Psalm 75- Thanksgiving for the Righteous Judge
By Scott Jones
*This blog is part of our weekly, virtual Bible Study through the book of Psalms. For information on how to participate, please visit this page.
Psalm 75 is a song of thanksgiving. The Psalmist gives thanks for deliverance from the troubles of Psalm 74. This is a Psalm of faith because it anticipates a miraculous deliverance in the future. As one reads this Psalm, it seems to anticipate the events of the end times. In this Psalm we see parallels to the prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation.
A Psalm of Asaph
Psalm 75 was written by Asaph. We learn in 1 Chronicles that he was a Levite, a singer, and a musician appointed by David to make music in the tabernacle.
So the singers, Heman, Asaph and Ethan were appointed to sound aloud cymbals of bronze; (1 Chronicles 15:19) He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom and Jeiel, with musical instruments, harps, lyres; also Asaph played loud-sounding cymbals, and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.
(1 Chronicles 16:4-7)
This passage is followed by a long praise psalm. The passage concludes: “So, he left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required;” (1 Chronicles 16:37) So we learn that Asaph was a musician charged with giving thanks and praise to the Lord. It is not surprising then, that Asaph wrote this Psalm of thanksgiving. There are three main parts to Psalm 75
It is God who appoints judgment
God is the righteous judge
God is worthy of praise
It is God Who Appoints Judgment
God has appointed the time of judgment. The final judgment accompanies the return of Christ to the earth. Revelation 19 and 20 talk about the return of Christ and tell us He will judge at that time with righteousness. We know from Matthew 24:36 that no one knows when the Son of Man will return but the Father. Psalm 75 tells us that God will judge with equity – that is with fairness and impartiality. Equity here does not mean equal outcomes. Under this judgment of Christ the earth and all who dwell in it will melt, but the Lord alone sustains its pillars. Selah – pause and think about that for a moment. Revelation 19:11 tells us that on His Return, Jesus will judge with righteousness. This Psalm and Revelation agree that God’s judgment is greatly to be feared.
God is the Righteous Judge
In the second part, God chastises the wicked. God tells the boastful “Do not boast”. (Verse 4) He tells the wicked not to trust in their power and defiance. “Do lift up your horn on high. Do not speak with insolent pride.” (Verse 5) “Horn” here symbolizes power.
Verse 6 tells us that exaltation, or help, will not come from the east or the west or the south (the desert). Why is the north not mentioned? Perhaps Asaph is looking forward prophetically, anticipating a future time of trouble. Ezekiel foretells that the north is the direction from which the enemy will come.
“Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army; and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.” (Ezekiel 38:14-16)
This too, is consistent with Revelation 20, which tells us that in the end times, Satan will deceive the nations and send out Gog and Magog for war. When considering the end times parallels to this Psalm, think back to Psalm 74:4 – this passage anticipates 3 future desecrations of the Temple:
The first by Antiochus Epiphanes of Greece circa 168 BC
The second by Titus of Rome in 70 AD.
The third will occur during the Great Tribulation, which precedes God’s final judgment.
This Psalm seems to be looking forward with thanksgiving to God’s final righteous judgment, which will follow the abomination of desolation described in Daniel 11:31-35.
Again, Psalm 75 reminds us that “God is the Judge.” (Verse 5) He alone, in His righteousness decides who will be punished and who will be exalted. Verse 8 tells us that the Lord holds a cup of wine that is “well mixed” and that the wicked of the earth must drink it to its dregs. This imagery evokes ancient kings who mixed poison into wine and forced their enemies to drink it. Asaph is telling us that the wicked will suffer the full consequences of their wickedness.
God is Worthy of Praise
Asaph concludes this psalm of thanksgiving with praise to the God of Jacob.
But as for me, I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off, But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up. Verses 9-10
God is worthy of praise, for when He judges with righteousness, God will break the power of the wicked and exalt the power of the righteous. In the final judgment God will ultimately fulfill the duty He delegated to government in Romans 13:3-4 and 1 Peter 2:13-14. He will punish all evildoers and praise those who do right. He will humble the proud and He will exalt the humble (Matthew 23:12)
Application
How then do we live this out? We look forward with faith. Although it may seem that the wicked triumph for a time, a day is coming when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will return to praise those who are His because of His atoning blood, and to punish those who reject God for all of their evil deeds. Knowing this time is coming, like Asaph, we thank God for this victory today, while it is yet future. Our God is sovereign, powerful, faithful, and good. He raised Jesus from the dead, so we can be assured that He will do what He has said He will do. We can join with Asaph in thanking God that He will one day judge all wickedness righteously.
If you have never accepted the free gift of salvation offered through Jesus’s death on the cross, today would be a great day. Keep in mind that all of us have sinned (Romans 3:23) and God is going to judge those sins one day. Though our sins are worthy of death, God has offered a free gift of eternal life, made possible by the death of His Son, Jesus, who died on our behalf (Romans 6:23). Even while we were dead in sin, Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We simply have to accept this gift of grace through faith in the atoning work of Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). If our sins are paid for at the cross, that satisfies God’s righteous justice. If we choose to reject this gift, then a day of judgment is coming. If we have accepted the gift of salvation through grace by faith, the resurrection of Jesus gives us the hope of salvation. If we trust in Jesus, our sins have been judged at the cross and we need not fear God’s final judgment.
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