III. OUR APPREHENSION OF THE FULNESS AND COMPLETENESS OF THE DELIVERANCE WROUGHT. Compare the results of God's intervention with the consequences of a mere victory on an ordinary battlefield; God wrought a perfect triumph. So Christ "leads captivity captive," and "saves to the uttermost."—R.T.

Psalms 76:6

The power of the Lord's rebuke.

"At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both chariot and horse are cast into a deep sleep." Byron pictures the scene with great poetical force—

"And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,

But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;

And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,

And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

"And there lay the rider distorted and pale,

With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail."

"God did but speak the word, as the God of Jacob that commands deliverances for Jacob, and, at his rebuke, the chariot and horse were both cast into a dead sleep. See the power and efficacy of God's rebukes." "It is impossible to mistake the allusion to the deeper sleep of death, falling on the sleeping Assyrian army, before the valiant men could 'find their hands,' in the half-waking grasp of weapons in the hour of danger."

I. GOD'S REBUKES ARE SOMETIMES WORDS. Illustrate by Moses' messages from God to Pharaoh. Or the case of the prophet who went to Bethel to rebuke Jeroboam. Or Nathan's rebuke of David. Or Elijah's rebuke of Ahab. What is it that specially calls for the Lord's rebuke? Wilfulness. Persistent forcing of a man's own way. And even more precisely, the daring of the man who forces his way when he knows it is contrary to the will of God, or when he means to put dishonour on God. This is the case before us now. Sennacherib was forcing his own way, with designed intention of insulting and humiliating the God of Israel. And still the Divine rebuke is called forth when we fall into the committal of "presumptuous sins."

II. GOD'S REBUKES ARE SOMETIMES DEEDS. But they are voiceful deeds. See here, the rebuke was a night blast that slew the tens of thousands, and drove Sennacherib back to his land, a defeated and humiliated man. God's rebuke to hardened Pharaoh was the flower of his army drowned in the Red Sea. God's rebuke to over confident David was three days' plague in the land. God's rebuke to Herod, who accepted the homage due alone to God, was a terrible disease, that carried him off in agony and disgrace. Read life aright, and we may find God's rebuke in disappointments that we have known, and disasters we have suffered. Blessed are they who

Psalms 76:7

The Divine anger.

"Who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?" God can only be apprehended through human figures with which we are familiar. So we find in the Divine revelations of Holy Scripture anthropomorphic figures for God, taken from man's limbs and bodily organs; and anthropopathic figures taken from man's feelings, emotions, and passions. But in applying such figures to God, we must carefully eliminate the sin element which belongs to all such things when they concern man. As man is made in the image of God, from man we may learn of God. But as man has marred the image by his wilfulness and sin, we must take care how we apply the likeness which we now think we see. In applying such terms as "anger" to God, it is important to observe the distinction between the anger of an official and the anger of a private person. The anger of an official—a king, or a judge—should have no feeling in it; it should be the proper response to some public wrong. The anger of an individual may have feeling in it, and be a sign of hatred. In this psalm God is thought of as an official. He is the great King, and so his "anger" is really indignation against the foe that imperils the country, and against the self-willed people who play into the hands of the national enemy. There is, then, a sense in which the king of a country ought to be angry; but in his anger there should be no feeling of hate, no feeling towards individuals, only feeling concerning the wrong which either individuals or combined bodies may do.

I. THE SENSE IN WHICH GOD MAY BE ANGRY. Three terms need to be carefully defined and illustrated. Indignation is the proper revolt of all noble natures against wrong doing, and especially wrong doing of a mean character, as when the strong takes advantage of the weak. Anger is the state of mind suitable for a king, governor, or judge, in the presence of any form of public injustice or crime. Wrath is the term that brings in the additional idea of giving expression, in vigorous action, to vigorous feeling. In some senses, each term may be applied to God.

