Summer In The Psalms - Psalm 75

Summer In The Psalms

Psalms are the song book of God’s people

Learn to pray the psalms, even when it doesn’t “feel” like what you’re going through. It connects us to the story of the Bible, the people of God, and the presence of God. It’s important to expand our prayer life and comfort zone.

Psalm 75

A Psalm of Asaph

Psalm 75: Considered a Thanksgiving Psalm

Theme: Because God is the final judge, the tables will be turned upon the wicked. When arrogant people threaten our security, we can be confident that God will ultimately overrule and destroy them.

For the director of music. To the tun of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.

To the tune of “Do Not Destroy” (see also Psalm 57-59, 75)

Do Not Destroy. Title of Psalms 57–59; 75. This is likely an incipit, the opening words of a text or song title (possibly based on Is 65:8). Accompanied by miktam, it may also serve as a shorthand means of forbidding the destruction or removal of an inscription or text. (IVPBB OT)

Multiple Outlines:

Adoration of believers

Psalm 75:1 “We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.”

Voice of God, I am Ruling

Psalm 75:2–5 “You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge uprightly. When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. Selah To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns. Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak with outstretched neck.’ ””

Warning from believers to enemies

Psalm 75:6–8 “No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.”

Matthew 5:44–45 “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Telling of his works. Past, present, and future.

Closing anticipatory song

Psalm 75:9–10 “As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

A. The Source of Judgement: The Lord (75:1-3)

Psalm 75:1 (NIV84)

We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.

MJV: Picture & purpose of corporate worship

Name is near. Psalm 34:18. Philippians 4:5.

Deeds: past, present, future.

Psalm 75:2–3 (NIV84)

You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge uprightly. When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. Selah

“I choose” (v. 2)

Believers leave judgment to God (James 1:19-20)

Believers are to examine ourselves (Matthew 7:1-5)

MJV: Judgement call vs. Condemnation

Uprightly (v. 2)

MJV: The Lord is perfect in His judgements. Perfect in His qualities. Not only is He trustworthy in this, but it is right for Him to do so.

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 51-100 (The Source of Judgment: The Lord (Psalm 75:2–3))

First, he is slow to anger and abounding in faithful love (Exod 34:6). God isn’t trigger happy. Second, he is righteous in all his ways (Ps 145:17). He doesn’t have temper tantrums. He doesn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed. No, his judgment is a measured expression of his righteous character. Third, God is all wise (Ps 147:5; Rom 16:27). Scripture says the Lord founded the earth by wisdom (Prov 3:19). He also runs it by wisdom (Job 12:13–35). He judges with perfect wisdom. He is never in the dark. He never lacks all the information. We humans, even at our best, often lack context or comprehensive awareness of motives and contributing factors. God knows all. God rules and governs in righteousness, wisdom, and truth.

Wrong responses to judgment: ridiculing judgment, boasting in judgment (gloating), and minimizing judgment.

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 51-100 (Wrong Response 1: Ridicule Judgment)

Bill Maher sums up the story of Noah and the great flood this way: “It’s about a psychotic mass murderer who gets away with it and his name is God” (Howell, “God a ‘Psychotic Mass Murderer’ ”). There’s an underlying assumption behind statements like this: that our sense of fairness and justice is the standard of fairness and justice. We give the impression that justice and righteousness is a moral code that exists outside of God—if you will, above God. God is answerable to that moral code. God is only righteous insofar as he conforms to that external standard, which (often) happens to perfectly match my sense of justice and righteousness.

One of the reasons our culture is so allergic to biblical teaching about God’s judgment is because it reminds us of something we, in our pride, hate hearing: God is above us. I am not God’s accountability partner. He’s not asking me or you if it’s going to be all right to flood the earth (Gen 6) or if it seems heavy-handed to annihilate the Amalekites (1 Sam 15).

We’re allergic to hierarchy—unless we’re at the top. This is not just a modern thing or an American thing. Isaiah 29:16 says it’s a fallen humanity thing:

You have turned things around, as if the potter were the same as the clay. How can what is made say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”? How can what is formed say about the one who formed it, “He doesn’t understand what he’s doing”?

The ridicule response to judgment is wrongheaded because it assumes we have a better sense of right and wrong than God does. Those who ridicule God’s judgment are not just self-righteous enough to look down their noses at other sinners, they are self-righteous enough to look down their noses at God himself.

The God of the Bible is who he is. He can’t be taken in a piecemeal way. He is Creator, Lawgiver, Judge, Savior, Comforter, and returning King. It’s a package proposal. We take him as he is for our everlasting joy or reject him to our everlasting destruction. As Christians, we don’t say that to an unbelieving world with smirks on our faces but with pleading and through tears. In a way the doctrine of God’s judgment draws a line in the sand between those who submit to God as he is and those who take what they like and leave the rest aside—those who make a god in their own image.

