King James Version
Psalms 76
12 verses with commentary
God Is Glorious and Majestic
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. of: or, for
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.</strong> This psalm of Zion celebrates God's dramatic intervention to defend His people. The opening verse establishes location and reputation: God has made Himself known in the territory and among the people He has chosen.<br><br>"In Judah is God known" (<em>noda biYhudah Elohim</em>, נוֹדָע בִּיהוּדָה אֱלֹהִים) uses the passive form of ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Judah . . . Israel.**—A comparison with Psalm 114:1-2, leads to the conclusion that these names are introduced here in this order, simply for the rhythm. (Comp. “Salem” and “Sion” in the next verse, and notice that the four names offer an instance of introversion, the more restricted terms, Judah, Sion, occupying the first and last clauses, the more general Israel, Salem, the middle ones.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 76
Chapter Outline
The psalmist speaks of God's power.(1-6)
All have to fear and to trust in him.(7-12)
**Verses 1-6**
Happy people are those who have their land filled with the knowledge of God! happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge! It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among them by his ordinances. Wherein the enemies of the ch...
Read full commentary →In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.</strong> This verse celebrates Jerusalem as God's chosen earthly dwelling, using ancient and contemporary names for the city. <strong>"Salem"</strong> (שָׁלֵם/<em>Shalem</em>) is the ancient name meaning "peace," associated with Melchizedek's city (Genesis 14:18). It emphasizes Jerusalem's destiny as the city of peace and div...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Salem.**—The LXX. and Vulgate translate “his place was in peace,” and possibly the poet may use the word *Salem *with the thought in his mind of the peace won by God for Judah, or, again, it may be only a poet’s preference for an ancient over a modern name; but the identification of the Salem of Genesis 14:18 with Jerusalem is too doubtful to allow much weight to this view. (See the whole qu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 41 Psa 41:1-13. The Psalmist celebrates the blessedness of those who compassionate the poor, conduct strongly contrasted with the spite of his enemies and neglect of his friends in his calamity. He prays for God's mercy in view of his ill desert, and, in confidence of relief, and that God will vindicate his cause, he closes with a doxology.
1-3. God rewards kindness to the poor (Pr 19:17). ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 76
Chapter Outline
The psalmist speaks of God's power.(1-6)
All have to fear and to trust in him.(7-12)
**Verses 1-6**
Happy people are those who have their land filled with the knowledge of God! happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge! It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among them by his ordinances. Wherein the enemies of the ch...
Read full commentary →There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm celebrates Jerusalem's security: "In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion" (Hebrew <em>va-y-hi v-Shalem sukko u-m-onato v-Tzion</em>). "Salem" is poetic for Jerusalem (Genesis 14:18), meaning "peace." "Tabernacle" (Hebrew <em>sukkah</em>) and "dwelling place" (Hebrew <em>me-onah</em>) emphasize God's choice to dwell among His people. God's presence makes Zion secu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **There.**—This word in Psalm 14:5 does not appear to have a strictly definite local sense; and here may refer to time, possibly to some event, which we are not able with certainty to recover.
**Arrows.**—Literally, flashes. (See Note, Song of Solomon 8:6.) The image may be derived from the lightning speed of the flight of arrows, or from the custom of shooting bolts tipped with flame (see Not...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 41 Psa 41:1-13. The Psalmist celebrates the blessedness of those who compassionate the poor, conduct strongly contrasted with the spite of his enemies and neglect of his friends in his calamity. He prays for God's mercy in view of his ill desert, and, in confidence of relief, and that God will vindicate his cause, he closes with a doxology.
1-3. God rewards kindness to the poor (Pr 19:17). ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 76
Chapter Outline
The psalmist speaks of God's power.(1-6)
All have to fear and to trust in him.(7-12)
**Verses 1-6**
Happy people are those who have their land filled with the knowledge of God! happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge! It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among them by his ordinances. Wherein the enemies of the ch...