II. THE FEAR WHICH GOD'S ANGER MAY PROPERLY INSPIRE. Because it is associated with perfect wisdom, absolute righteousness, and irresistible power. We smile sometimes at the futile anger of men; for they can do nothing. We dare not smile at God's anger; for he can do everything. None can stand before him.—R.T.

Psalms 76:9

With God judgment is salvation.

"When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth." The "meek" are those who, with Hezekiah, held fast their integrity to Jehovah, and yet seemed placed in circumstances of hopeless distress. God's judgment on Sennacherib was their vindication, deliverance, and uplifting. Compare the destruction of Pharaoh's host at the Red Sea. God's judgment on the Egyptians was God's salvation of his people. It may even be established as the recognized principle of Divine dealings, that judgment and mercy shall always go together. They are like the pillar of cloud, which lay dark against the Egyptians, but shone a bright light forth to guide the wonderful path of delivered Israel. It must not be assumed that in this is seen any favouritism on the part of God; for if it is true that God's judgments on the nations were blessing for Israel, it is equally true that God's judgments on Israel were blessings for the nations. What we dwell on here is that, whatever may be the feature of Divine dealing that we specially observe, we may confidently look for signs of that dealing being made a blessing and salvation to somebody. This introduces a very large subject—the vicariousness of all forms of human calamity and trouble. "No man dieth unto himself." No suffering ever bears exclusive relation to the sufferer. You never have read its mission when you have found out what it did for him. You have never apprehended God's infinitely gracious purposes when you have only seen some one thing that he has accomplished. What mistaken views of God the man would take who persisted in seeing only what this awful night judgment was to the Assyrians! It must be seen all round to be truly understood and appreciated.

I. GOD WORKS IN WAYS OF JUDGMENT. Illustrate from Bible history, both of nations and of individuals.

II. GOD WORKS IN WAYS OF SALVATION. Illustrate in a similar way.

III. WHEN WORTHILY APPREHENDED, THESE TWO ARE REALLY ONE, AND GOD'S JUDGMENT IS SALVATION. Lead up to illustrate from the sublime case of the Lord Jesus. "The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all," and the judgment that fell on him was salvation for us.—R.T.

Psalms 76:10

Man's wrath bringing praise to God.

The rendering of this verse is uncertain. The LXX. reads the verse, "The wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shall keep festival unto thee." And the idea of the verse seems to be—"the only result of Sennacherib's enmity to God's chosen people will be that the power of the God who overthrows him shall be more widely acknowledged; for vain will it be for the small remnant of the Assyrians to continue the invasion in which their mighty host had been so terribly foiled" (Jennings and Lowe). This idea may be worked out. Be it the seemingly overwhelming wrath of the mighty army, or be it the manifestly helpless and futile enmity of the enfeebled remnant,—God's ways with them will bring praise to his Name. It will often be noticed that the mischief wrought by a remnant is more to be feared than the mischief wrought by a host. Bunyan, in his 'Holy War,' makes a few Diabolians left in Mansoul do greater mischief than Diabolus' army. So there is point in pressing on our attention that remnants are as much in God's power as armies, and he will be glorified in the mastery of both.

I. THE LIFE FOES THAT WE KNOW AND ESTIMATE ARE WELL WITHIN THE CONTROL OF OUR GOD. And a man ought to understand what his besetting sins are, what his circumstances of temptation are. There are spiritual foes which "loom large" to our view—large as the vast host of Assyria did to Hezekiah. But "greater is he who is with us than all who can be against us." Those foes lose their power to affright us when once we can see that God will get his glory in dealing with them, and in delivering us from them.

II. THE LIFE FOES THAT ARE TOO SUBTLE AND INSIGNIFICANT FOR US TO OBSERVE ARE EQUALLY IN THE CONTROL OF OUR GOD. They may be represented by the remnant, or remainder, of the Assyrians. And after the disaster, Sennacherib might have collected his soldiers, stayed in the land, and done much mischief. God controlled that remnant, and sent him ignominiously back to his own country. Subtle foes, small foes, like ichneumon flies, who deposit their eggs in the caterpillar and eat up its life, could ruin us more surely than open foes, were it not that our God will be sure also to get his praise of them.—R.T.