Q: In what ways do we as humans struggle with God being God? Why are we so allergic to the idea of God being the Judge?

Q: What is your attitude toward God as the Judge? Why?

Pillars (v. 3)

Pillars typically represent boundaries. (IVPBBC OT)

“Earth and all its people quake” (v. 3)

Understanding 1) God’s judgment causes the earth to quake, He sustains it (TBKC)

Understanding 2) When we think of divine judgment, sometimes we think of God shaking the world with judgment. There are passages that speak that way (e.g., Heb 12:25–29). But it’s fascinating to me that this passage comes from the other direction. It’s telling us when unrighteousness and evil and injustice are left unchecked the world is tottering, and when God acts in judgment, he is steadying the world. Platt, D., Mason, M., & Shaddix, J. (2020). Exalting jesus in psalms 51-100 (p. 228). Holman Reference.

MJV: “When” (at a time like COVID and everything shook…it was God who was unshakable). Natural that the earth will shake.

Selah. (Next word). Rest in that for a moment. When it’s all shaking, God is holding it together. Picture this now.

B. The Target of Judgement: The Proud (75:4-7)

Psalm 75:4–7 (NIV84)

To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns. Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak with outstretched neck.’ ” No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.

Arrogant (v. 4)

Arrogant = “proud and unpleasant behavior towards other people, based on a belief in one’s own superiority or greater importance.”

Arrogance of the World / Wicked

Humbling The Proud. Today our public discourse is filled with language about how technologies or policies or ideas will be “game changing” or will “change the world.” From our viewpoint it is the most brilliant, powerful, and wealthy who set the course of events. God, however, says it is he who “hold[s the] pillars firm” (verse 3), who literally holds the world together (Acts 17:28; Hebrews 1:3). All human talent (James 1:17) and wisdom (Romans 2:14-15) and success (Matthew 5:45) are only gifts from him. He is in control of everything that happens in history, and even the most powerful end up only fulfilling God’s purposes (verse 2; cf. John 19:11). Therefore we should not arrogantly think we are competent to run our own lives. We are not. (Songs of Jesus).

Prayer: Lord, I praise you that you are sovereign over all. How threatening this is—I have no control over my life. Yet how comforting this is-I cannot keep my life together but must rest in you. Clear my vision to see this truth and to receive its challenge and comfort every day. Amen.

Arrogance is essentially rebellion against God

Arrogance is characteristic of the wicked

Arrogance among Believers

Arrogance may even be found in the church (2 Corinthians 12:20; 1 Timothy 6:17; 1 Corinthians 4:18)

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 51-100 (Wrong Response 2: Boast in Judgment)

Wrong Response 2: Boast in Judgment

Some of us read passages that speak of God’s judgment of evil and assume an attitude of moral superiority. Remember the Pharisee’s prayer in Luke 18? He prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like that guy over there.” This is a classic case of what has come to be known as the humble brag because this prayer basically says, “I’m better than you, but it’s only by grace.”

But look at Jesus in the Gospels. Find the places where he is shouting, rebuking, and condemning. Who’s he talking to? Professing members of the community of faith. These weren’t atheists or idol worshipers, the Belshazzars of the world. They were churchgoers. They taught and memorized large portions of the Bible. Jesus reserves his strongest rebuke for them: “Blind guides!… whitewashed tombs.… Brood of vipers!” (Matt 23:24, 27, 33).

When we watch Jesus’s manner with the self-righteous, we are seeing “God opposes the proud” in living color. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). This was not a compliment. He wasn’t saying, “You guys are so righteous. You don’t need me. Let me go help these other people.” He was passing them by on account of their pride. It was an act of judgment.

The great Puritan pastor Thomas Watson said, “The greatest of all disorders is to think we are whole and need no help” (Wilson, Works, 81). In the book of Proverbs we come to a list that should bring us to the edge of our seats because it starts this way: “The LORD hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to him: arrogant eyes …” (Prov 6:16–19). Verse 5 of our passage warns against speaking arrogantly.

The boasting response is arrogant because it assumes that when God judges evil and injustice in the world, I’ll be safe because I’m so righteous. However, when the Bible speaks to the problem of evil in this world—injustice, anger, malice, vengeance, lust, greed, selfishness—we are inside the problem of evil, not outside. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.… The wages of sin is death” (Rom 3:23; 6:23).

The godly should reject arrogance (Proverbs 8:13; Ephesians 2:8-9)

Q: How does pride lower our defenses against other sins? In what ways does pride manifest itself in your life?

