Psalm 76:10 (ESV)
Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
This psalm celebrates a great victory of God on behalf of His people and has the ring of a triumphant anthem as it recalls various details about the victory…as well as the victor, himself. When it comes to the good things that happen in our lives (Jas. 1:17), or the faithful and consistent prayer requests that God honors (Rom. 12:12), we usually don’t take the time to expound on what He has done, but rather, offer up a simple “Amen” or “Praise God.” How often do we take the time to really unpack all that He has done for us – or is doing for us? God most likely isn’t expecting us to write a song/psalm every time something good happens in our lives…but perhaps we should all be a bit more expansive in our gratitude from time to time and be willing to give a more complete testimony than a spiritual High Five.
Setting aside the general thrust of today’s psalm, there is a fascinating “one-liner” that appears towards the end: “Surely the wrath of man shall praise you.” Have you ever received the temper tantrum of a child…as praise? Or the plotting of trouble by an enemy…as a compliment? Spurgeon unpacked this unusual verse in a way that points us in the right direction:
“Man, with his breath of threatening is but blowing the trumpet of the Lord’s eternal fame. Furious winds often drive vessels the more swiftly into port. The devil blows the fire and melts the iron, and then the Lord fashions it for his own purposes. Let men and devils rage as they may, they cannot do otherwise than subserve the divine purposes.”
Man’s wrath against the things of God testifies, not only to his existence – for what man rages against something that does not exist or exert influence – but also testifies to the Rightness of His causes. The bible contains many examples of such rage becoming praise. Haman was filled with wrath against Mordecai and all Jewish people; God used that wrath to bring himself praise and deliverance for his people. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were filled with wrath toward God’s own Son; God used that wrath to fulfill his plan of salvation and bring himself eternal praise. Rest assured, friend, that every form of rage and wrath brought to bear against God, His Word, and His people, will likewise be turned into more Praise and Glory and Honor for our Sovereign King. The more the world rages against God’s Truth, the greater the victory in the end, and the greater the praise, for what kind of parade takes place for a victory over a weak foe?
As for the second part of this verse – “the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt” – there are a few translations that give a different sense of this difficult Hebrew phrase. Some talk of God “restraining” the left-over wrath or “girding it” upon himself. Ultimately, every version points to the fact that God has already placed a limit on the wrath that man can conjure up and dispel. It is comforting to know that “malice has been tethered and cannot break its bounds” (Spurgeon). And while men of evil intent can do great wickedness, they cannot do it outside of God’s knowledge and will. Their rage against God is bound up in the evil actions against man, but those evil actions will all be turned into a greater victory in the end and not a single one will go unaccounted for…and punished accordingly.