Read full commentary →Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm praises God: "Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey" (Hebrew <em>na-or atah adir me-harere teref</em>). "Glorious" (Hebrew <em>na-or</em>) means luminous, radiant with light. "Excellent" (Hebrew <em>adir</em>) indicates majestic power. "Mountains of prey" likely refers to enemy strongholds where predatory nations dwelt. God surpasses all earthly power centers in...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Thou art . . .**—Better, *Splendid art thou, glorious one, from the mountains of prey. *The construction is somewhat doubtful and favours Hupfeld’s emendation (*nora, i.e., to be feared, *as in verses 8 and 13, instead of *noar, i.e., glorious*)*. *Certainly the comparative of the Authorised Version is to be abandoned. The poet’s thought plainly proceeds from the figure of Psalm 76:2. The mo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 41 Psa 41:1-13. The Psalmist celebrates the blessedness of those who compassionate the poor, conduct strongly contrasted with the spite of his enemies and neglect of his friends in his calamity. He prays for God's mercy in view of his ill desert, and, in confidence of relief, and that God will vindicate his cause, he closes with a doxology.
1-3. God rewards kindness to the poor (Pr 19:17). ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 76
Chapter Outline
The psalmist speaks of God's power.(1-6)
All have to fear and to trust in him.(7-12)
**Verses 1-6**
Happy people are those who have their land filled with the knowledge of God! happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge! It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among them by his ordinances. Wherein the enemies of the ch...
Read full commentary →The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm describes God's victory: "The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands" (Hebrew <em>eshtalelu abbirey-lev namu sh-natam v-lo-matzu khol-anshe-chayil y-deyhem</em>). "Stouthearted" (bold warriors) are "spoiled" (plundered). "Slept their sleep" is euphemism for death. "Men of might" (warriors) cannot "find their hands"—paral...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Are spoiled.**—Literally, *have let themselves be spoiled. *The picture is of men rendered powerless, at a glance, a word, from God.
**Slept their sleep.**—Better, *have sunk into a deep sleep.*
**None of the men of might have found their hands.**—This expression for powerlessness naturally grew into an idiom in a language that used the word *hand *as a synonym for *strength. *(Comp. Joshua ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. I said--**I asked the mercy I show.
**heal my soul--**(Compare Psa 30:2). "Sin and suffering are united," is one of the great teachings of the Psalms.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 76
Chapter Outline
The psalmist speaks of God's power.(1-6)
All have to fear and to trust in him.(7-12)
**Verses 1-6**
Happy people are those who have their land filled with the knowledge of God! happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge! It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among them by his ordinances. Wherein the enemies of the ch...
Read full commentary →At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.</strong> Divine speech alone—<strong>"thy rebuke"</strong> (גַּעֲרָתְךָ/<em>ga'aratecha</em>)—vanquishes military might. This verb denotes sharp, authoritative correction that stops opposition instantly. God needs no army; His word is sufficient weapon. This echoes Psalm 104:7, where mountains flee at God...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Are cast into a deep sleep.**—The same Hebrew expression is used of Sisera’s profound slumber (Judges 4:21). Deborah’s Song and Exodus 15 are in the poet’s mind, as they were to the author of Isaiah 43:17, and as they have inspired the well-known lines of Byron’s “Sennacherib.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-6. A graphic picture of the conduct of a malignant enemy.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 76
Chapter Outline
The psalmist speaks of God's power.(1-6)
All have to fear and to trust in him.(7-12)
**Verses 1-6**
Happy people are those who have their land filled with the knowledge of God! happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge! It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among them by his ordinances. Wherein the enemies of the ch...
Read full commentary →Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm declares: "Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?" (Hebrew <em>atah nora atah u-mi-ya-amod l-faneycha me-az appekha</em>). The doubled "thou, even thou" emphasizes exclusivity—God alone deserves fear. "Who may stand" is rhetorical—none can endure divine anger. "When once thou art angry" warns of God's wrath. The verse inspires holy fea...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-6. A graphic picture of the conduct of a malignant enemy.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
God's people are the meek of the earth, the quiet in the land, that suffer wrong, but do none. The righteous God seems to keep silence long, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. We live in an angry, provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man. What will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out. He ca...
