MEDITATING ON THE PSALMS, PSALM 76 V 10. ....Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Wrath is anger accentuated to its highest pitches. it is the fire that burns, the fire of man that is. when it is roused, it serves only to destruction. but this psalm and verse quickly, elegantly, with much candor and in a not so subtle cautionary tone reminds mortal man to watch it, be humble and to not vaunt himself more than seemly, or even at all. Quickly reminding man that there is someone infinitely higher, sovereign and big that even at the height of mans un-tameness still commands the fear and unreserved reverence of him. He is the father of all fears(...Yoruba version, oro-go-jigo baba eru), the psalm paints the awful contrast between Divinity and mortality, portrays in few but effective words the terror of a great God, reveals God, the-man-of war and in one breath warns sternly the kings of the earth..v 12, He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth. It feels to mortal man because of his seeming circumstances and few priviledges that he is infinitely powerful and invincible, a true folly of the heart and a premise for a time-honoured instruction to be meek and honour God, v 11...Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. All the bellowing of man, as the fire of the hearth of the blacksmith can only n the end bow in deep reverence when but a little the anger of God is revealed. Area boys and agbero boys in Lagos may well expect to vaunt themselves in the presence of us civilians for as long as the wish, but that is until men from the Nigerian-Army with cat-like tribal marks, stone-washed faces and who have only just returned from peace keeping in Darfur show up on the scene. these area boys become complete gentlemen. such is the wrath of man compared to that of a terrible God. even the fiercest of men as pharaoh or the ruthless Assyrian army can only fear. The wrath of man for all its worth can only do so much. it can only harm the body, and probably that of the carrier of the wrath. But the bible says to fear only he who can destry both the body, soul and spirit..matt 10:28. the one whos wrath when it is stirred up just a bit will burn to the uttermost part of hell...hell and destruction are before him, how much more the souls of men. A timely warning and instruction the psalm also is that man must be humble and not vaunt.finally, the other part of the verse says...the remainder of wrath shall thou restrain. Hmm, as if to say the former part was not enough. Again, it says whatever is left of mans wrath, unexpressed, he better put it on mute, he will restrain. which is why I wonder at men who vaunt and perpetuate themselves, gosh, two or three missed breaths and hes gone, the heart just stops. which is why the fear of man is totally useless, god only speaks of giving honour to one another. The wisest admonition in this light is from Isaiah 8 v 13...Sanctify the lord of hosts alone and make him your fear. he who kneels before god would stand before men. be humble, fear the Lord alone, do not vaunt yourself, it is wise counsel.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 10:49:22 +0000
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