as Lord seems to the lost, to be foolish. Humility seems ridiculous to people who take pride in themselves and their works. But in the end, the humble will be exalted and the proud will be bought down. 1 Peter 5:4-11 tells us,
“And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
We are on this earth for just a little while, 120 years at most. That is nothing, not even a drop in the bucket of eternity. While we are here we do our best to honor the Lord, to glorify Him and make Him known to the world. We know one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:9-11, Romans 14:11-12). We want all of those knees to be compelled by veneration of The Lord, not by terror and dread. Verses 10-12 read,
“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.”
Our covenant with The Lord is simple, He has made many promises to us and He fulfills them all. We make one vow to Him and that is He is our Lord, our Master, He has charge over our lives. When we live in obedience to Jesus, He is glorified. People want to know what it so extraordinary about us, they want to know what we have. As we use the gifts He gave us for Him, others want to know too and then they can bring Him their gifts. Like the old shampoo commercial, you will tell two friends, and they will tell two friends and so on until Jesus’ name is acclaimed all over the world.
To us God is Love and Peace, to the world He will be wrath.
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