Psalms 76:11

Following up our vows.

"Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God." Vows were formal promises or engagements made in acknowledgment of Divine mercies, or as conditions on which Divine help was sought. They are illustrated by Jacob's vow after the vision at Bethel; by King Saul's vow at Michmash; Absalom's vow which was made the excuse for starting his revolt; St. Paul's vow, which explained his presence in the temple courts, etc. The vows of the olden time are precisely represented by our solemn resolves, our good resolutions, which become promises and pledges of what we will do. The psalmist found out, what we have all found out through our own experiences, that it is easy to make vows and promises, and to take solemn pledges, but far easier to neglect them and let them go unfulfilled. Therefore in moments of awakened feeling, he exclaims, "I will pay my vows unto the Lord," and he advises God's people to "vow and pay"—to follow up their vows, and never to rest until they are fulfilled. It may be well to note what is the mission of vows. They are helpful in strengthening the will. A purpose may be formed which will stand but little testing, and exert but feeble influence. We strengthen that purpose if, in relation to it, we take open pledge, we make solemn promise. Our own inward purpose may be easily forgotten; no one knows about it but ourselves, and so its power of influence on us is small. Turn our purpose into a public vow, and we are helped by remembering that others, and God, expect us to be faithful to our word. How has it been with the vows we have made in the past? Have we joined "vowing" and "paying"?

I. OUR VOWS AT CONFIRMATION, AND UNION WITH CHRIST'S CHURCH.

II. OUR VOWS ON BIRTHDAYS, NEW YEAR DAYS, ETC.

III. OUR VOWS WHEN ENTERING ON NEW LIFE RELATIONSHIPS—MARRIAGE, ETC.

IV. OUR VOWS ON RESCUE FROM PERILS, OR RECOVERY FROM SICKNESS.

Thinking over all these vows, who among us can fail to be impressed by the thought of how much is unpaid, and how much we owe to God? Never have we had a year of life in which our payment of vows matched our New Year promises. What a heap of unpaid vows the years have piled up! What a heap of imperfectly paid vows! Very seldom, indeed, have our vows been fully kept; and we search our lives almost in vain to find any single instances in which we have done better than we vowed. It is important that we should have solemn opportunities for calling our vows to remembrance, such as sacramental seasons provide. So we may be set on new efforts to "pay our vows."—R.T.

HOMILIES BY C. SHORT

Psalms 76:1-12

A psalm of triumph.

This is one of several psalms supposed to have been written in celebration of the sudden overthrow of Sennacherib's army in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and suggests the following truths—

I. THAT THE CHURCH IS GOD'S PECULIAR ABODE, WHERE THE MOST GLORIOUS REVELATIONS OF HIS POWER AND GRACE ARE SEEN. (Psalms 76:3.) The gospel is most emphatically the "power of God unto salvation."

II. THAT GOD'S GREATEST GLORY IS NOT IN DESTROYING, BUT IN SAVING AND REDEEMING, MEN. (Psalms 76:4 6.) Here his power for destruction is celebrated; but in the New Testament his work of salvation—his power to give life, not his power to take it away.

III. GOD IS TO BE FEARED MORE FOR HIS HOLINESS AND LOVE THAN FOR HIS PHYSICAL OMNIPOTENCE. (Psalms 76:7-9.) These excite filial affectionate fear; that excites an unworthy slavish fear.

IV. GOD IS ABLE TO OVERRULE THE REBELLION OF MEN SO THAT IN THE END IT SHALL ILLUSTRATE HIS PRAISE. (Psalms 76:10.) God's love can conquer human wrath, and so make it praise him.

V. THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE GIFTS WE CAN OFFER TO GOD ARE THOSE OF REPENTANCE AND A RENEWED LIFE. (Psalms 76:11.) "A broken and a contrite spirit; "To do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God;" "Let all that are around him do homage to his majesty."—S.

Psalms 75

Psalms

Psalms 77

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