Latest / Reformed Thinking / The God Who Breaks the Weapons of War (Psalm 76) | Charles Spurgeon

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The God Who Breaks the Weapons of War (Psalm 76) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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  Hello and welcome to the show. We're doing something a little
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  bit different today. We're focusing in on a series we
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  like to call Reformed Thinking. It's good to be here in that
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  title. It really isn't just a label for
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  us. We're sort of setting aside the
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  more general topics to have a session that's dedicated really
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  strictly to biblical exposition and theological reflection.
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  Right. And for you, the learner tuning
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  in, this isn't going to be just a casual chat.
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  We're really looking at the doctrines of grace, the
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  sovereignty of God, you and I, we're both coming at this as
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  Protestant Christians, and our foundation is the heritage of
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  the Westminster Confession. We really believe that knowledge
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  is at its most valuable when it's understood and when it's
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  applied specifically, you know how we view God's control over
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  all of history and his very personal care for his church.
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  Let's get right to it then. We are looking at a classic work
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  today. We're pulling from Charles
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  Spurgeon's The Treasury of David, and specifically we're
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  looking at his analysis of Psalm 76.
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  It's a magnificent Psalm. I mean, if I had to give you a
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  kind of mission statement for our discussion today, it would
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  be this to examine the sovereignty of God in well, in
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  crushing the enemies of his people and how his might is
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  displayed in Zion. And Spurgeon has some just
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  incredible notes on this drawing from some of the Puritan giants.
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  But before we get into the verses themselves, could you set
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  the scene for us? What's the context of Psalm 76?
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  OK, so it's titled A Song of Asaph, and to really get it, you
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  have to look at it as a pair with the Psalm right before it,
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  Psalm 75. Spurgeon points out that Psalm
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  75 is really the song of faith. It's singing about victories
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  that are yet to come. It's all anticipation.
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  So Psalm 75 is the We Trust You're going to Do It song.
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  Precisely and then Psalm 76 comes in as the He has done it
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  song. It sings the victories that have
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  been achieved. It's a matter of fact, not just
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  faith anymore. So it's this jubilant war song
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  AK in to the King of Kings. It is the hymn of a theocratic
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  nation that's just realized their God is truly a man of war.
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  That distinction between faith and fact, that's really helpful.
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  OK, so let's jump right into the text verse one starts with in
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  Judah is God known? His name is great in Israel.
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  Now my first question is about the geography.
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  Why the specific mention of Judah?
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  Well, it gets right to the heart of the doctrine of election and
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  revelation. You have to realize that at this
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  point in history, the vast, vast majority of the world was in
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  total spiritual darkness. They were Pagan.
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  They were just ignorant of the one true God.
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  So God wasn't known in, say, Babylon or Egypt.
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  Not in the saving sense, no. Spurgeon makes this great note
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  that God is unknown to the world.
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  He might be revealed in nature, you know, as a powerful force,
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  but he's only known by deeds of grace to his own people.
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  It speaks to the exclusivity of revelation.
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  God chose a specific place and a specific people to reveal
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  himself to. So that's the classic idea of
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  special revelation versus general revelation.
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  Exactly. And there's a fantastic note in
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  the source material from a guy named Alexander Gross.
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  He makes this distinction that God is known in his works, like
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  creating the world as a God of authority.
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  I mean, anyone can look at a thunderstorm and say wow, there
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  is a powerful God. Right, that's pretty undeniable.
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  But Gross says that it's only in the gospel, only within the
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  covenant relationship, that he is known as a father of grace.
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  So in Judah, God is known not just as some force, but as a
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  personality, as a Savior. That's a huge difference,
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  knowing about a powerful entity versus knowing a father.
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  It's everything. And then notice the second-half
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  of that verse. His name is great in Israel.
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  And when we talk about the name of God, we're not just talking
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  about, you know, a label. No, not at all.
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  Yeah, in Hebrew thought, the name is the essence.
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  It represents God himself, all of his attributes, his mercy,
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  his faithfulness, his potency. Thomas LeBlanc, another
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  commentator Spurgeon brings in, notes that the name is great in
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  two ways, efficacy and dignity. Efficacy.
