Psalm 76

 Faith in the Power of God 

A psalm of Asaph

¹     In Judah God is known, His name is great in Israel.

²     His tent is in Salem, His dwelling place in Zion.

³     There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.     

⁴     You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game.

⁵     Valiant men lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep—

not one of the warriors can lift his hands.

⁶     At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still.

⁷     You alone are to be feared.  Who can stand before you when you are angry?

⁸     From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—

⁹     When you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.     Selah

¹⁰     Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.

¹¹     Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them. Let all the neighboring lands

bring gifts to the One to be feared.

¹²     He breaks the spirit of rulers — He is feared by the kings of the earth.

Centuries ago, God promised Abraham and Sarah they would have a son—through whom the world would be blessed. God spoke these words to Abraham:

13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’

14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:13-14).

When God rescued the nation Israel from their bondage in Egypt, He led them into the wilderness—but the Israelites began to grumble because they could not enjoy the variety of foods they had eaten in Egypt. In response to their grumbling, God promised to give this great company a diet of meat for an entire month. If the feeding of the 5,000 seemed difficult [Matthew 14:13-21], imagine feeding this group.  Even Moses had some thoughts and concerns about this [see Numbers 11:21-22]. 

But God asked Moses a question; a question important to every Christian today:

And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not” (Numbers 11:23).

The Bible answers very clearly: 

 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3).

“‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee’” (Jeremiah 32:17).

And looking upon [them] Jesus said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

The LORD of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, 25 to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them, and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:21-27).

GOD’S POWER IN THE LIVES OF HIS PEOPLE

The power of God will transform our thinking and actions. The life of Daniel and his three friends in the Book of Daniel, is a good example of the way faith in the power of God made men of faith heroes of the faith. When Daniel refused to cease praying to his “God,” king Darius was forced to throw him into a den of lions. [Daniel 6:16–28]

Our weakness is not a barrier to the power of God. Rather, recognizing our weakness should be the basis for our turning to God.  That way God receives all the glory.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves (2 Corinthians 4:7).

And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” …therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me… 10b for Christ’s sake then, when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).