Psalm 76 – Known
Is it possible to completely know ourselves or others? Much less God? In Psalm 76 – known, we hear how God is great, known throughout Judah. But what does that mean?
Psalm 76
Another psalm of Asaph, Psalm 76 (NIV) begins by saying God is renowned in Judah. Other translations, including the King James, the English Standard, and the New American Standard state, “God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel.” To be renowned, or known throughout the land, means that you are famous. But it doesn’t mean that you are truly known as the unique person that you are.
Psalm 76 begins with acclaiming the greatness of God.
“God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great.
His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.” (1-3)
God is also known by his appearance: “You are radiant with light,
more majestic than mountains rich with game.” (4)
God – The Warrior
Asaph presents God as a great warrior. His actions testify to his greatness in war:
“The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands.
At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still.” (5-6)
And God’s attributes, in this case, his anger, are proclaimed:
“It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry?
From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—
when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.
Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.” (7-10)
The psalm ends with Asaph telling all to bow down before the Lord who is the ruler of all.
“Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared.
He breaks the spirit of ruler; he is feared by the kings of the earth.” (11-12)
What Does It Mean to be Known?
One of my favorite TV shows is the British series, Doc Martin. Martin is a curmudgeonly doctor who has a blood phobia. The mere site of blood can cause him to vomit or even pass out. What attracted me to the show at first was this unique premise: a doctor who can’t stand the sight of blood? How could that be? What keeps me coming back are all the wonderful, quirky characters that live in the city of Portwenn or pass through the city. Each are as unique as the Doc.
Despite how rude and outrageous the Doc often is, the people of Portwenn come to love and appreciate him. After all, they certainly have quirks of their own. Part of the power of the storyline is how Louisa, Doc’s wife, learns to love him with all his idiosyncrasies. As she comes to know him and some of the reasons why he is the way he is, she loves him even more. And Doc, from this experience of being known and loved for who he is, grows as a person. It’s a story about the power of being known and loved anyway.
Tools for Knowing Ourselves and Others Better
As early as Plato and the four temperaments, people have been trying to find ways to understand each other. One tool used by counselors is the Johari window. The window has four areas: Open – what we know about ourselves and show to others. Hidden – things we know about ourselves but hide from others, our private selves. Blind – what others know about us, but we don’t see. And unknown – parts that are unknown to us and others.
The idea is to expand the open area by seeking feedback and learning more about ourselves. But no matter how hard we try, we can never completely know ourselves. There will always be parts of us that are in the unknown window. Nor can we know others.
Other tools include the Myers-Briggs and Enneagram type indicators. (For information on how to use the Enneagram to grow spiritually, check out Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram.) Both provide ways to further your self-knowledge and your understanding of others and thus enhance your relationships.
Psalm 76 – Known
Just as we can never completely know ourselves, we can never completely know God. Psalm 76 gives us a glimpse of one aspect of God. Asaph tells us that God is known and feared because of God’s great power. He says nothing of God’s great compassion and merciful love, or other aspects.
Is God truly known throughout the world as Psalm 76 – known indicates? Maybe this was the case for the Hebrew nation, but it is not the case in the present day. Many people neither know nor believe in God. Or maybe they don’t believe in God because they see God as someone to be feared. They have blind spots where God is concerned.
Psalm 76 gives us a limited view of God. And that’s okay. It is one aspect. But if we are to grow spiritually, we need to learn more about our multi-faceted God. We need to expand our window as to who God is, removing blind spots.
How much do you truly know about your God? Do you have blind spots? How might you expand your knowledge of God and yourself?
(For another take on this Psalm, see Psalm 76: Warrior God? Seeing God as We Are)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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