Trumpeting The Praises

Psalm 75

For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be sung to the tune “Do Not Destroy!” A song.

1We thank you, O God!

We give thanks because you are near.

People everywhere tell of your mighty miracles.

2God says, “At the time I have planned,

I will bring justice against the wicked.

3When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil,

I am the one who keeps its foundations firm.

Interlude

4“I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’

I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists!

5Don’t lift your fists in defiance at the heavens

or speak with rebellious arrogance.’”

6For no one on earth—from east or west,

or even from the wilderness—

can raise another person up.

7It is God alone who judges;

he decides who will rise and who will fall.

8For the LORD holds a cup in his hand;

it is full of foaming wine mixed with spices.

He pours the wine out in judgment,

and all the wicked must drink it,

draining it to the dregs.

9But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done;

I will sing praises to the God of Israel.

10For God says, “I will cut off the strength of the wicked,

but I will increase the power of the godly.”

There is no better press agent than a person in love. When you are in love with someone, you want to tell everyone how great your beloved is. Every deed is magnified. Everyone within earshot has to hear about it. This is true for the mother who dearly loves her child as well as for the hopeless romantic who keeps trumpeting the praises of that special someone.

That’s the kind of people we meet in the first verse of this psalm. The psalmist, Asaph, is crazy about God and can’t stop talking about what he has done (see verse 9).

But then there are the wicked, who raise their fists toward heaven. They can’t stop talking about someone either—themselves (verse 4)! Confident in their own power, they see no need for God. Eventually such people will receive God’s judgment.

We can see from this psalm that the Lord wants us to praise him—not ourself—as God. He brings down the proud and lifts the lowly. Two of the most beautiful prayers in Scripture, Hannah’s and Mary’s, focus on this truth (see 1 Samuel 2:1-10 and Luke 1:46-55). And this psalm concludes with a simple statement of the same thing. He increases the power of the righteous and pulls the plug on the proud.

Which kind of person are you? Full of praise for yourself or for God?

Among the nations He shall judge;

His judgments truth shall guide;

His scepter shall protect the just,

And quell the sinner’s pride.

ANONYMOUS

Bible Networking

To find out more about drinking from the cup of judgment, look up Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15; and Habakkuk 2:16.

Notable Quotable

“What a comfort it is to feel that amid the chaos and anarchy which sweep the surface, God is holding fast the foundations on which we build.”

F. B. MEYER