Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 76:8

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 76:8. Thou didst cause judgment to be heard — When God declared by his prophet that the enemy should not prevail, but on the contrary be destroyed, the earth - the land, and by metonymy the inhabitants of the land, were struck with astonishment and terror, so as not to be able to move. The great boaster Sennacherib, who carried terror, dismay and desolation every where, was now struck with dumb amazement; and the angel of the Almighty, in a moment, stopped the breath of those hosts in which he confided.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 75-76 Exalting God, not self

In a psalm designed for use in public worship, the congregation begins by thanking God for all his mighty deeds (75:1). A singer representing God replies that even when conditions in the world look hopeless, God is still in control. He will intervene when he sees fit (2-3). Therefore, the wicked should not be proud or stubborn like an ox that struggles against its master (4-5). The only exaltation that matters is that which comes from God. The opinions of people mean nothing (6-7). Punishment also comes from God, and the wicked will drink his cup of anger to the last drop (8).
The leader of the congregation then responds on the people’s behalf. He gives the assurance that they will always remain loyal to their God and will cooperate with him in doing good and opposing evil (9-10).
In the next psalm God is again praised, this time for some great deliverance in saving Jerusalem from an enemy (76:1-3). His glory, majesty and power are seen in the decisive way he crushed the enemy (4-6). The one who defends Jerusalem is also Lord of the universe. Nothing can stand before him. His power is absolute in the heavens and on the earth (7-9).
Angry rebellion against God is turned into a source of praise to him, for his triumph brings glory to his name. Since God will be glorified whether people submit or rebel, they will do well to bring glory to him willingly by offering true and humble worship (10-12).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Thou, even thou, art to be feared; And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause sentence to be heard from heaven; The earth feared, and was still, When God arose to judgment, To save all the meek of the earth. (Selah)"

In these three verses we have, "An announcement of the eschatalogical defeat of the nations at the last judgment."Mitchell Dahood in The Anchor Bible, op. cit., p. 218.

"Who may stand in thy sight?" This strongly reminds us of Rev. (Revelation 6:12-17), "Which is a most powerful exposition of this verse. The action here is no longer in the past, or localized, or defensive; here is a prophecy of God's striking the final blow against evil everywhere."Derek Kidner, op. cit., p. 275. The result of this will be stated in the final stanza, where God the Righteous Judge is represented as receiving the homage of the whole world as its King. The tenses here, of course, are sometimes called the prophetic perfects.

"Thou… art to be feared" The RSV has "awesome," and James Moffatt's translation of the Bible (1929) has "terrible" here in place of "feared." Miller stated that, "`Terrible' is not too strong a translation here."C. M. Miller, co-author with Anthony L. Ash, p. 260. The judgment scene in Revelation 6:12-17 surely exhibits a great deal of terror at the appearance of God in the final judgment.

Yates summarized these three verses as follows.

"Thou, even thou, art to be feared. This is the judgment of God. The thought goes beyond the battle scene as God takes his seat in heaven. He is the judge to be feared, who strikes men with terror. All of the earth stands still as God saves the oppressed peoples of the earth, of whom Israel is representative."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, Old Testament, p. 523.

Of course, God's amazing and sensational destruction of the Assyrian army was in itself a "token" of the final judgment, no doubt receiving almost universal attention from the whole world of that period.

"Man will not hear God's voice if he can help it, but God makes sure that he will hear it anyway. The echoes of God's judgment upon the haughty Sennacherib are still heard, and will ring on down through the ages, praising the justice of God."Charles Haddon Spurgeon, p. 326.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heavens - It seemed to come from heaven; it was manifestly from thee. The overthrow of these enemies of thy people was a manifest judgment from thee, and should be so regarded.

The earth feared - The world itself seemed to hear the voice of God, and to stand in awe.

And was still - It seemed to be profoundly attentive to what God said, and as if it reverently listened to his voice. It is not uncommon in the Scriptures to represent the earth - the hills, the mountains, the streams, the rivers, the plains - as conscious of the presence of God; as either rejoicing or trembling at his voice. Compare Psalms 65:12-13; Psalms 114:3-7; Habakkuk 3:8-11.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