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  So you mean it actually works? It does something.
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  Yes, it means savior. It is effective.
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  It actually saves. And dignity, well, that means
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  it's above every other name. But here's what I find so
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  fascinating, especially when you look at it from a Reformed
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  perspective regarding the church.
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  At the time this song was likely written or first sung, the
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  nation was politically divided. You had Judah in the South and
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  Israel in the north. Right after the civil war, the
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  split Kingdom. And yet the text links them in
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  Judah is God known? His name is great in Israel.
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  Spurgeon points out that despite all the political schisms, the
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  godly people in both nations were agreed concerning Jehovah.
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  So even though the visible structure was broken, the
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  invisible church was still 1. Precisely.
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  The Saints always appear as one when it comes to magnifying the
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  Lord. It's, you know, it's a good
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  reminder that while we might see denominations and splits and
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  arguments today, the true invisible church, the elect, is
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  unified in their adoration of the one name.
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  That is a comforting thought. Let's move to verse 2.
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  In Salem also is his Tabernacle and his dwelling place in Zion.
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  Salem is Jerusalem, right? It is.
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  Salem is the ancient name, and it means peace.
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  So in peace is his Tabernacle. That's a powerful statement in
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  itself. It is, and that's the
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  theological implication. God dwells where there's a
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  peaceable spirit. He's the author of Peace.
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  You know, if a church is in constant turmoil and infighting,
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  it's pretty hard to say that God's Tabernacle is resting
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  comfortably there. Thomas Watson has a note that
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  the Holy Ghost is a spirit of peace, the dove.
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  He settles where there is peace. But here's where it gets
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  interesting. I was looking through the notes
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  and there seems to be a translation issue or maybe an
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  interpretation issue that just flips this whole image on its
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  head. You're talking about the Lion's
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  Lair interpretation, yes. Talk about that, because that is
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  a wild shift. So the Hebrew word that's used
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  for Tabernacle here can also be translated as covert or den.
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  A commentator, Simon Demu, points this out.
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  He suggests it's not just a tent for a man, it's the lair of a
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  lion. That changes the visual
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  completely. We go from a peaceful tent to a
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  lion waiting in the tall grass. It connects right into the Lion
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  of Judah imagery. The idea is that God is resting
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  in his lair in Zion. He's at peace, yes, but he is
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  also incredibly dangerous to anyone who approaches with
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  hostile intent. It's a warning to the enemies.
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  You aren't just attacking a city, you are poking a sleeping
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  lion. That is so vivid, and it
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  explains why the location is so critical for the battle that's
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  about to happen. If you attack Zion, you are
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  literally attacking the place where the lion lives.
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  Correct. And John Owen, the Great Pyrcan,
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  has a note on this. He says something just massive.
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  He says the whole course of affairs in the world is steered
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  by Providence in reference to the good of Salem.
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  Wait, that's a huge claim. The whole world.
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  Whole world, Owen is arguing that everything that happens in
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  geopolitics, in history, in the rise and fall of nations, is
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  being steered by God specifically for the benefit and
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  good of his church. So when we see chaos in the
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  world, the Reformed thinker should look at that and ask, OK,
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  how is God using this to protect or purify his church?
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  Right, because attacks on the church are, in essence, attacks
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  on God himself. It's that name, Emmanuel, God
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  with us. If God dwells in Zion, then an
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  arrow shot at Zion is an arrow shot at God.
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  And as we're about to see in the very next verse, God does not
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  take that lightly. Let's go there.
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  Verse 3, their break. Heed the arrows of the bow, the
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  shield and the sword and the battle.
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  I want to focus on that first word there.
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  It's the key. It's the key to the whole verse.
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  Why? It seems like just a location
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  marker, but what a? Location.
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  It's Salem. It's the Tabernacle.
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  Spurgeon and the other commentators, they all emphasize
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  that while the victory was physical, you know, soldiers
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  dying out on the field, the cause of the victory was
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  spiritual. It happened there in the temple.
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  Can you connect that to the history for us?