Read full commentary →Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,</strong> This verse describes theophany—God's dramatic self-revelation in judgment. <strong>"Judgment"</strong> (דִּין/<em>din</em>) denotes legal verdict pronounced from the divine court. <strong>"From heaven"</strong> emphasizes transcendence—God speaks from His throne above earthly powers. Heaven's verdi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7-8. So of others, all act alike.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
God's people are the meek of the earth, the quiet in the land, that suffer wrong, but do none. The righteous God seems to keep silence long, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. We live in an angry, provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man. What will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out. He ca...
Read full commentary →When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.</strong> This verse reveals judgment's dual purpose: punishing the proud and <strong>"saving all the meek."</strong> <strong>"Arose"</strong> (קוּם/<em>qum</em>) depicts God rising from His throne, moving from patient observation to active intervention. The metaphor suggests a judge standing to pronounce verdict or a war...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Of the earth.**—Or, *of the land.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7-8. So of others, all act alike.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
God's people are the meek of the earth, the quiet in the land, that suffer wrong, but do none. The righteous God seems to keep silence long, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. We live in an angry, provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man. What will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out. He ca...
Read full commentary →Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.</strong> This remarkable verse declares that even human rage against God serves His purposes. What appears to oppose divine glory actually advances it. This is one of Scripture's clearest statements of God's sovereignty over evil.<br><br>"The wrath of man" (<em>chamat adam</em>, חֲמַת אָדָם) refers to hu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Surely.**—The text of this verse as it stands is unintelligible—
“Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee;
The residue of wrath Thou shalt gird Thyself with.”
But the LXX. and Vulg. suggest the necessary emendation—
“ Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee,
And the residue of wraths do Thee honour,”
where the residue of wrath, like Virgil’s *reliquiœ Danaum *(Æ*n. *1:30), means those t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. mine ... friend--**literally, "the man of my peace."
**eat ... bread--**who depended on me or was well treated by me.
**hath lifted up heel--**in scornful violence. As David and his fortunes typified Christ and His (compare Introduction), so these words expressed the treatment he received, and also that of his Son and Lord; hence, though not distinctly prophetical, our Saviour (Joh 13:18)...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
God's people are the meek of the earth, the quiet in the land, that suffer wrong, but do none. The righteous God seems to keep silence long, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. We live in an angry, provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man. What will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out. He ca...
Read full commentary →Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. unto him: Heb. to fear
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm commands worship: "Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared" (Hebrew <em>nidru u-shalemu la-YHWH Eloheykem kol-s-vivav yovilu shay la-mora</em>). "Vow and pay" indicates covenant commitment with followthrough. "All round about" extends worship beyond Israel. "Presents" (Hebrew <em>shay</em>) are tribute acknowled...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Vow, and pay . . .**—This clause seems to be addressed to the Israelites, the next to the heathen.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. A lawful punishment of criminals is not revenge, nor inconsistent with their final good (compare Psa 40:14, 15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
God's people are the meek of the earth, the quiet in the land, that suffer wrong, but do none. The righteous God seems to keep silence long, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. We live in an angry, provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man. What will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out. He ca...
Read full commentary →He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He shall cut off the spirit of princes</strong> (יִבְצֹר רוּחַ נְגִידִים, <em>yivtzor ruach negidim</em>)—<em>Batzar</em> means cut off, clip, curtail; <em>ruach</em> is spirit, breath; <em>negidim</em> means princes, leaders, rulers. <strong>He is terrible to the kings of the earth</strong> (נוֹרָא לְמַלְכֵי־אָרֶץ, <em>nora le-malkhei-aretz</em>)—<em>Nora</em> means awesome, fearful, terr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **He shall cut off . . .**—Literally, *lop off, *as a vinedresser prunes a vine. For the image see Joel 3:13; Isaiah 18:5; Revelation 14:17 *seq.*
**Spirit**—*i.e.*, the life.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-13. favourest--**or tenderly lovest me (Ge 34:19), evinced by relief from his enemies, and, farther, God recognizes his innocence by upholding him.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
God's people are the meek of the earth, the quiet in the land, that suffer wrong, but do none. The righteous God seems to keep silence long, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. We live in an angry, provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man. What will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out. He ca...
Read full commentary →