Temple Baptist Church - 2-2-2025
Psalm 76
A. An important Psalm that gets skipped so often by preachers. This Psalm speaks of God’s judgment upon the enemies of Israel from its inception until eternity begins.
B. I make that last statement because of the four geographical places are mentioned in the opening two verses: Judah, Israel, Salem, and Zion. Satan and his cohorts have hated God’s people from their inception and continue to destroy Israel.
C. The Nation of Israel had its humble beginnings in the Book of Genesis.
1. At app. 2400 BC, God Promised Abraham that of his seed would come forth a great nation.
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (3) And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
2. God also promised Abraham that the Seed of the Woman, our Lord Jesus Christ, would also come from his loins.
Genesis 17:4-5 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. (5) Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
Genesis 18:18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
3. Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.
D. Let’s look at those four names that the Psalmist illuded to.
1. The First name: Judah! “In Judah is God known.” Known or to know in the Bible speaks of the intimate relationship of a man and his wife.
a. The first born son of the family was to be heir to the position of Patriarch in the family. The Patriarch was to spiritually as well as physically guide the family until his death.
b. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all set aside their first born sons because of sin.
c. In Genesis 49, we find the elderly Israel setting aside the first three sons because of their sinfulness.
Genesis 49:8-11 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. (9) Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (10) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (11) Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
d. Thus, Israel’s Messiah was born in the lineage of Judah.
e. Christ Jesus was born in Bethlehem Judah.
f. Known in Judah. Our great salvation comes through Judah’s lineage, thus many nations are blessed.
g. Satan did his best to destroy the Lord and his punishment will one day come.
2. The Second name: Israel. “His name is great in Israel.”
a. In the positions that Christ Jesus holds, we find the greatness of His name.
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
b. He is our great Saviour. He saves the eternal souls of all who believe on Him.
c. He is our great High Priest. He shed His precious blood for our sins and now represents us to the Father.
d. He is our great Prophet. He declares to us who believe the beginning to the end.
e. He is our great King. He it is and He only to whom we bow our knees and submit our souls and lives.
f. How Satan hates the Nation of Israel, the apple of God’s eye, His chosen people.
3. The Third name: Salem. “In Salem also is his tabernacle.” Salem is an ancient name of Jerusalem from who, Melchizedek, the King of Salem, came forth to Abraham.
a. Blessed are they who pray for the peace of Jerusalem. What a wonderful place.
b. Salem was where the ark of the Lord rested behind the veil of the Tabernace.
c. Salem was where Solomon built the most beautiful, the most expensive building ever built: the Temple.
d. Salem was where Ezra was sent to build Zerubbal’s Temple which stood until 70 AD.
e. Still a place that brings peace to the hearts of God’s people.
f. All three were torn down be Satan’s followers.
4. The Fourth name: Zion. “and his dwelling place in Zion.” Zion means conspicuous or a waymark, permanence.
a. The place where Abraham sacrificed Isaac.
b. The place where King David reigned.
c. The place where Christ Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected.
d. The place where the Lord of lords and King of kings will rule from the throne of his father David for 1000 years.
e. The place where the New Jerusalem will one day rest.
f. Satan hates Zionists.
5. Why so long an introduction? Because we need to understand that what God owns and loves, we will find in the rest of the verses that He protects His own!
6. Verses 3-6. God conquers all enemies of Israel because they belong to Him and He loves them! You would think that, after 4500 years, the Arab countries that lie around Israel’s borders would learn this lesson.
7. Verses 7-9. God judges Israel’s enemies. God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse Israel. When surrounding nations bless Israel, they prosper. When they curse Israel, they fail to prosper.
8. Verses 10-11. God restrains His wrath when Israel’s enemies repent and stop their war with them.
9. Verse 12. God will break and remove the attitude of Israel’s enemies.
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