Psalm 75
God’s Remedy for Lawlessness in a Nation
Every hymn in the Divine Library imparts life to the human heart while providing an antidote that counteracts the poisons that destroy society.
If you are disturbed by the state of the nation, politics, and the spread of lawlessness in society, this psalm is for you.
Likewise, if you are government official, this psalm is a must read because it shows us the necessity of having righteous men in civil government.
The Spirit is pleased to present us with a psalm for presidents, governors, and civil servants trusted with the duties of office.
Oh, that government officials might read this hymn and take it to heart. In like manner, Christians would do well to understand the importance of a state dedicated to restoring law and order.
Though there are many theories as to when this psalm was written, everything about this psalm has the scent of David on it.
A NATIONAL HYMN OF PRAISE
Psalm 75:1 <To the chief Musician, Altaschith, A Psalm or Song of Asaph.>
Poems are often composed by men inspired by their conflicts. And, this is the case here. It was so important, the hymn writer delivered it to Asaph, the chief musician, to compose a melody to fit the theme.
The Hebrew word “altaschith“ means “do not destroy.” Many think this is a prayer urging God not to destroy the people because of their national sins. But, it also contains a direct warning to fools to stop their destructive behavior lest they be broken by the king’s justice.
Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
The pronoun “we” informs us this is a hymn of thanksgiving designed for public worship.
“Do we give thanks” (yadah) is a worship term, and it is in the emphatic position in the sentence. “Yadah” means “to throw up the hands” as one testifying to a greater authority. When men testify in court, bailiffs appropriately ask the witness to put one hand on the Bible and to lift the other to heaven to invoke God’s presence in the courtroom. Likewise, presidents and governors, place their hand on the Bible, raise their right hand to Heaven, and take their oath in exchange for public trust. “Throwing up the hands,” acknowledges God as the supreme authority in the universe.
Abraham said to the king of Sodom, “I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,” indicating his bond to the LORD God as his Lawgiver (Genesis 14:22; James 4:12; Deuteronomy 6:4).
In this polytheistic culture seeped in multiculturalism, the supreme need is for Christian men to lift their hand unto the LORD God and refuse to defile their lips with pagan expressions.
“For that thy name is near” provides us with the reason for this psalm. Apparently, the people experienced a God-given triumph which occasioned this psalm—a manifestation of divine power. There is nothing like seeing God at work to set the victor’s pen in motion.
ANTICIPATION OF A NATIONAL CORONATION
2 When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.
Interpreting verse 2 correctly is the key to understanding this psalm. Who is the “I” in this text? Is the pronoun a reference to God . . . to David . . . to the hymn-writer . . . or a presumptive prince?
Luther, Calvin, and others take this as the voice of God. There is no lack of commentary on this position.
In wrestling with this, the rule of consistency calls this interpreter to view the “I” as the voice of a presumptive king who is anticipating his inauguration day where he will receive the power of government from the people. Thus, when the pronoun “I” references the presumptive all through this psalm. David returning to Jerusalem after the Absalom revolt comes to mind.
The sounds of a coronation ring through this psalm. David was inaugurated three times in his life: at age 30 by Judah (2 Samuel 2:4), seven years later by the northern tribes (2 Samuel 5:1), and after the Absalom revolt (2 Samuel 19:15-43).
The verb in the phrase “when I shall receive” (laqach) means “take in the hand.” The parlance refers to the transfer of legitimate authority into the hands of the presumptive king.
The term “congregation” (mow’ed) is the key to the whole psalm. It is used in the sense of time. It is translated “set time next year” in Genesis 17:21; “In his season year to year” in Exodus 13:10; “the set time” in 1 Samuel 13:8; “set feasts” in 1 Chronicles 23:31. The presumptive conclusion is that a coronation day was set to bestow on the nominee the authority to rule as a king over the nation.
“Mow’ed” is translated “congregation” in Psalm 74:4 and 75:2; and “synagogue” in Psalm 74:8.