8.From heaven thou hast made thy judgment to be heard. By the name of heaven, the Psalmist forcibly intimates that the judgment of God was too manifest to admit of the possibility of its being ascribed either to fortune or to the policy of men. Sometimes God executes his judgments obscurely, so that they seem to proceed out of the earth. For example, when he raises up a godly and courageous prince, the holy and lawful administration which will flourish under the reign of such a prince will be the judgment of God, but it will not be vividly seen to proceed from heaven. As, therefore, the assistance spoken of was of an extraordinary kind, it is distinguished by special commendation. The same remarks apply to the hearing of God’s judgment, of which the Psalmist speaks. It is more for the divine judgments to sound aloud like a peal of thunder, and to stun the ears of all men with their noise, than if they were merely seen with the eyes. There is here, I have no doubt, an allusion to those mighty thunder-claps by which men are stricken with fear. ⁽²⁸⁰⁾ When it is said, the earth was still, it is properly to be referred to the ungodly, who, being panic-struck, yield the victory to God, and dare no longer to rage as they had been accustomed to do. It is only fear which has the effect of bringing them to subjection; and, accordingly, fear is justly represented as the cause of this stillness. It is not meant that they restrain themselves willingly, but that God compels them whether they will or no. The amount is, that whenever God thunders from heaven, the tumults which the insolence of the ungodly stir up, when things are in a state of confusion, come to an end. We are, at the same time, warned of what men may expect to gain by their rebellion; for, whoever despise the paternal voice of God which is loudly uttered, must be destroyed by the bolts of his wrath.

(280) When an angel of the Lord descended to perform some mighty work with which he had been commissioned, thunders and earthquakes frequently accompanied the execution of his commission; and it is highly probable that both these phenomena accompanied such a stupendous display of power, as that which was afforded by the slaughter of one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the army of Sennacherib. By God ’s judgment being heard, may accordingly be understood the thunder which was heard; and what follows, “The earth was afraid,” may signify the earthquake which then took place.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 76:1-12

Psalms 76:1-12 :

In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel ( Psalms 76:1 ).

Judah, of course, was the southern kingdom. Israel was the northern kingdom.

In Salem also is his tabernacle [that would be Jerusalem], and his dwelling place in mount Zion. And there brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. Thou, even thou, are to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once you are angry? Thou did cause judgment to be heard from heaven; and the earth feared, and was still, When God arose to judgment, to save the meek of the earth. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. He shall cut off the spirit of the princes: he is awesome to the kings of the eaRuth ( Psalms 76:2-12 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 76

In this psalm of declarative praise, Asaph praised God for His power. He had destroyed the wicked and delivered the godly. Therefore the leaders of His people should follow Him faithfully. The psalm is in the form of a victory hymn, though it may not refer to one particular victory in Israel’s history.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. The justice of God’s judgment 76:4-10

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

No one is able to resist or oppose God when He decides to judge an enemy. Even the earth itself is quiet when He utters His judgments. Perhaps the psalmist referred here to the calm before a storm that represents God executing judgment. God’s judgments cause the righteous to praise Him and the wicked to think twice before opposing Him.

The NIV translation of Psalms 76:10, "Your wrath against men brings you praise," was probably the writer’s thought rather than the NASB’s, "The wrath of man shall praise Thee." Both ideas are true, but the former appears to be in view here. Likewise, the last part of Psalms 76:10 probably refers to God’s judgments restraining unbelievers, as in the NIV, rather than God girding Himself with wrath, as in the NASB. The emphasis is on God’s providential control (cf. Acts 2:23).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven,.... When an angel was sent down from heaven, and destroyed the Assyrian army, a judgment of God upon them; at which time some think there was a violent clap of thunder, which is the voice of God: and it may refer to the judgments which God has decreed to execute on the antichristian states, the seven vials of his wrath he will pour upon them; for all decrees, as Aben Ezra on the place observes, come from heaven; or to the last judgment, when Christ the Judge shall descend from heaven, the voice of the archangel shall be heard, the last trumpet shall sound, the dead in their graves shall hear it, and rise and stand before the judgment seat, and hear the sentence pronounced:

the earth feared, and was still: or "trembled, and was quiet" c; that is, again: some think there was an earthquake when the angel smote the Assyrian camp, but was quickly over. It may regard the panic the other nations were in when they heard of it, and therefore were still and quiet, and never offered to give the Israelites any disturbance. Some understand this of the remainder of the army that escaped with Sennacherib; these were seized with fear, and quickly withdrew, and silently departed into their own land. Aben Ezra observes it as the sense of some, "the earth feared", these are the wicked; "and was still", they are the righteous; so the Targum,

"the land of the people feared, the land of Israel was still;''

reference may be had to the consternation, fear, and dread, that will fall on them that escape the judgments inflicted on the antichristian party, Revelation 11:13 and the fear and silence that will attend the last and awful judgment; see Zechariah 2:13.

c ארץ ידאה ושקטה "terra tremuit, et quievit", V. L.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?   8 Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,   9 When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.   10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.   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.   12 He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.

