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Psalm 76 reads from the NIV version of the Bible as follows; God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great. 2 His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war. 4 You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. 5 The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. 6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still. 7 It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? 8 From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet— 9 when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. 10 Surely your wrath against human beings brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained. 11 Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. 12 He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth. This psalm talks about the overwhelming presence of the Lord, where everything seems to be stilled or stopped by his judgment. Verse 8 is a pivotal verse which in the King James Version of the Bible speaks of the whole earth being stilled. In this psalm the armies are stopped in their tracks as the face off with the judgment of the Lord and the rulers of the kingdoms are also brought to a halt. There are two major possible interpretations to this psalm with regards to the actions of individuals who are called by the Lord within this type of context presented in this psalm. What is brought to the forefront as invitational is given is verse 11 which says,” Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring hands bring gifts to the One to be feared.” There is still the outright fear of the Lord here, but this is also due to wonder and awe as well as judgment. The first thing that seems to be happening is that the stilling even of the earth itself, the halting of the actions of its rulers, is done to bring to the forefront the relationship of those who are called to the presence of the Lord. Metaphorically, it is as if the earth stopped spinning so that the focus could be on the relationship between the Lord and those who are making vows to him. This relationship surpasses in importance the movements of everything else on the earth that has been stopped for this. The relationship between the Lord and those who are making the vows is the matter of supreme importance, so important that the earth itself is stilled for it. An example in the Bible of this might be the dialogue between Abraham and Lord, where everything else seemed to be put into the background of this relationship between Abraham and the Lord and the far reaching implications of their dialogue. Even the stars in the heavens took a background setting to the dialogue between Abraham and the Lord. A second major interpretation of this psalm is how the vows of individuals can not only have individual implications but also world wide implications as implied in this psalm. The earth may start moving in a certain way only as the vows are given by the individuals. The direction of the ruler ship, of the natural forces of nature, and even nature itself depends on these vows and how they are brought forth, and what the deals consist of that are being made with the individual subjects of the vows. What Abraham and the Lord would decide between them would have repercussions for all future generations. Vows in the Bible can be variable but often they involve possibly prayer vows including vows of intercession and thanksgiving, and vows of fasting as well as other types of vows. Vows might often be done for some relatively small personal request which is of course valid but in the context of this psalm the vows of individuals can affect the workings of all the earth. This would be along the lines of the giant or massive interventions possibly of prayer. Elijah was one individual whose prayers affected the weather on all of the earth for years upon years. His prayer was a vow of intercession between him and the Lord that affected all of the earth for years. What happened with him relates to this psalm, where what seems to be otherwise major happenings on the earth are stilled or quieted or even stopped by the Lord as the vows of his chosen ones are paramount or supreme. This psalm shows even in the context of world wide judgment, how the relationship of individuals comes to the forefront and is paramount, and this psalm shows just how valuable chosen individuals are to the Lord and how they are called to prayer and particular vows and what their response is can affect the whole earth and what happens everywhere now and into the distant future. T
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