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  We were talking about Sennacherib, the Assyrian king,
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  attacking Jerusalem, right? That's the historical context
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  most scholars agree on. And Sennacherib had this massive
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  army. He was just crushing everyone in
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  his path. He surrounds Jerusalem and what
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  does King Hezekiah do? He goes to the temple.
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  He goes there, he takes this threatening letter from
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  Sennacherib, he spreads it out before the Lord in the temple,
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  and he prays. Thomas Goodwin notes that the
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  sentence of judgement against the Assyrians went forth from
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  the Tabernacle. So the victory wasn't actually
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  one on the battlefield, it was one in the prayer closet, so to
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  speak. Precisely.
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  It's all about the efficacy of prayer and spiritual warfare.
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  Hezekiah prayed to the one who dwells between the cherubims and
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  the answer came out from that holy place.
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  God sent the verdict from his throne in Zion and the result
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  was 185,000 dead bodies in the Assyrian camp.
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  And the text says he break the arrows.
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  It lists the shield, the sword, the battle.
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  It's comprehensive. It's a total disarmament.
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  And look at the verb break. Spurgeon calls it sublime.
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  It suggests this incredible rapidity.
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  He didn't just block the arrows, he snapped them.
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  Before they could even be shot. That's the implication, isn't
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  it? He snapped the arrows of the
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  bow. It's a preemptive strike.
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  The Breaker, which is a title for God, snapped the weaponry of
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  the enemy before it could even be used.
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  And the text says he broke the battle itself.
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  That's so poetic. It's not just the weapons, it's
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  the very concept of the war that he shattered.
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  Yes. No weapon formed against he
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  shall prosper. That is the theological point.
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  In the spiritual conflicts of this age, and really of every
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  age, the Church might look weak, we might look unarmed compared
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  to the Assyrians of the world with their media, their laws,
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  their armies. But if God is in his lair, he
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  snaps the arrows. That leads perfectly into verse
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  4. Thou art more glorious and
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  excellent in the mountains of prey.
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  What on earth are mountains of prey?
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  It's a metaphor for those aggressive, predatory empires.
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  You know, think of Assyria. How did they get rich?
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  How did they build their mountains of wealth and
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  influence? By praying on other nations,
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  Robbery, pillage, war. Exactly.
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  They were literally mountains built of prey.
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  They piled up well through violence.
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  And the world looks at that and says, look how glorious that
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  empire is. Look at their gold.
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  Look at their military power. The world loves the winter, even
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  if they're a bully, right? But the psalmist looks at God,
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  at Jehovah, and says, thou art more glorious and excellent.
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  It's a direct comparison of two different kinds of glory.
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  And William Greenhill makes this beautiful comparison here.
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  He says the nations have their towers and their cities, but
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  Judah has the living God. The world boasts of the reek of
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  manslaughter. That is such a strong phrase.
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  Spurgeon uses the reek of manslaughter as its glory.
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  But God is glorious in His Holiness.
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  So we're weighing spiritual excellencies against temporal
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  violent ones. And spiritual Excellency will
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  always, always outweigh temporal power.
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  A mountain of gold gained by blood is absolutely nothing
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  compared to the glory of God displayed in His justice and
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  holiness. The church might look small,
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  like a little hill compared to these giant mountains of prey,
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  but the quality of its glory is infinitely higher.
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  Now we get to the scene of the judgement itself, verses 5 and
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  6. This is where it gets very
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  cinematic. The stout hearted are spoiled,
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  they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have
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  found their hands. Stout hearted.
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  Think about that word. These were the brave men, the
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  commandos, the special forces, the elite troops of Assyria.
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  They weren't cowards. They were stout of heart.
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  And they are spoiled, which means plundered, right?
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  Yes, they came to spoil Jerusalem and instead they were
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  spoiled of their own lives and the text says they have slept
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  their sleep. Which is a euphemism for death.
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  It's the last sleep. Spurgeon describes it as the
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  Angel of the Pestilence, just drying up their lifeblood in an
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  instant. It's so sudden.
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  One night they are boasting and threatening and the next morning
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  they are just corpses. I have to ask about that phrase.
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  None of the men of might have found their hands.