Q: How can we humble ourselves before God? What does this practically look like?

Horn (v. 4, 5)

Horn = a symbol of power.

Common Metaphors for God (IVPBBC OT)

Horn, Judge, King, Redeemer, Rock, Shepherd, Shield, Stronghold/fortress, Warrior

In the ancient Near East it was a common practice to multiply names and titles for deity, sometimes using metaphors, other times just descriptive phrases. At the end of Enuma Elish the champion and new head of the pantheon, Marduk, is praised by having his fifty names declared. Some of the most intriguing, along with part of the description connected to them, include Namtilla, the one who gives life; Namru, the pure god who purifies the path; Agaku, who created human beings to set them free; Shazu, director of justice; and Agilima, who built the earth above the water. Below are a few of the common metaphors used as titles for Yahweh in Psalms.

Horn (18:2; 75:10; 89:17; 92:10; 112:9; 132:17; 148:14). This metaphor is only used for God in one place in the Psalms (18:2). In ancient Near Eastern iconography, rays or horns on the crowns of deities symbolize power. These are related to the divine glory (Akkadian, melammu) that emanated from the gods and especially from their heads or crowns. So, for instance, one text makes reference to the god Enlil “whose horns gleam like the rays of the sun.” It was common in Mesopotamia for kings and gods to wear crowns featuring protruding or embossed horns. Sometimes the sets of horns were stacked one on another in tiers. The winged lion from Ashurnasirpal’s palace has a conical crown on its human head with three pairs of tiered horns embossed on it. Both in the Bible and the ancient Near East, then, the awe-inspiring power of the deity could be invested in humans, particularly the king.

Judge (v. 7)

Judge = As a part of his sovereignty and authority, God is executor of his righteousness within the created order. Jesus Christ shares in this ongoing work.

Isaiah 3:13 (in the heavenly court)

He judges the earth, every individual, the nations, the rules of nations, his own people, angels, and Satan

Jesus Christ continues God’s work as judge (John 5:22, 27; Acts 10:42)

MJV: Matthew 8 all about Jesus’ authority, read this today in devotions

God will act as judge on the last day (Revelation 20:12)

Brings one down, exalts another (v. 7)

Matthew 5:44–45 “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Telling of his works. Past, present, and future.

C. The Goal of Judgement: Salvation (75:8-10)

Psalm 75:8 (NIV84)

In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.

The Cup (v. 8)

75:8. cup of judgment, spiced wine. The image of wine as a cup of punishment is found often in the Old Testament (Jer 49:12; 51:17; Hab 2:15–16). It is especially clear from Isaiah 51:17 that the cup results in drunkenness (staggering), not death. Those forced to drink this cup lose all control of themselves and all ability to defend themselves (vv. 22–23). They become senseless. During the Hellenistic period wine was often mixed with water so that a greater quantity could be consumed and conversation could continue throughout the meal. However, in earlier periods blended or mixed wine, a more potent intoxicant, was common; it had to be consumed with more moderation (see Judg 9:13; Prov 9:2). In Mesopotamia, where wine was less common until the time of the Assyrian empire, wine was served on special occasions. Sometimes only grape syrup would be available, mixed with honey to create a liqueur. (IVPBBC OT)

The Cup. In biblical imagery a cup was an ordeal. The cup “full of foaming wine” is the cup of divine wrath on evildoers (verse 8), the ultimate ordeal of infinite punishment that made even the heart of the Son of God quail (Matthew 26:42). Yet on the cross Jesus embraced God’s will and drank this cup on our behalf, knowing that no matter how dreadful, on the other side would lie the joy of being with us. We are his reward (Isaiah 40:10). When faced with an aspect of God’s will in our life that we want to run from, we must cling closely to Jesus and whisper, “Thy will be done.” Then we can expect the joy of being with him. (Songs of Jesus).

Prayer: Father, I cannot begin to praise and thank you for your inestimable gift. For Christ, my loving Savior, hath / drunk up the wine of Thy fierce wrath. What bitter cups were due to be / had he not drank them up for me. Amen.

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 51-100 (The Goal of Judgment: Salvation (Psalm 75:8–10))

The glory of the good news is this: in the fullness of time, Jesus Christ came to give his life as a ransom for sinners. The prophet Isaiah predicted the Father would lay on Messiah the iniquity of us all (Isa 53:6). So as we look forward from Psalm 75, the next time we see the foaming cup of judgment is when, on a hill outside Jerusalem, on the darkest day in human history, God puts it into the trembling hands of his only Son and says, “Drink it.” Jesus took the cup and drained it for all who believe!

