Psalms 75

1 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you! We proclaim how great you are and tell of the wonderful things you have done.

2 "I have set a time for judgment," says God, "and I will judge with fairness.

3 Though every living creature tremble and the earth itself be shaken, I will keep its foundations firm.

4 I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;

5 I tell them to stop their boasting."

6 Judgment does not come from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south;

7 it is God who is the judge, condemning some and acquitting others.

8 The Lord holds a cup in his hand, filled with the strong wine of his anger. He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it; they drink it down to the last drop.

9 But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob or singing praises to him.

10 He will break the power of the wicked, but the power of the righteous will be increased.

Psalms 75 Commentary

Chapter 75

The psalmist declares his resolution of executing judgment. (1-5) He rebukes the wicked, and concludes with resolutions to praise God. (6-10)

Verses 1-5 We often pray for mercy, when in pursuit of it; and shall we only once or twice give thanks, when we obtain it? God shows that he is nigh to us in what we call upon him for. Public trusts are to be managed uprightly. This may well be applied to Christ and his government. Man's sin threatened to destroy the whole creation; but Christ saved the world from utter ruin. He who is made of God to us wisdom, bids us be wise. To the proud, daring sinners he says, Boast not of your power, persist not in contempt. All the present hopes and future happiness of the human race spring from the Son of God.

6-10. No second causes will raise men to preferment without the First Cause. It comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. He mentions not the north; the same word that signifies the north, signifies the secret place; and from the secret of God's counsel it does come. From God alone all must receive their doom. There are mixtures of mercy and grace in the cup of affliction, when it is put into the hands of God's people; mixtures of the curse, when it is put into the hands of the wicked. God's people have their share in common calamities, but the dregs of the cup are for the wicked. The exaltation of the Son of David will be the subject of the saints' everlasting praises. Then let sinners submit to the King of righteousness, and let believers rejoice in and obey him.

Footnotes

• [a]. [Some ancient translations] We proclaim how great you are and tell of; [Hebrew] Your name is near and they tell of.
• [b]. [Probable text] from the north or from the south; [Hebrew] from the wilderness of the mountains.

Chapter Summary

To the chief Musician, Altaschith, A Psalm [or] Song of Asaph. Of the word "altaschith," See Gill on "Ps 57:1," it signifies "do not destroy," or "do not corrupt"; the Targum renders it, "do not destroy thy people;" so Jarchi, "do not destroy Israel;" perhaps it may be considered as a petition, that God would not suffer the man of sin to go on to destroy the earth, and corrupt the inhabitants of it with his false doctrine, idolatry, and superstition, Revelation 11:18, for the psalm respects the times of the Gospel dispensation, and includes both the first coming of Christ in the flesh, and his second coming to judgment; the argument of it with the Syriac version is, "the divinity of Christ, and a remembrance of the judgment;" it is said to be a psalm or song of Asaph, but is thought to be written by David, and delivered to Asaph; for it may be rendered "for Asaph" {k}; and so the Targum, "by the hands of Asaph;" though some think it was written after the Babylonish captivity; perhaps by some person whose name was Asaph, or was of the family of him that lived in David's time. Theodoret supposes it was written in the person of the captives in Babylon.