Psalms 76:3

3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. [Selah]

Psalms 76:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 76:3

There brake he the arrows of the bow
&c.] The Targum is,

``there brake he the arrows and the bows of the people that make war;''

the word (ypvr) , translated "arrows", signifies "sparks or coals of fire"; see ( Job 5:7 ) ( Song of Solomon 8:6 ) and is used of arrows, because they fly swiftly, as sparks do, or because of their brightness, or because fiery; so we read of "the fiery darts of Satan", ( Ephesians 6:16 ) , and perhaps they may be meant here: when Christ our Lord suffered near Jerusalem, he spoiled principalities and powers, and broke their strength and might, and made peace by the blood of his cross, in which he triumphed over them; for the destroying of these instruments of war with what follow:

the shield, and the sword, and the battle,
is expressive of making wars to cease, and causing peace; and may include the peace which was all the world over at the birth of Christ, and was foretold and expressed in much such language as here, ( Zechariah 9:9 Zechariah 9:10 ) , and also that which was made by his sufferings and death, and which was published in his Gospel by his apostles, whom he sent forth unarmed, whose weapons were not carnal, but spiritual; and likewise the spiritual peace he gives to his people, quenching the fiery darts of Satan, and delivering them from the archers that shoot at them, and sorely grieve them; as well as that peace which shall be in the world and churches in the latter day; see ( Psalms 46:11 ) ,

Selah. (See Gill on Psalms 3:2).

Psalms 76:3 In-Context

1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. [Selah]
4 Glorious art thou, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.