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  What does that mean? It's a really strange image.
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  It's a Hebrew idiom, and it's incredibly descriptive.
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  Think about a soldier. His strength, his identity is in
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  his hands to hold the sword, to draw the bow, to fight.
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  So when the judgement of God hit them in their sleep, they were
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  paralyzed, their arms were palsied or stiffened in death,
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  they couldn't find their hands to fight back.
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  It speaks to the sense of total, utter helplessness.
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  It's like that nightmare where you try to punch but you can't
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  move your arms at all. Precisely that Spudgin notes
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  that the hands which were so furious to pull down the walls
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  of Jerusalem couldn't even be raised from the sod.
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  The most valiant warriors were as weak as cripples.
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  It really emphasizes that against God, human strength is
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  absolutely zero. It doesn't matter how stout
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  hearted you think you are, if God wills it, you cannot even
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  find your own hands. Verse 6 continues this image.
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  At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are
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  cast into a dead sleep. Notice the method of destruction
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  there at thy rebuke. Not a nuclear weapon, not a
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  counter army, just a word, a rebuke.
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  And the result is the chariot and the horse are cast into a
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  dead sleep. There's a historical note here
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  about the Israelites specific fear of horses and Chariots,
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  isn't there? Yes, very much so.
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  Israel was traditionally an infantry army.
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  They lived in the hills. They were terrified of fighting
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  on the plains, where the Assyrians and the Egyptians use
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  their Chariots and cavalry to devastating effect.
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  The horse was basically the tank of the ancient world.
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  It represented superior technology and overwhelming
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  force. So for the psalmist to say the
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  horse is cast into a dead sleep, that must have been a huge
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  relief. It's the destruction of their
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  enemies, technologies, magical advantage, the nang and rattling
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  of the war machine just ceases. Spurgeon actually quotes Lord
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  Byron's poem The Destruction of Sinatra.
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  It captures this verse perfectly.
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  Oh, I think I know that one. The Assyrian came down like the
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  wolf on the fold. That's the one and the lines
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  that match this verse are. And the eyes of the sleepers wax
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  deadly and chill. And the steed with his nostril
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  all wide and the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf.
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  It just paints this picture of the War Horse dying instantly
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  mid breath. It is terrifying and majestic at
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  the same time. And it serves as a reminder for
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  you, the listener, when the enemies of the Church seem to
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  have the horses and Chariots, the technology, the media
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  platforms, the money. God can silence them with
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  nothing more than a rebuke. This moves us into the reaction.
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  If God can do that, how should we respond?
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  Verse 7 says Thou even thou art to be feared, and who may stand
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  in thy sight, when one said, art angry.
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  That repetition is so key thou, even thou it's emphatic.
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  It's exclusive, right? It means not Sen Akrib, not
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  Nisrock, the Assyrian God. Everyone was afraid of
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  Sennacherib. He was the terror of the Middle
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  East. But the psalmist is correcting
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  the perspective. You shouldn't fear the tyrant.
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  You should fear the one who can kill the tyrant with a word.
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  It's. The doctrine of the fear of the
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  Lord. And we often downplay this in
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  modern Christianity, don't we? We like to talk about the love
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  of God, which is true and vital. But Reformed theology has always
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  held onto the fear of God as a virtue, Spurgeon says.
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  The fear of man is a snare, but the fear of God is a great
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  virtue. There's a breakdown by a man
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  named John Craig in the notes that I found really powerful.
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  He asked that question, Who can stand?
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  Yes, and he goes through the list.
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  Can angels stand? No, they fell when they
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  rebelled. Can man stand?
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  No, at a loss? Paradise in a moment.
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  Can devil stand? No, they tremble at his name.
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  He uses that imagery of a Reed against a cedar.
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  A feather against a flame. That is the reality of a finite
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  creature standing against the infinite Creator in his anger,
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  who may stand in thy sight. The answer is just a resounding
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  no one. Well, no one outside of Christ.
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  That's the implicit hope. Of course, if you are in Christ,
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  you aren't standing in your own merit.
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  But for the enemy, for the stout hearted who are opposing God,
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  there is simply no place to stand.
