Psalm 75

Psalm Category: Communal song of gratitude

Central Thought: All people should remember that God is judge, and His judgment is a cause of hope and rejoicing for the righteous and a warning of peril for the unrighteous.

The rapid change of speakers is what gives Psalm 75 its pace. God, the congregation, and the individual participate in a three-way dialogue in which God’s sovereign justice over the world is affirmed and proclaimed. This psalm praises God as the disposer of all things and the judge of all men.

Thanksgiving (v. 1)

In the opening verse, we hear the voice of the congregation. The thanksgiving offered by God’s people is prompted by the memory of His wondrous works. The recollection of God’s deeds as an act of worship and as a discipline of life gives the congregation a real sense of His presence–that His “name is near.” We confess not only who God is but what He has done, which gives us a sense of the constancy and continuity of His grace toward us.

God’s “name” is the revelation of His nature and also an invitation to call upon Him and be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13). His name is brought “near” in all His wondrous works for the Church throughout redemptive history. But His name is brought even nearer—in fact right into our midst—with the coming of Christ, who manifested and declared God’s name (John 17:6, 26).

Warning (vv. 2-5)

The voice of God now interjects. He first assures us that His righteous judgment is coming at a set time (v. 2), then reminds us that, in the meantime, though the world seems undone by sin, He is still the stabilizing strength that holds it together (v. 3; Col. 1:17; Acts 17:25). Next he speaks a warning to the arrogant and the evil (vv. 4-5). The raised horn and the stiff neck are images of a wild animal that refuses the yoke, as the prideful man refuses the will of God.

Judgment (vv. 6-8)

In these verses we hear the voice of the psalmist offering an exposition of God’s warning, specifically emphasizing two of its points. First, we know that the only kind of exaltation that counts comes from God and that He sovereignly raises up and puts down men as He pleases (vv. 6-7). The same truth is declared, in Mary’s Magnificat and Hannah’s Song, by two humble women who were raised up and honored by God. The psalmist’s second point regards the certainty of ultimate judgment (v. 8). The “cup of judgment” is a familiar metaphor of divine retribution found elsewhere in Scripture (see Rev. 18:6). Other texts make the metaphor even more vivid, picturing those who drink the cup of God’s judgment as panicked, crazed, reeling and senseless (Jer. 25:15-27). The main point is that God’s wrath will be poured out in full. This is the counter-image to the cup of blessing that symbolizes salvation (e.g., Ps. 23; I Cor. 10:16).

Commitment (vv. 9-10)

Finally we hear the voice of the individual testifying in agreement with all that has been said. First is the commitment to declare God as a witness and praise God as a worshiper (v. 9). Then there is the vow to do the will of God and conform to His revealed judgments in life.

God had said to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn on high” (v. 5). Now the psalmist concludes, “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off” (the speaker in v. 10 is the same as in v. 9). This is not a vow of personal retribution but a promise to judge and deal with all people righteously and give no opportunity for the wicked to exalt themselves.

As this psalm presents the reality of God’s justice, it implicitly calls all men to “flee the wrath which is to come” (Matt. 3:7). It also reminds God’s people that His justice is an attribute for which He deserves our praise.

—C. J. Williams