      This glorious victory with which God had graced and blessed his church is here made to speak three things:--

      I. Terror to God's enemies (Psalms 76:7-9; Psalms 76:7-9): "Thou, even thou, art to be feared; thy majesty is to be reverenced, thy sovereignty to be submitted to, and thy justice to be dreaded by those that have offended thee." Let all the world learn by this event to stand in awe of the great God. 1. Let all be afraid of his wrath against the daring impiety of sinners: Who may stand in thy sight from the minute that thou art angry? If God be a consuming fire, how can chaff and stubble stand before him, though his anger be kindled but a little?Psalms 2:12. 2. Let all be afraid of his jealousy for oppressed innocency and the injured cause of his own people: "Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven, then when thou didst arise to save all the meek of the earth (Psalms 76:8; Psalms 76:9); and then the earth feared and was still, waiting what would be the issue of those glorious appearances of thine." Note, (1.) God's people are the meek of the earth (Zechariah 2:3), the quiet in the land (Psalms 35:20), that can bear any wrong, but do none. (2.) Though the meek of the earth are by their meekness exposed to injury, yet God will, sooner or later, appear for their salvation, and plead their cause. (3.) When God comes to save all the meek of the earth, he will cause judgment to be heard from heaven; he will make the world know that he is angry at the oppressors of his people, and takes what is done against them as done against himself. The righteous God long seems to keep silence, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. (4.) When God is speaking judgment from heaven it is time for the earth to compose itself into an awful and reverent silence: The earth feared and was still, as silence is made by proclamation when the court sits. Be still and know that I am God,Psalms 46:10. Be silent, O all flesh! before the Lord, for he is raised up to judgment, Zechariah 2:13. Those that suppose this psalm to have been penned upon the occasion of the routing of Sennacherib's army take it for granted that the descent of the destroying angel, who did the execution, was accompanied with thunder, by which God caused judgment to be heard from heaven, and that the earth feared (that is, there was an earthquake), but it was soon over. But this is altogether uncertain.

      II. Comfort to God's people, Psalms 76:10; Psalms 76:10. We live in a very angry provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man, which seems boundless. But this is a great comfort to us, 1. That as far as God permits the wrath of man to break forth at any time he will make it turn to his praise, will bring honour to himself and serve his own purposes by it: Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, not only by the checks given to it, when it shall be forced to confess its own impotency, but even by the liberty given to it for a time. The hardships which God's people suffer by the wrath of their enemies are made to redound to the glory of God and his grace; and the more the heathen rage and plot against the Lord and his anointed the more will God be praised for setting his King upon his holy hill of Zion in spite of them, Psalms 2:1; Psalms 2:6. When the heavenly hosts make this the matter of their thanksgiving-song that God has taken to himself his great power and has reigned, though the nations were angry (Revelation 11:17; Revelation 11:18), then the wrath of man adds lustre to the praises of God. 2. That what will not turn to his praise shall not be suffered to break out: The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Men must never permit sin, because they cannot check it when they will; but God can. He can set bounds to the wrath of man, as he does to the raging sea. Hitherto it shall come and no further; here shall its proud waves be stayed. God restrained the remainder of Sennacherib's rage, for he put a hook in his nose and a bridle in his jaws (Isaiah 37:29); and, though he permitted him to talk big, he restrained him from doing what he designed.

      III. Duty to all, Psalms 76:11; Psalms 76:12. Let all submit themselves to this great God and become his loyal subjects. Observe, 1. The duty required of us all, all that are about him, that have any dependence upon him or any occasion to approach to him; and who is there that has not? We are therefore every one of us commanded to do our homage to the King of kings: Vow and pay; that is, take an oath of allegiance to him and make conscience of keeping it. Vow to be his, and pay what you vow. Bind your souls with a bond to him (for that is the nature of a vow), and then live up to the obligations you have laid upon yourselves; for better it is not to vow than to vow and not to pay. And, having taken him for our King, let us bring presents to him, as subjects to their sovereign, 1 Samuel 10:27. Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land,Isaiah 16:1. Not that God needs any present we can bring, or can be benefited by it; but thus we must give him honour and own that we have our all from him. Our prayers and praises, and especially our hearts, are the presents we should bring to the Lord our God. 2. The reasons to enforce this duty: Render to all their due, fear to whom fear is due; and is it not due to God? Yes; (1.) He ought to be feared: He is the fear (so the word is); his name is glorious and fearful,; and he is the proper object of our fear; with him is terrible majesty. The God of Abraham is called the fear of Isaac (Genesis 31:42), and we are commanded to make him our fear,Isaiah 8:13. When we bring presents to him we must have an eye to him as greatly to be feared; for he is terrible in his holy places. (2.) He will be feared, even by those who think it their own sole prerogative to be feared (Psalms 76:12; Psalms 76:12): He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he shall slip it off as easily as we slip off a flower from the stalk or a bunch of grapes from the vine; so the word signifies. He can dispirit those that are most daring and make them heartless; for he is, or will be, terrible to the kings of the earth; and sooner or later, if they be not so wise as to submit themselves to him, he will force them to call in vain to rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from his wrath,Revelation 6:16. Since there is no contending with God, it is as much our wisdom as it is our duty to submit to him.