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 evil nations. God’s judgement as a theme of celebration is not something 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 this 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. In an important sense, such prayers as this can only be prayed by those who stand within Christ’s innocence. The grace we benefit from did not mean that our sin was not judged. It was judged in Christ’s suffering and death. In this sense Christ validates God’s judgement. But he also reserves the right to take it on himself for those who trust in him. We can therefore joyfully anticipate and celebrate God’s final judgement because, on that day, both the justice and the grace of God will be manifested.
Thank God for both his justice and his grace.
Read Psalm 76