Christian, that is your salvation! No wonder there’s salvation in no one else. No wonder it’s such an insult to speak of “other ways” of salvation when Jesus alone became our substitute. Jesus alone became sin for us (2 Cor 5:21). He alone bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Pet 2:24). The judgment of God on Jesus is our only hope of rescue.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (75:4–6)

75:4–6. God warns the wicked to change their heart attitude toward Him. They should not arrogantly defy God. Lifting up … horns, a metaphor from the animal world, signifies a defiant, strutting, self-confidence. Moreover, the wicked should not speak with a stiff neck, that is, in stubborn rebellion against God. The wicked should realize that when He judges, no help comes from any earthly direction.

1

Psalm 75:9–10 (NIV84)

As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

As for me = Application

Declare (v. 9)

Just like how we talk of His deeds, past, present, and future

Like baptism this past Sunday, public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ

Sing Praise (v. 9)

Corporate worship (Hebrews 10:25)

Continue to meet, sing praises to God, encourage each other, look forward to the future

MJV: Future isn’t distant destination that we will escape to, but an ongoing present reality that God ushers in through His people.

Cut off the horns (v. 10)

I will cut off the horns = Me or God?

NASB = “He will cut off”

NLT “God says” He will do it

Leave judgement to God, and we abandon arrogance & pursue praise.

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 51-100 (Wrong Response 3: Minimize Judgment)

But we must respond to this news! Jesus is not automatically the substitute for every person on the planet. If that were true, we would be universalists; everyone would be saved because Jesus died. But it’s not true, which is why response to Jesus is utterly vital. At the end of the day, all God’s judgment will be poured out in fullness. Here’s how it will play out. Either Jesus Christ drinks the cup of God’s judgment in your place because God is merciful, or you will have to drink it yourself because God is just.

The one who turns from sin and trusts in Jesus will never drink a single drop of wrath. Why? Because Jesus drank the cup for all who trust him, and God is just—which means he can’t charge all your sin to Jesus and still leave part of the bill for you.

This is why I love the verse of “It Is Well” that says, “My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! / My sin—not in part but the whole / Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, / Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!” (Spafford, “It Is Well,” 447). For all those who trust Jesus and embrace him as Lord, the just penalty for your sins against a holy God has already been satisfied. There is literally no wrath left.

That’s why Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Your condemnation wasn’t swept under the rug somewhere. It was absorbed by Christ who stood in your place. When we look at the cross, we see God’s judgment accomplishing God’s salvation for all who believe.

If it was appropriate for the psalmist to begin a psalm of judgment with a word of thanksgiving, how much more so for us? We can say with even more heartfelt conviction, “We give thanks to you, God; we give thanks to you, for your name is near. People tell about your wondrous works” (v. 1). His most wondrous work of all is that God the Father found a way in his wisdom to be, at the same time, the Judge of the earth and the Savior of his people.

APPLICATION / CONCLUSION

Abandon Arrogance (self-centered)

Pursue Praise over Pride (focuses on God)

People:

Wicked, Righteous, God, Israelites

Words:

Other

Wine

Metaphorical use of wine

Psalm 75:8 God’s wrath is often pictured as a cup of wine to be drunk.

God’s wrath: Isaiah 51:17, 22; Jeremiah 25:15; Revelation 14:9-10; Revelation 15:7

NT Echoes = Revelation 14:9-10; Revelation 16:19

Other passages: quenching spiritual thirst, illustrating judgment and the moral decadence of Babylon the Great

Wine as a sign of blessing (Genesis 27:28; Psalm 4:7)

Lack of wine as a sign of God’s displeasure (Je 48:33; Joel 1:10; Haggai 2:14-16)

Psalm 75 75:8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup. The picture of God giving wicked people an intoxicating drink (i.e., a drink that makes one drunk) is a symbol of his wrath—his justified anger and punishment. David states: “You have given us wine that makes us stagger” (60:3; cf. Isa 51:17, 22; Jer 51:7; Rev 14:10). (Fire Bible)

75:8. It gives the impression of taking a dose of one’s own medicine. To drink it down to the dregs means to be punished completely.

Symbol of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20)

Cup of divine wrath, Jesus drank it for us (Matthew 26:42)

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 51-100 (Reflect and Discuss)

Reflect and Discuss

1. In what ways do we as humans struggle with God being God? Why are we so allergic to the idea of God being the Judge?

2. What is your attitude toward God as the Judge? Why?

3. How does pride lower our defenses against other sins? In what ways does pride manifest itself in your life?

4. How can we humble ourselves before God? What does this practically look like?

5. How is salvation the goal of judgment (see Ps 75:8; Matt 26:39, 42)? How does downplaying the judgment of God steal glory from the cross of Christ?

6. How should this psalm inform how you pray, how you praise God, and what you pray for?