PSALMS LESSON 75

     We will begin this lesson by giving the 76th Psalm in metre.

                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                             Chapter 76

Verse 1  "In Judah God is known; his name In Israel is great; In Salem
         is his holy place, In Zion is his seat."
Verse 2  "There arrows of the bow he broke, The shield, the sword, the
         war. More glorious thou than hills of prey; More excellent
         art far."
Verse 3  "The stout of heart themselves were A deadly sleep they;
         slept, [spoiled, And none of all the men of might Their
         strength of hands have kept."
Verse 4  "When thy rebuke, O Jacob's God, Had forth against them
          passed, Then both the chariot and the horse Were in a dead
          sleep cast."
Verse 5  "For thou, yea, thou art to be feared, And who, O Lord, is he
         That may stand up before thy sight, If once thou angry be?"
Verse 6  "From heaven judgment was proclaimed, The earth was still
         with fear, When God to judgment rose, to save All meek on
         earth that were."
Verse 7  "Because the very wrath of man Unto thy praise redounds: Thou
         to the remnant of his wrath Wilt set restraining bounds."
Verse 8  "Vow to the Lord your God, and pay; All ye that near him be,
         Bring gifts and presents unto him; To be adored is he."
Verse 9  "For he the spirits shall cut off Of those that princes are:
         And to the kings that are on earth He fearful shall appear.

     We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 76th Psalm.
Psalms 76:1 "{To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song of
Asaph.} In Judah [is] God known: his name [is] great in Israel."

     Though the world may not know God, or even believe that He
exists, Israel always knows. As we have said before, there is a
physical Israel {the people who received the law of God}. There is,
also, a spiritual Israel {the people who received the grace of God}.
Both are Israel. Looking at this with physical eyes, we do know that
even though they were divided at the time this was written, both Judah
and Israel believed in God. They both had their ancestry in Abraham.
The believers in Christ, also, have their spiritual ancestry in
Abraham. Galatians 3:29 "And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Whichever way
that you want to look at Israel, here, God is known by Israel.

     Psalms 76:2 "In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling
place in Zion."

     Salem is the same as Jerusalem. The temple of God was built in
Jerusalem. Salem means peace. So we know that it is peaceful in Salem.
Zion spiritually means the church. We are looking at these lessons
from the spiritual standpoint, so we believe that the Spirit of God in
His church, His tabernacle at present, is with His believers.

     Psalms 76:3 There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and
the sword, and the battle. Selah."

     Jesus fought the battle with the devil on the cross, and He won
the victory for us. This is just saying, that we do not need physical
weapons for this war. Isaiah 54:17  "No weapon that is formed against
thee shall prosper; and every tongue [that] shall rise against thee in
judgment thou shalt condemn. This [is] the heritage of the servants of
the LORD, and their righteousness [is] of me, saith the LORD."  I love
each time the Scripture says Selah. It tells us to pause and think on
the things we have just read.

     Psalms 76:4 "Thou [art] more glorious [and] excellent than the
mountains of prey."

     To have the Lord in all His glory within us and within the church
is so much greater than anything we might bring home from a physical
battle. We should want to win their soul, not their goods.

     Psalms 76:5 "The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their
sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands."

     The stouthearted of this world are no match for the God of this
whole universe. Possibly, the slept their sleep means that they were
killed. They could not even raise their hands up against God's people.
This reminds me so much of the battle of Gideon, when the Lord sent
nearly all the army of Israel home, and only 300 remained to fight
thousands of their enemies. God helped Gideon and his army, and the
thousands fled. To get the whole study on this, read the 7th chapter
of Judges.

     Psalms 76:6 "At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and
horse are cast into a dead sleep."

     I am sure it was a frightening thing for the Israelites to hear
the rattle of many chariots coming. This Scripture says that God will
cause a deep sleep to come on them, and they will not awake to battle.
I find it quite interesting that God can cause even horses to sleep
when He wants them to. God of Jacob is God of the covenant.

     Psalms 76:7 Thou, [even] thou, [art] to be feared: and who may
stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?

     When Satan comes against us we, just pray and use the name of
Jesus to battle him. We have nothing to fear from the old devil,
because Jesus gave us the authority to use His name against him. The
sad thing is, there is no where to go and nothing you or anyone else
can do, when God pours out His wrath. There is no one to stay the hand
of God. We should not fear anything in this world, or anyone in this
world, or even the devil himself. God is the only one we should fear.
Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able
to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell."  The only fear that is permissible is fear of
God. That fear is wise to have.

     Psalms 76:8 "Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven;
the earth feared, and was still,"

     Judgement has fallen from heaven a few times, and when it does,
it is terrible. We know when Moses came down the mountain and found
the children of Israel committing sin with the golden calf, God killed
literally thousands. We know, also, that God judged Pharaoh and his
false gods, and God killed all the first born in Egypt. We know, also,
that God judged 2 of Aaron's sons in the tabernacle, and God killed
them both. The judgement of God is something that is to be greatly
feared. There is nothing to do, but be still when His judgement is
being carried out. Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I [am] God: I
will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

     Psalms 76:9 "When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of
the earth. Selah."

     It is time to be still when the God of all the earth arises to
judge. We are told that the meek shall inherit the earth. God fights
the battle for those who are depending upon Him. This, possibly, is
speaking of those who have humbled themselves and received the Lord
into their lives. The Lord loves those who have an humble heart, those
who have repented and been saved.

     Psalms 76:10 "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the
remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain."

     Man is no match for God. Evil mankind, or the devil, is no match
for God. Romans 12:21 "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with
good." The wrath of man stops abruptly when it comes into contact with
the power of God. Pharaoh's magicians could turn their staffs into
serpents the same as Moses, staff turned into a serpent, but Moses
serpent swallowed up the magicians' serpents.

     Psalms 76:11 "Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that
be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared."

     The best way in the world to be abundantly blessed of God, is to
bring offerings and the things you have vowed to God into His temple.
You should never promise to do something for God, unless you fully
intend to carry out the work. It is the same with your money, you
already owe God one tenth of everything you make, but really that is
not enough. Gifts come above that 10%.

     Psalms 76:12 "He shall cut off the spirit of princes: [he is]
terrible to the kings of the earth."

     God is not impressed with the worldly fame of someone. You may be
king in the country you live in, but to God, you are just another of
His creations. Worldly wealth and fame do not impress Him at all. All
that any of us are is because He ordained it from heaven.
                             Questions 75

1.  In ______ is God known.
2.  His name is great in _______.
3.  What are the 2 Israels?
4.  The ancestry of both Judah and Israel go back to _________.
5.  Quote Galations chapter 3 verse 29.
6.  What city is spoken of as Salem here?
7.  What does the word, Salem, mean?
8.  What does Zion symbolize spiritually?
9.  Where is His tabernacle at present?
10. When did Jesus win the battle for us?
11. Quote Isaiah chapter 54 verse 17.
12. What does it mean when it says, Selah?
13. To have the Lord in all His glory is better than what?
14. What does slept their sleep mean?
15. What does verse 5 remind the author of?
16. What happens to the chariot and horse in verse 6?
17. What weapon can Christians use against Satan?
18. Quote Matthew chapter 10 verse 28.
19. What is the only fear permissible?
20. Give some examples of God's judgement of those on the earth.
21. When is it time to be still before God?
22. Quote Romans chapter 12 verse 21.
23. What was different about the serpent from Moses' staff and the
    serpents of the Pharaoh's magicians' staff?

24. How is the best way in the world to be abundantly blessed of God?
25. When does the wrath of man stop abruptly?
26. Gifts to God are ______ 10%.
27. Worldly _________ and _____ do not impress God.