OUR GOD HAS NO RIVALS!

READ PSALM 76

MAY OUR LIVES DISPLAY OUR TRUST IN HIM

Psalm 76:1-3

            1 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

In this psalm, God is celebrated again as the most powerful, Whom none can resist. He is close to Israel, and their enemies cannot prevail, unless God permits it.

Psalm 76:4-6

            4 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.

No one can stand before the God of Israel. God has proven, time and time again, that He has no rivals.

Psalm 76:7-9

            7 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

The righteous One will establish His justice in due time; no one can stand, all must humble themselves before His judgments.

Psalm 76:10-12

            10 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.

Even the rebellion of man exalts the LORD, for the eternal, all-powerful God will always triumph.

Dear friends, how should we respond to these truths?

Is there any place for fear?

Should we ever rebel against God’s will?

Should our tongues be expressing complaint, or praise?

The answers are easy and obvious, but our human responses are not always faithful ones, are they.

As we live our days in the midst of God’s enemies, we should never question God’s perfect will and power. We should be peacefully rejoicing in the fact that we know the final outcome of all things is in His sovereign will.

It is true that we are weak, and can be easily overwhelmed by a world that is oblivious to the presence of God, and uncaring of God’s rules and judgments.

Isaiah 26:4,7-9

            4 Trust in the LORD forever,

                        for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

            7 The path of the righteous is level;

                        you make level the way of the righteous.

            8 In the path of your judgments,

                        O LORD, we wait for you;

            your name and remembrance

                        are the desire of our soul.

            9 My soul yearns for you in the night;

                        my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

            For when your judgments are in the earth,

                        the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

We must respond as Isaiah told the children of Israel to respond. We must continue to trust our LORD. We must wait for God’s timing. Our desire must be for God’s ultimate and sure triumph.

May our hearts and speech be filled with praise to our God; may our patience and trust in our LORD be visible to all men.