Psalm 76 is a celebration of God as the one who gives his people victory over their enemies. The two events most likely being alluded to in this psalm are the victory over the Assyrians in the time of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19) and the destruction of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. These victories became emblematic of God’s protection of his people and his judgement upon the hostile nations. God’s judgement as a theme of celebration is not one which we are much accustomed to in our time. We tend to see judgement as a negative thing. But, to a people who had witnessed the worst of the cruelty and oppression of mankind, the anticipation of judgement was a matter of great consolation and joy. It was seen as equalising the scales of justice and vindicating those who suffered from oppression and cruelty. Every evil action will be judged and punished. That is a theme of celebration in the psalms. Of course, this becomes problematic if, in suffering evil, we become like those who afflict us. The way to avoid this is to relinquish any right to act as judge ourselves. When we celebrate the fact that God is a just judge, we also remind ourselves that judgement is his prerogative alone. Songs of praise like Psalm 76 are designed to position us in a place of trust and obedience lest we are tempted to play judge.
Are you angry at someone? Relinquish judgement to God and reflect on how you can show grace.
Read Psalm 76.
