Psalm 76:8

Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Psalm 76:8-9. Thou didst cause judgment to be heard, &c. — Thou didst execute judgment upon thine enemies by an angel sent from heaven. The earth feared, and was still — The effect of this terrible judgment was, that the rest of the world was afraid to invade or disturb the land and people of Israel; and chose rather to be still and stay quietly in their own territories. When God — Who had long suffered their insolence; arose to judgment — To execute judgment upon his enemies, and the enemies of his people. Hebrew, בקום, bekum, in his arising, or, after he had risen, or, because he did arise; to save all the meek — The humble, the patient, the mild, and gentle; or, the godly, who are often called meek ones; of the earth — Rather, of the land, for whose sakes, and in answer to whose prayers, God wrought this great deliverance which reached to all the people of the land.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

76:7-12 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 can set bounds to the wrath of man, as he does to the raging sea; hitherto it shall come, and no further. Let all submit to God. Our prayers and praises, and especially our hearts, are the presents we should bring to the Lord. His name is glorious, and he is the proper object of our fear. He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he shall slip it off easily, as we slip off a flower from the stalk, or a bunch of grapes from the vine; so the word signifies. He can dispirit the most daring: since there is no contending with God, it is our wisdom, as it is our duty, to submit to him. Let us seek his favour as our portion, and commit all our concerns to him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heavens - It seemed to come from heaven; it was manifestly from thee. The overthrow of these enemies of thy people was a manifest judgment from thee, and should be so regarded.

The earth feared - The world itself seemed to hear the voice of God, and to stand in awe.

And was still - It seemed to be profoundly attentive to what God said, and as if it reverently listened to his voice. It is not uncommon in the Scriptures to represent the earth - the hills, the mountains, the streams, the rivers, the plains - as conscious of the presence of God; as either rejoicing or trembling at his voice. Compare Psalm 65:12-13; Psalm 114:3-7; Habakkuk 3:8-11.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8, 9. God's judgment on the wicked is His people's deliverance (Ps 9:12; 10:7).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Thou didst execute judgment upon thine enemies by an angel sent from heaven; which is said to be heard, either because that was accompanied with terrible thunders and earthquakes, which was not unusual in the descent of an angel, as Matthew 28:2, and elsewhere; or because the fame of it was quickly spread abroad in the land, and in the world. The effect of this terrible judgment was, that the rest of the world were afraid to invade or disturb the land and people of Israel, and chose rather to sit still in their own territories.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven,.... When an angel was sent down from heaven, and destroyed the Assyrian army, a judgment of God upon them; at which time some think there was a violent clap of thunder, which is the voice of God: and it may refer to the judgments which God has decreed to execute on the antichristian states, the seven vials of his wrath he will pour upon them; for all decrees, as Aben Ezra on the place observes, come from heaven; or to the last judgment, when Christ the Judge shall descend from heaven, the voice of the archangel shall be heard, the last trumpet shall sound, the dead in their graves shall hear it, and rise and stand before the judgment seat, and hear the sentence pronounced:

the earth feared, and was still: or "trembled, and was quiet" (c); that is, again: some think there was an earthquake when the angel smote the Assyrian camp, but was quickly over. It may regard the panic the other nations were in when they heard of it, and therefore were still and quiet, and never offered to give the Israelites any disturbance. Some understand this of the remainder of the army that escaped with Sennacherib; these were seized with fear, and quickly withdrew, and silently departed into their own land. Aben Ezra observes it as the sense of some, "the earth feared", these are the wicked; "and was still", they are the righteous; so the Targum,

"the land of the people feared, the land of Israel was still;''

reference may be had to the consternation, fear, and dread, that will fall on them that escape the judgments inflicted on the antichristian party, Revelation 11:13 and the fear and silence that will attend the last and awful judgment; see Zechariah 2:13.

(c) "terra tremuit, et quievit", V. L.

Geneva Study Bible

Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

8. Thou didst cause judgement to be heard] Or, as R.V., sentence. God pronounced sentence upon the proud Assyrian when He intervened for the rescue of His people. Cp. Psalm 46:6; Isaiah 30:30; 1 Samuel 2:10.

from heaven] For though God has chosen Zion for His earthly dwelling-place, His true abode and seat of judgement is in heaven.

the meek of the earth] Cp. Isaiah 11:4; Zephaniah 2:3. Israel, regarded ideally as ‘the righteous one’ (Psalm 75:10), and contrasted with ‘the wicked of the earth’ (Psalm 75:8), is meant.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 8. - Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven. By the destruction of Sennacherib's host, God spoke, as it were, with a voice of thunder, to the whole earth. He delivered a "judgment," or a "sentence" (Revised Version), which could not be ignored. The earth feared, and was still. All the world, i.e. all the Oriental world, feared. The attention of the nations of Western Asia generally was attracted (2 Chronicles 32:23), and their minds were affected with a wholesome fear of Jehovah. The result was that they remained at rest and gave Israel rest. Psalm 76:8

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Nahum also (Psalm 1:6) draws the same inference from the defeat of Sennacherib as the psalmist does in Psalm 76:8. מאז אפּך (cf. Ruth 2:7; Jeremiah 44:18), from the decisive turning-point onwards, from the אז in Psalm 2:5, when Thine anger breaks forth. God sent forth His judiciary word from heaven into the midst of the din of war of the hostile world: immediately (cf. on the sequence of the tenses Psalm 48:6, and on Habakkuk 3:10) it was silenced, the earth was seized with fear, and its tumult was obliged to cease, when, namely, God arose on behalf of His disquieted, suffering people, when He spoke as we read in Isaiah 33:10, and fulfilled the prayer offered in extreme need in Isaiah 33:2.