Ps. 76.11-12 (the Kingdom of God)

Make vows / to Yhwh / your God / and fulfill them;
let all round about him / give tribute / to the Fearsome One
he who mortifies / the spirit of princes,
who is the Awesome One / to the kings of the earth. 

These verses mark an important shift in the psalm in several related ways. The first thing to notice is that from the beginning of the psalm the action of God has been one of destruction and decimation. He has been described as a lion establishing his den/lair; as ‘shattering the implements of war’; of plundering the stouthearted, and leaving them in a near-death sleep; of rebuking and stilling horses and chariots; and of instilling fear. All of this was summed up in verse 9 as God’s ‘rising for justice’, the prelude to his deliverance of the oppressed. The point is that the action of God has been to wreak havoc and to sever the men of the earth from their power. It has been an astonishing act of ‘casting down’. Here, by contrast, the first line indicates a change in all of this. Now, the listeners are encouraged to ‘make vows’ and ‘fulfill them’. From the severing of all communion we now come to a restoration.  This can be seen in another way—God has been the actor. The earth and its peoples have been the object of God’s action. Here, by contrast, God becomes the subject and man becomes the actor. Man now moves toward God. Importantly, this movement is by way of ‘vows and fulfillment’. Man moves toward God by way of establishing a bond of fidelity to God (vow), of receiving a response to that fidelity, and then fulfilling the vow (probably by way of sacrifice). In the context of this psalm this movement is one of a subordinate to a superior. It is formalized, and ritualized. Further, and most striking, is the fact that the divine Name appears here for the first time. The opening verses mentioned ‘the name’: “in Israel his name is great” (vs. 1). It would appear, though, that during the terrible ‘rising’ of God when all the ‘stouthearted’ are cowed, God shows himself forth as: the Renowned One, the Majestic One and the Resplendent One. By contrast, once deliverance has been accomplished and the covenantal power unleashed, the name appears. I do not think this is by accident. We have seen this in several other psalms where the name disappears for a time during the time of great persecution (in Sheol the name is forgotten) or of judgment. It would seem that the Name, in this sense, is a manifestation of the covenant God has with his people. When he faces their enemy, his name is hidden. When justice is declared, judgment given and deliverance effected, the Name is revealed. This covenantal sense is also clear from the phrase, “Yhwh, your God”, a clear allusion to the covenantal beginnings in Deuteronomy—“you will be my people, and I will be your God”. What we can conclude then is this: that this verse reveals the inner-dynamic of the covenantal relationship between God and his people. The verses leading up this have, in a way, been a reflection on God ‘from the outside’, as he stands against the world. Here, once judgment has been delivered, we see God from within—from within that space created within himself by and through the covenant.  Where the Name dwells. This is not an area quarantined from the rest of the world. An inner sanctum. Judgment has been delivered and the rage of mankind has been dealt with (either by being converted to praise or banished). Rather, what we see in these verses is the effect of God’s re-ordering justice. Whereas before everything was scattered by his presence, now they are “round about him”. This is the gathering of a king’s subjects ‘round about’ his throne, while is the center of their attention and devotion. Here, the world has moved “round about” God—this is the effect of God’s justice. It re-orders everything around his throne. This congregation, however, is probably more specific as they ‘offer tribute’ and the immediately following lines refers to ‘princes and kings’. They are the world powers as they submit themselves (on bended knee?) to Yhwh. These partake of a different action. Rather than ‘vows’ they offer tribute.  This is the ‘wealth of nations’ being handed over to Yhwh. This is important for a host of reasons we have detailed in other psalms about the relationship between God’s Kingdom and wealth. Here, we simply must point out that it is in the establishment of justice that this tribute—this movement of the world powers to God—is effected. The final two lines point in two different directions: mortification and recognition of God’s authority. As to the ‘princes’, their power is mortified in and through God’s judgment. This refers to the verses leading up God’s ‘rising’. The final line highlights that the kings of the earth have become vassals to the “Awesome One” of Israel. This final line reminds us that the ‘focus of the action’ in these lines, although not stated, is Zion. It is there that ‘vows are fulfilled’ and it is there that tribute would be paid. And, importantly, it is there that the Name dwells—that name that is now pronounced as the expression of this Kingdom of God.