John Calvin Commentary Psalms 76:10

"Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: The residue of wrath shalt thou gird upon thee." — Psalms 76:10 (ASV)

Surely the wrath of men shall praise thee. Some understand these words to mean that after these enemies have submitted to God, they will give Him the praise for the victory, being compelled to acknowledge that they were subdued by His mighty hand.

Others draw out a more refined meaning: that when God stirs up the wicked and drives their fury, He in this way provides a most glorious display of His own glory, just as He is said to have stirred up the heart of Pharaoh for this very purpose (Exodus 14:4; Romans 9:17). While this interpretation undoubtedly contains a profitable doctrine, I am afraid it is too refined an explanation.

Therefore, I prefer to consider the meaning simply to be that although at first the rage of the enemies of God and His Church may throw all things into confusion and, so to speak, envelop them in darkness, yet all will ultimately result in His praise. For the outcome will make it clear that whatever they may plot and attempt, they cannot in any way prevail against Him.

The concluding part of the verse, The remainder of wrath thou wilt restrain, may also be interpreted in two ways. As the word חגר, chagar, means to gird, some supply the pronoun You, and interpret it this way: All the enemies of the Church are not yet overthrown, but You, O God! will gird Yourself to destroy those of them who remain.

The other interpretation, however, is simpler: that although these enemies might not stop expressing their cruelty, God would effectively restrain them and prevent them from succeeding in their plans.

Perhaps it would also be fitting to explain the verb as follows: You will gather into a bundle, as we say in French, “Tu trousseras,” that is, You will truss or pack up.

Let us therefore learn, while the wicked try to obscure and cast doubt on God’s providence, to wait patiently until He glorifies Himself by bringing about a better state of affairs and tramples underfoot their foolish presumption, to their shame and confusion.

But if new troubles arise from time to time, let us remember that it is His specific role to restrain the remaining wrath of the wicked, so that they do not go to greater extremes. Meanwhile, let us not be surprised if we see new outrages frequently springing up, for, even until the end of the world, Satan will always have partisans or agents whom he will urge on to trouble the children of God.