Psalm 76:10 Truly, wrathful Edom will give you thanks, and the remnant of Hamath will keep your feasts.
I grew up close to the Natchez Trace, an historic Southern roadway that was built over and connected many ancient Native American paths and trails. New roads have been built over the old route. As I drive, I remember that this road has been used for thousands of years, by thousands of different kinds of people. I feel a kinship with these ancient fellow travelers, passing over the same road, traveling in the same direction.
Psalm 76 creates a similar impression. The New International Version translates the verse this way: “Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.” Other translations differ wildly; the writer’s language is so ancient and his way of thinking so foreign to us that nobody seems certain about his meaning here.
And yet the psalmist and I share important common ground. We tell many of the same stories, ask many of the same questions, worship the same God. This long-dead person is my fellow traveler, walking the same road, wandering in the same direction.
