Psalms 75

Psalms 75

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE

A Song, Enshrining an Oracular Assurance of Equitable Judgment by the Judge of the Earth.

ANALYSIS

Stanza I., Psalms 75:1, Congregational Thanksgiving, Promising a Rehearsal of Divine Wonders. Stanza II., Psalms 75:2-4, A Divine Oracle: Declaring that, at the Right Time, Justice shall be Done; and Admonishing that Moral Preparations for Judgment be Made. Stanza III., Psalms 75:5-7, Prophetic Exhortation Enforcing the Oracle. Stanza IV., Psalms 75:8, A Prophetic Warning of Coming Wrath. Stanza V., Psalms 75:9-10, With Prophetic Exultation, the Psalmist, in the Name of the Nation, Counts on being Employed in the Judicial Adjustment.

(Lm.) PsalmBy AsaphSong.

1

We give thanks to thee O God we give thanks to thee;

and they who call on thy name[33] tell of all thy wondrous works.

[33] So read probablyDr. And so (?)Gn.

2

Yea! I will seize a right time,

I with equity will judge:

3

Dissolving may be the earth and all the dwellers therein,

I have adjusted the pillars thereof:

4

have said to boasters-Do not boast!-'

and to lawless ones-Do not lift up a horn!-'

5

Do not lift up on high your horn,

nor speak against a Rock[34] with arrogance.

[34] So it shd. be (w. Sep.)Gn.

6

For neither from the east nor from the west,

nor from the wilderness[35] (cometh) lifting up;[36]

[35] Prob.=south. North perh. omitted as quarter whence the enemy was coming.
[36] Heb.: Harim, generally=mountains; but, according to a Heb. tradition, exceptionally here=lifting up (as derived from rum, to be high): which seems to strike the key-note of the psalm, for which cp. Psalms 75:4-5; Psalms 75:7; Psalms 75:10.

7

For God is judge,

this one he putteth down and that one he lifteth up.

8

For a cup is in the hand of Jehovah with wine which foameth,

it is full of spiced-wine which he poureth outfrom one to another,[37]

[37] So it shd. be (w. Sep., Syr., Vul.)Gn.

surely the dregs thereof shall all the lawless of the earth drain out and drink.

9

But I will exult[38] to the ages,

[38] So it shd. be (w. Sep.)Gn.

let me make melody unto the God of Jacob!

10

And all the horns of lawless ones will I hew off,

lifted up shall be the horns of the righteous.

(Lm.) To the Chief Musician.

(CMm.) With stringed instruments.[39]

[39] And therefore with all the choirs in the temple.

PARAPHRASE

Psalms 75

How we thank You Lord! Your mighty miracles give proof that You care.
2 Yes, the Lord replies, And when I am ready, I will punish the wicked!
3 Though the earth shakes and all its people live in turmoil, yet its pillars are firm, for I have set them in place!
4 I warned the proud to cease their arrogance! I told the wicked to lower their insolent gaze,[40]

[40] Literally, lift not up the horn.

5 And to stop being stubborn and proud.
6, 7 For promotion and power come from nowhere on earth, but only from God. He promotes one and deposes another.
8 In Jehovah's hand there is a cup of pale and sparkling wine. It is His judgment, poured out upon the wicked of the earth. They must drain that cup to the dregs.
9 But as for me, I shall forever declare the praises of the God of Jacob.
10 I will cut off the strength of evil men, says the Lord,[41] and increase the power of good men in their place.

[41] Implied.

EXPOSITION

Standing where it does, this psalm requires but a moderate exercise of the historical imagination, to bring out its practical effectiveness. It follows well the outcry of the previous psalm. How long? by declaring that, at the right time, Divine Interposition shall come. With equal fitness, it anticipates the exulting outburst of the psalm which follows it, already claiming the souls of those who are yet waiting, to the sore trial of their faith. It may thus be placed historically anywhere between the invasion of Shishak and the overthrow of Sennacherib the Assyrian, and could, with fine effect, be used in temple worship either during the days of trial which befell Jehoshaphat or during those which came upon Hezekiah.

When the dramatic structure of the psalm is perceived, its dignity and force rise to the sublime. The opening stanza reveals the congregation giving thanks as for an answer received, and as if in anticipation of Divine Wonders to follow.
Then, with an effective change of measure, Jehovah is represented as giving, in the first person, his assurance that in due time he will effectively interpose. Societyand perhaps especially the society of nationsmay appear to be falling to piecesdissolvingfor lack of the effective grip of the bonds of equity; but already Jehovah prophetically declares he has adjusted the pillars of the social structure. That those pillars are to be understood as fundamental moral principles, is at once intimated by the two Divine behestsDo not boast, Do not lift up the horn, which two proclamations may perhaps be distributively applied: the former to Israel and the latter to the nations ready to oppress them; though, indeed, both may well be heeded by all concerned, seeing that boasting and oppression so often go hand in hand.

