#DailyDevotion The LORD Jesus Will Deliver The Church From Her Foes
Psalm 76 God has shown Himself in Judah; His name is great in Israel. 2His tent is in Salem; His home is in Zion. 3There He broke the flaming arrows, the shield, the sword, and war itself.
In the Greek version of the Old Testament this Psalm is entitled, “Ode against the Assyrian.” This would be in reference to the LORD defeating Sennacherib in 2 Kings 19, 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 37. Such an event was as it was reported in three places. Sennacherib had already defeated the kingdom of Judah. He was at Jerusalem having defeated all the land down to that point. Hezekiah prayed and the LORD heard him.
In Isaiah 37 it is reported:
33 “And so the LORD says about the king of Assyria: “He will never get into this city, shoot an arrow here, march against it with shields, or put up ramparts against it. 34He will go back the way he came without getting into this city,’ says the LORD of armies. 35‘I will shield this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’” 36Then the Angel of the LORD went out and killed 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians, and those who got up in the morning saw all the dead bodies. 37Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, left and went home and lived in Nineveh. 38While he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords and escaped to the country of Ararat.
In this manner God had shown Himself in Judah. He demonstrated His tent is in Salem and His home is in Zion. The Assyrian king insulted the LORD and the LORD made quick work of him while defending the city of Jerusalem.
4You are shining with might more splendidly than the mountains of prey. 5Valiant men were plundered and went to the sleep of death – not a fighting man could lift a hand. 6At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, chariots and horses were paralyzed.
The LORD had killed 185,000 of those who came against Jerusalem and eventually made Sennacherib pay for his insult. The mountains of prey, i.e. the Assyrian army, was no longer glorious there. The LORD showed His glory.
7As for You, You terrify – who can stand before You when once You are angry? 8From heaven You announce a verdict, the earth hushed in fear. 9When You rise to judge, O God, to save all who suffer on earth, (Music) 10surely the anger of men will praise You; You will wrap the remaining anger around You. 11Make vows to the LORD your God and keep them to the One Who is to be feared. 12He cuts off the lives of rulers and terrifies the kings of the world.
As the LORD rescued His people in Jerusalem, this was a type of battle on the Last Day as pictured in Revelation, chapters 19 and 20 in particular, so will He rescue His Church on the Last Day. Our LORD Jesus Christ will wrap anger around Himself and pour forth His wrath upon the people of the world who rejected and who persecuted His Church. At once, He will cut off the lives of the rulers and terrify the kings of the world. Since this is the case we need only fear the LORD and not men who try to oppress us. Let us show our great love and trust to Him with pure lives of thanksgiving.
Almighty God and Father, preserve our faith in Your Son Jesus Christ, so we may praise Him on the great day of His wrath as He delivers us, Your Church from all its enemies and so we may live lives worthy of such a great salvation. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.