Psalms 75:1-10
1 Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
2 When I shall receivea the congregation I will judge uprightly.
3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.
4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.b
7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
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.
9 But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
If this, and the former psalm, were written by different men and at different periods, then the spiritual sense of the editor is most clearly revealed in their juxtaposition in this book. This is a complete and remarkable answer to that. In form the song is dramatic. It opens with a chorus which is an ascription of praise (verse Psa 75:1). This is answered directly by God Himself. He declares that in the set time He judges. All the appearances of the hour may be perplexing, but the heart may know that He knows, and awaits only the right moment to act. Chaos may characterize the outlook, but order enwraps it all, for God has set up the pillars (verses Psa 75:2-3). Then the solo of the confident soul breaks forth, and, addressing the wicked, charges them not to be confident, because God is the judge. In His hand He holds the cup of judgment. Ultimately He abases the wicked, and lifts up the righteous. Therefore the singer's song is ceaseless. In experience such a song as this always succeeds an honest declaration of perplexity made directly to God by a tried, but trusting, soul. The prophecy of Habakkuk is another perfect illustration of the fact.