It is not quite certain at what point the direct Divine address ends; but, having regard to the propriety of letting an oracle appear brief, and to the difficulty of carrying on the direct address to the close of Psalms 75:7, it is probably best to close the quotation at the end of Psalms 75:4. This naturally leads us to take Psalms 75:5-7 as a continuing prophetic address, by the psalmist himself, in enforcement of the Divine Oracle. It seems to be fittingly left to the psalmist to emphasize, in amplified hortatory words (Psalms 75:5 a), the previous briefer oracular words (Psalms 75:4 b); and then that he, the psalmist, should go on (Psalms 75:5 b) to speak of Jehovah as a Rock, in the third person; just as, also, (in Psalms 75:7) he naturally refers to God, in the third person. These niceties may not appear very important, inasmuch as they respect the mere form of what must all, in substance, be regarded as a Divine utterance; but an approximately correct settlement of them, sensibly contributes to the impressiveness of the psalm.

The psalmist now, in Stanza IV., gives a highly figurative but effective reason for the urgency of his exhortations to prepare for judgment. Equitable as is the Divine Rule, in the long run, in dealing with both individuals and nations, it nevertheless is framed upon the pattern of times and seasons,times of delay, in which God as judge is silent and seemingly inactive, as though he were taking no notice of the moral quality of human conduct; and then, seasons of activity, involving the principle of bringing up arrears, and dealing all at once with long series of actions; and implying, where wicked conduct has been in the ascendant, an accumulation of punishment, corresponding with the accumulation of unvisited sin. But an accumulation of punishment implies an accumulation of Divine displeasure, so far as its manifestation is concerned. And so we arrive at the conception of stored-up wrath: arrears of displeasure: intensified punishment, involving stroke upon stroke, when it does come. This is the revealed principle of Divine resentment of sin. No doubt this principle could be philosophically defended: as necessitated, not by infirmity in God, but by the limitation of man. But whether or not we can account for such a method of divine government, and successfully defend it, as probably we may; it suffices to maintain, that such in fact is God's governmental method of dealing with the moral quality of the actions of men and of nations. This being so, that very fact lies at the root of such representations as that which here confronts us in this psalm: accumulated wrath breaking forth in accumulated punishment, being figuratively represented as a cup in the hand of Jehovah, a cup foaming in the activity of its contents, mixed as with stimulating spices in the intensity of its action, and held forth to the individuals who are to drink, and to be compelled to drain their cup to its dregs. Such is the figure. We may call it oriental. But, instead of therefore under-estimating it, our wisdom is to accept it as a common, and, in the East, most natural as well as effective style of speech; and at once seek to translate it into our own methods of thought. The following list of passages, alluding to the wine-cup. of wrath, will shew how familiar the figure is in the Old Testament, and will suggest the deeper principles to which our thoughts are thereby conducted: Job 21:20, Psalms 60:3, Isaiah 51:17, Jeremiah 25:15; Jeremiah 25:27; Jeremiah 49:12; Jeremiah 51:7, Obadiah 1:16.

Glancing, finally, at Stanza V. (Psalms 75:9-10), and connecting it with Stanza I., as together constituting the devotional framework of the psalm, we recognise the appropriateness of the observations of Delitzsch: The prophetic picture stands upon a lyric background of gold; it rises up out of the depths of emotion and is withdrawn again into these same depths. The psalm closes as subjectively as it began. The prophetic picture is set in a lyric frame. This is well said. But when the same expositor, in calling attention to the obvious fact that the psalmist in Psalms 75:10 ascribes to himself what he in Psalms 75:7 sets forth as God's own doing, associates this human fellowship in the judicial rectification with the reigning Church, we respectfully withhold our consent; preferring to connect the hewing off of the horns of the lawless with the triumphant nation of Israel than with the triumphant ecclesia. The callings of the two communities are distinct, and as such should be carefully preserved

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.

This psalm is a revelation of the principle of God's government of the world, of His action in human history. Please follow this line of reasoning and outline the principles suggested.

2.

This psalm balances well between the two psalms of before and afterexplain how.

3.

There seems to be a dialogue in this psalm. Who speaks? What is said? Discuss.

4.

Jesus who died shall be justified, God is the ruler yetso wrote the song writer. There are at present millions and millions who have never heardnow reconcile this with the rule of God?

5.

America and Israel stand together in God's Judgment. Explain and discuss.