The context implies the nation was in a crisis. Wicked, wanna-be men aspired to obtain political power. The winds of anarchy swept through the nation. But, a public coronation was set to settle the unrest and to formalize the divine will as God’s chosen monarch. A young prince, possibly David, anticipates the day the people will confirm his rule . . . place in his hand the scepter . . . the symbol of authority . . . and, when he would ascend the throne by the consent of the governed. After the coronation, he would have a legitimate claim to power, and the authority to use that power to quash a rebellion already in progress.
The word “uprightly” means straight or level. It is a legal term referring to equity and fair dealings.
The presumptive king anticipates the day he will be able to apply legitimate authority “to judge uprightly;” that is to re-establish law and order using the power of his office; and, in due time to punish those in rebellion against God’s law-order.
“to judge uprightly” refers to the proper application of God’s law as He intended his law to be applied in a nation. When men define “uprightly,” we end up with utopian ideals, Marxism, tolerance of evil, promotion of vanity, oppressive taxation, and anarchy where every man does what is right in his own eyes.
Oh, that all presidents and governors would align themselves with righteousness and use the powers of their office to purge evil men from society.
IMPORTANCE OF RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT
3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.
The Hebrew word “dissolved” (muwg) means “to melt down” (See Nahum 1:5, Psalm 107:26, Isaiah 64:7). It refers to a breakdown of society, a descent into chaos and anarchy, and a loss of stability due to a lack of enforcement of law. Without just government, society descends into confusion and chaos. Few things are worse than government officials that tolerate anarchy and refuse to use their authority to confront criminal activity.
According to our constitutional form of government, the whole purpose of authority is to use the power of office to protect the rights of man and to punish those who transgress the rights of others. You have heard it said, “power corrupts, and i corrupts absolutely.” But, this is not true. Many a husband uses his authority in the home to build a godly family, and many officials use the power of office for the good of the people. And, that is the case here.
“I bear up the pillars” refers to essential government—the pillars that uphold law and order. The presumptive king anticipates the day that the people confer on him the legal right to exercise the powers of office in order to promote justice in the land.
This presumptive king is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ Who anticipates the day when His people will recognize His authority. When we read this hymn, we should have the Savior in mind. Our prayer is and always will be, “Thy kingdom come; may men recognize your authority and surrender to it now . . . in our time!” Christians are “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:12)].
A WARNING TO THE WICKED
4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
The “I” appears to be the presumptive king. This godly ruler has a message for fools and rebels: stop your foolishness – a term referring to criminal acts; and “lift not up the horn” — a metaphor referring to an untamed wild ox that will not submit to the yoke.
5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
The command in verse four is repeated in verse five. The repetition of the order confirms how seriousness this king is about law and order. Governed by God’s law, this monarch is ready to crush rebellion and to punish lawbreakers using the full power of government to do so.
“Lift not up your horn on high” refers to the exceedingly high degree of hubris and chutzpa exibited by the rebels. It is a warning to revolutionaries.
“Speak not with a stiff neck” refers to the raunchy, trash-talk of those in the cult of arrogance –untamed souls that won’t submit to the yoke, the rule of law, and responsible self-government.
Oh, that all presidents and governors would issue strong warnings to the criminal element in society.
AN ANNOUCEMENT OF SOVEREIGNTY
6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
The Hebrew word for “promotion” is ruwm. It is actually the last word in the Hebrew sentence. A Hiphil infinitive, it means “to raise up.” Here it refers to the installation of the man to the duties of public office.
The adverb “neither” is in the emphatic position reinforcing the perspective the LORD is the sovereign in the affairs of politics. It negates any view that the appointment of this man to office is the work of the people, or the forces of nature at work in the cardinal directions (E.W.S.N.), or the mystical surf and foam in the sea of politics that embraces all continents.
The great lesson of this psalm is that the appointment of a just man to a legitimate office for the good of the nation is not “of the People,” but of God! Likewise, the appointment of a foolish man to office is also of God, not to bless a nation, but to test the people’s resolve to obey God’s law and to resist evil.
7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
“But God is the judge” – All depends on Him, not on the natural resources of a country; not on human strength, organization, or wisdom; and, not on the efficient machinery common to political parties.
Appointment to office does not necessarily mean the presumptive nominee has the favor of God. The good, bad, and ugly are also from God. He may give wise rulers to God-fearing people, but He may give babes, children, and women to rule over an idolatrous people (Isaiah 3:4, 12). As a way of punishment, the LORD gave Egypt “cruel lords” and “vicious kings” to rule over them (Isaiah 19:4). In modern democracies, fools run for office and get elected. Mark Twain observed, “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.”