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  Verse 8 says doubt. It's caused judgment to be heard
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  from heaven. The earth feared and was still.
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  This connects right back to the there of verse 3.
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  The judgment went out from the temple on earth, but it was
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  heard from heaven. It confirms that the God who
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  lives in the temple is the God of the entire universe.
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  And the reaction of the earth is silence.
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  The earth feared and was still. It is the silence of awe.
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  You know, after a great battle or great disaster, there is that
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  eerie, profound silence, the turmoil of war, all the
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  shouting, the clashing of swords.
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  It's replaced by the stillness of judgement.
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  God commands an audience. When he acts, the world shuts
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  up. And verse 9 tells us why he did
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  all of this when God arose to judgement to save all the me to
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  the earth. And here is the heart of God for
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  his people. He didn't just strike the
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  Assyrians to show off his power, He did it to save all the meek.
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  Who are the meek here, exactly? They are the humble, the
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  remnant, those who cannot save themselves.
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  In the Reformed view, God is the avenger of his elect.
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  He has a special eye for the poor and the despised of the
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  world. It's a paradox, isn't it?
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  The same omnipotence that snaps arrows and kills entire armies
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  is the same power used to gently save the meek.
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  It's the duality of God's nature.
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  He is a consuming fire to the proud, but a wall of fire around
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  the humble, Spurgeon notes. He who saves his people is the
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  same God who overthrows their enemies.
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  You can't have salvation without judgment.
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  They are two sides of the very same coin.
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  Now we arrive at verse 10, and I think this is probably the most
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  famous verse in this Psalm, at least in Reformed circles.
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  Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee.
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  The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
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  This is a central load bearing doctrine of Providence.
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  It addresses the problem of evil head on.
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  The wrath of man shall praise thee.
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  It sounds so counterintuitive. Man's wrath is ugly.
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  It's sinful. How in the world does it praise
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  God? It doesn't mean that the wrath
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  itself is good or praiseworthy. It means that God, in His
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  infinite wisdom and power, overrules it.
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  He maneuvers history in such a way that the evil intentions of
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  men end up serving His glory. The source material uses some
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  great analogies, the wind and the ship.
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  Yes, furious winds often Dr. vessels more swiftly to their
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  port. The captain actually uses the
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  storm to get where he's going faster.
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  Or the allergy of the fire and the iron.
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  The devil blows the fire to destroy the church, but all he's
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  really doing is melting the iron so that God can fashion it into
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  something useful for his Kingdom.
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  So Sennacherib thought he was destroying God's people, but in
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  reality he was just setting the stage for one of the greatest
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  displays of God's delivering power in all of history.
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  Exactly. If Sennacherib hadn't been so
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  full of wrath, we wouldn't have this Psalm.
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  We wouldn't have this incredible record of God's deliverance.
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  His wrath created the black velvet backdrop for God's glory
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  to shine like a diamond. There's a note from Ebenezer
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  Erskine that I want to unpack. He talks about the Hebrew word
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  for man here. Yes, this is deep.
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  The word is Adam, the wrath of Adam, or as he translates it,
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  the wrath of clay. The wrath of clay.
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  Wow, that really puts it in perspective.
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  Erskine points out the utter impotence of it.
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  It is just red clay getting angry.
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  What can clay do? It can only break the sheath of
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  clay, the body. It can kill the body, but it can
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  go no further. It completely limits the fear we
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  should have of human rage. It's just dirt flying around in
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  the wind. That's incredibly humbling, but
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  what about the second-half of the verse?
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  The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
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  This is what some call the girding concept.
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  Some translations actually say thou shalt gird.
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  The idea is that God puts a belt, a girdle around the wrath.
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  He tethers it. He puts it on a leash.
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  He allows just enough wrath to spill out to accomplish his
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  purpose, to turn the mill wheel, so to speak.
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  But the excess, the remainder, that serves no purpose in his
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  plan. He cuts it off.
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  He restrains it. So evil is not out of control.
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  Never. That is the great reformed
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  comfort. Evil is not a runaway train.
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  It is a dog on a chain. God holds the leash.
