Asaph has written a song to praise God for having given victory to his people. It was wonderful now to have his presence with them, including in the temple in Jerusalem where he revealed his presence in a special way. In order for this to happen, he had given great victories throughout the land against powerful enemies. Maybe Asaph was thinking about what had happened through Joshua or through David (vv. 1-3).
During the campaign to capture the promised land, God had ensured that the enemies of Israel became powerless and weak, even although they would have seemed powerful in a normal war. His rebuke was sufficient to stop them in their tracks (vv. 4-6).
Why did God do this? One reason was that he was angry with the inhabitants of Canaan and a second reason was that he wanted to deliver his people. Centuries before, he had told Abraham that the iniquity of the inhabitants would eventually bring divine judgement on them. He had also promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land. Now he had fulfilled both divine announcements.
Since that had been the case, it meant that the wrath of man against God’s ways is ineffective. Their expressions of wrath were met by divine power and become signs of his strength (worn as trophies on his belt). The appropriate response is to worship him by keeping promises of dedication and offering suitable expressions of adoration and appreciation. After all, he can remove the powerful of the earth in a moment, or if he chooses, take a few centuries to do it.
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