Theological Commentary: Click Here
Today we get
a pair of psalms talking about the greatness of God. In fact, the focus of God’s greatness is His
ability to judge. He reigns supreme over
the world, especially with respect to the eternal. When He desires to exert Himself, who among
us can stand against His will?
At the end
of Psalm 76, there is a pair of phrases that caught my attention: “surely the
wrath of man will praise you” and “the remnant of wrath you will put on like a
belt.” At first glance, these phrases seem
a bit odd. Is the psalmist trying to say
that God identifies with – or even approves of human wrath? Does God approve of the moments in life when
we lash out in anger and seek to injure one another?
Of course
not. In fact, these phrases are actually
saying the opposite. The wrath of man
will praise God. In other words, in the
great conflict between human wrath and God’s omnipotence, the psalmist is
declaring that God’s omnipotence will win.
Human wrath will have its will bent to the will of God. Human wrath will bend the knee and
submit. God is the omnipotent one,
although human wrath gives it the best shot that it can.
The second
phrase adds to this conclusion. It is
the remnant of wrath that God will put on like a belt. By definition, a remnant is that which is
left behind when the original is destroyed.
Human wrath will be destroyed.
Human wrath will be subdued. God
will victor, human wrath will know defeat.
In fact, not
only will God win, He will wear human wrath like a belt. The defeat of human wrath will like a trophy
for God! The defeat of human wrath will
be so significant that God will wear it around His person as a sign of the
great accomplishment that it is.
I long for
that day. I long for a day when human
beings stop looking at each other through eyes that only see self-gain. I long for a day when the wrath of human
beings has been subdued and replaced with love.
I long for a day when God’s omnipotence bends our humanity to Him.
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