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  He lets the dog bark and bite as much as is necessary for his
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  ultimate plan, and not one inch more.
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  The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
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  If it doesn't serve His glory, he simply doesn't let it happen.
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  That changes how you watch the news.
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  It has to. I mean, if you really believe
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  this verse, you don't panic. You realize that even the most
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  wicked leader on earth is being used, and their wickedness has a
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  hard stop, a limit set by God himself.
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  So in light of all of this, God's victory, His judgment, His
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  complete sovereignty over evil, verses 11 and 12 give us our
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  marching orders. Verse 11, vow and pay unto the
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  Lord your God. Let all that be round about him.
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  Bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
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  This is the duty that follows deliverance.
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  Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it is an action, Spurgeon says.
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  He who would defraud God is a Wretch indeed.
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  Vow and pay. It sounds very serious.
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  It is in the Old Testament. People would make vows in times
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  of deep trouble. Lord, if you save us from this
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  army, we will offer these sacrifices.
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  The text is saying. OK, he saved you.
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  Now pay up. It's a matter of integrity.
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  It is, and it's about substantial tribute, not just,
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  you know, verbal homage. We love to sing songs, but are
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  we bringing presents? Are we offering our lies, our
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  time, our resources? He deserves it.
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  And finally we get to verse 12. He shall cut off the spirit of
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  Princess. He is terrible to the kings of
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  the earth. This is the final nail in the
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  coffin of human pride. He shall cut off.
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  The imagery here is very, very specific.
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  Spurgeon mentions A gardener, I think.
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  Yes, like a gardener just slipping off a flower with his
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  thumbnail. We're slipping a bunch of grapes
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  from the vine. Snap.
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  It's like that. It implies an ease, a
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  casualness. God doesn't have to struggle to
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  remove a world leader. He just pinches the stem.
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  It's done easily. The notes give some pretty
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  haunting historical examples of this, don't they?
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  They do. They mention Henry the 4th, a
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  man who fought 52 battles, a true warrior king, but he died
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  poor, petitioning for a small position in a church just so he
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  could eat. And King Gilmer.
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  The Vandal King, once one of the most powerful men in the world,
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  and he ended up begging for three things.
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  A sponge, a loaf of bread, and a harp.
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  A sponge to dry his tears, bread to eat, and a harp to soothe his
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  misery. And Belisarius?
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  One of the greatest military generals in all of history, he
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  ended up blind and begging in the streets of Constantinople.
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  Give a halfpenny to Belisarius. These were the Princess and
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  kings of their day. And God cut off their spirit.
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  It shows the transients of human authority versus the eternal
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  reign of God. The lesson is just crystal
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  clear. Do not trust in Princess.
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  Do not not fear them, fear the Lord.
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  So to summarize where we've been today, we started with the
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  knowledge of God being exclusive to Judah, God revealing himself
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  to his people. We saw him in his lair in Zion,
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  the lion ready to defend his own.
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  We watched him snap the arrows of the enemy with a mere word.
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  We saw the stout hearted sleep, the sleep of death.
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  We learned that the wrath of man is just a tool in God's hand,
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  and that he restrains the rest of it.
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  And finally, we're called to pay our vows to this terrible,
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  glorious King. It's a sweeping view of
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  sovereignty, isn't it? The central Reformed theme holds
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  true through the whole Psalm. God is sovereign.
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  His enemies are nothing more than Red Clay and his church.
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  His Salem, is safe in his keeping.
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  It's a powerful message, especially when the world feels
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  so chaotic. It's the only message that gives
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  stable, lasting peace. Before we go, I want to leave
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  you, the learner, with a thought to chew on.
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  We spent some time on verse 10, how even the wrath of man is
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  forced to praise God. So here's the question.
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  If even the unwilling, hostile wrath of wicked men is
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  ultimately forced to praise God, how much more should His people,
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  who are the recipients of His grace, willingly offer their
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  praise? That's the question, isn't it?
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  Are you praising him less than the wrath of your enemies does?
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  Something to think about. Thank you for joining us on this
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  edition of Reformed Thinking. We will see you next time on the
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  Deep Dive. Grace and peace.