God is sovereign. He does as He pleases. Promotion is from above. He is in control seeing that “all things work together for good to those that love him” (Romans 8:28). He appoints competent men to office for the benefit of the people, and He appoints psychopaths to office to humble a nation.
THE CUP OF WRATH
8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
“For in the hand of the Lord” is a reference to the sovereignty of God. The general idea in this verse is, that God holds in his hand a cup for people to drink — a cup of blessings or a cup of cursings; a cup whose contents promote happiness, or misery; a cup that prolongs life, or causes death.
“And the wine is red:” The word “red” (chamar) means “to boil” or “foam” or “ferment” which gives us an image of something that is boiling red hot – conjuring up the idea of trouble. The reference to the “wicked” in this text seems to imply this cup represents the boiling hot wrath of Almighty God.
“Full of mixture” implies this cup is loaded with herbs and sedatives to induce sleep or debilitate the object of His wrath. This is the Spirit’s way of informing us that the cup is drugged with stimulants people call “uppers and downers.”
“The dregs thereof” refer to the lees settling to the bottom of the cup—the strongest part of the beverage. The idea here is that rebels will drink the full cup of God’s wrath.
“All the wicked of the earth” is a phrase the Spirit uses to enlarge our shriveled view of God’s jurisdiction over criminal matters. The LORD is not the God of the hills and valleys, but Creator of heaven and earth. He is not just the God of the Jews, but the God of all men, all nations, and all people. No matter what hole the wicked crawl into, the LORD will find them. He has a death-potion laced with arsenic for them to drink.
“Shall wring them out” conjures up images of a leather bota-bag used to store wine. To “wring them out” refers to double-handed force squeezing out every drop of divine wrath, and to leave nothing remaining; that is, God will exhaust all His resources to see the wicked punished.
The attention of the true Christian man is cruci dum spiro fido: “As long as I breathe, I will remember the cross” where God poured out every drop of wrath on Christ for my sins leaving nothing for me (1 Thessalonians 5:9); therefore . . .
THE CUP OF PRAISE
9 But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
In contrast to the cup of wrath for the wicked, we have the cup of blessing for the righteous.
The “I” is the author of the psalm in co-union with the king elect – a stanza where the people personalized the duty to praise the God of Jacob from generation to generation. At last, the king and the people are united under a common purpose!
The content of this declaration centered on the wonders of the God of Jacob. “I will” communicates commitment and dedication to live for the glory of God by singing His praises. God loves it; the Devil hates it.
The title “God of Jacob” refers to the grace of God wherein He protected the life and sons of Jacob. As fate would have it, no one loved Jacob, but the LORD God. His father neglected him; his mother had a twisted love that could have ruined him; his uncle used him; his wives bartered over him; and, his sons secretly indulged their own ambitions behind his back. But, God loved Jacob and stood beside him seeing that all his troubles worked together for the good of this chosen family.
ULTIMATE REALITIES
10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
The psalmist ends this chorus with kingdom themes—the blessed destiny of the righteous and the cursed destiny of the wicked. In preaching on the kingdom, John the Baptist referred to the “baptism of the spirit” (salvation) and the “baptism of fire” (judgment) (Matthew 3).
“the horns” is a metaphor for power, wealth, and blessing.
“cut off” is a term of judgment, condemnation, and destruction.
Possibly the introductory term “Altaschith” meaning “do not destroy,” a pleading for God to save the righteous, is gratefully realized in this final stanza.
The idea is that when this king ascends the throne by the consent of the governed, he will assert his conferred authority to bless the righteous and to crush the wicked.
In recent times, humanistic man advances a twisted view of love that excludes hate and every concept of eternal judgment and divine wrath. The reader would do well to recognize . . .
The psalm ends with the people considering ultimate realities of God’s chosen king. We end this psalm with solemn thoughts about King Jesus (Acts 17:6-7) who will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), and who will punish unbelievers for their rejection of the Son (John 3:36).
Brooky Stockton, PHD
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