Psalm 75
Our Righteous Judge
Nothing so rankles as injustice. To see someone get away with something wrong on a small level irritates and on a large level angers.
And so this Psalm reminds us of the good news that while it seems as though some get away with it, God is still on his throne and he will deal with the evil in this world.
For the director of music. To the tune of ‘Do Not Destroy’. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;
people tell of your wonderful deeds.2 You say, ‘I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge with equity.
3 When the earth and all its people quake,
it is I who hold its pillars firm.
4 To the arrogant I say, “Boast no more,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horns.
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak so defiantly.”’6 No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt themselves.
7 It is God who judges:
he brings one down, he exalts another.
8 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.9 As for me, I will declare this for ever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,
10 who says, ‘I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.’
This is a Psalm of thanksgiving and praise (v1). In it, we remember and recount what God has done and will do. And in this song, the focus is on God as our righteous Judge.
From vv2-5, we hear God speaking directly to Asaph and us. When God speaks of “the appointed time” (v2), this is not something for us to know or figure out… But it is a reality we must know is coming. This is what the Apostle Paul warned about to those he spoke to within the Areopagus in the heart of Athens. God has determined a day on which the whole world will be judged in righteousness by the one he raised up from the grace (Acts 17.31). Jesus is the one endowed with the authority to judge (John 5.27). And as the Psalm indicates, he will do so in fairness. This is good news. The universe is not indifferent to injustice. The Creator of the universe cares.
When we look around, it seems as if civilisation is crumbling. Corruption is rife. Injustice prevails. And this is true. To an extent. When people surrender to evil, God upholds the pillars of righteousness and justice (3). While some seek to twist the system to their benefit, God will ultimately turn it all back.
All those who try to break the law of gravity will be broken when they crash to the ground. It is the same for all those who break the law of God.
In 4-5, God offers a threefold counsel to all the inhabitants of earth:
halt your arrogance before God;
don’t challenge God;
cease your rebellion against God
We must not challenge the rule of heaven. Instead, God is telling us all to humble ourselves under his mighty hand (1 Peter 5.6). For it is only the humble who will be lifted up before the throne of grace.
God alone exalts. Asaph makes this abundantly clear in v6. The decision is not for any individual or government. No one on earth has this authority. This is purely a divine decision. And God does it in fairness and equity. He will raise up and will bring low in righteousness and grace.
The wicked will drink in God’s wrath (v8). The proud will swallow the bitter taste of God’s judgement. This imagery of the cup of God’s wrath is employed and developed throughout Scripture but is taken up finally in the Bible’s final book. Those who worship the beast (Revelation 14.10) and those married to the evil city of Babylon (Revelation 18.6) will have the cup of God’s righteous wrath poured out upon them. The unjust will not go unpunished. God cares.
As the Psalm opened with thanksgiving, so it closes with praise (v9), remembering God’s words of his righteous judgement (v10).
God will cut down all the wicked, bringing low all those who rebel against him. And on the other side, God will exalt the righteous who humbly receive him. The righteous are not those who exalt themselves by their own works but who trust in our righteous Saviour. Jesus is the one who was lifted up after drinking the cup of God’s just judgement (John 18.11). He bore the wrath of God at the cross, punished in our place. But now all who are united to him by faith are forgiven their sins, raised from death to life, and exalted with him to the heavenly places (Ephesians 2.6).
Glory be to God the Father, who raised up Jesus from his sin-bearing death.
Glory be to God the Son, who upholds the pillars of the universe by the word of his power.
Glory be to God the Spirit, who exalts us to new and everlasting life in Christ.
Ever three and ever One.
Home Group: Healthy Gospel Church Week 3
Read Psalm 95
What reasons does the Psalmist give for worshipping the Lord?
Read Colossians 3.15-17
From the instructions found in Colossians 3, what else might we want to see when we gather together for a church service?
How might we help each other in our individual and our corporate praise of God?
Read Romans 12.1-2
What does Romans 12 tell us is true and proper worship?