Psalms 75

1 To the overcomer, lose thou not the psalm of the song of Asaph. God, we shall acknowledge to thee, we shall acknowledge; and we shall inwardly call thy name. We shall tell thy marvels; (To the overcomer, destroy thou not the psalm of the song of Asaph. God, we shall give thee thanks, we shall give thee thanks; and we shall call on thy name. We shall tell of all thy marvellous deeds.)

2 when I shall take (hold of the) time, I shall deem (with) rightfulnesses. (And God said, I shall take hold of the time; and I shall judge with righteousness/and I shall judge with justice.)

3 The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein; I confirmed the pillars thereof. (The earth was shaken, and all who live on it; but I made its pillars firm.)

4 I said to wicked men (I said to the wicked), Do not ye do wickedly; and to trespassers, Do not ye enhance the horn.

5 Do not ye raise on high your horn; do not ye speak wickedness against God. (Do not ye raise up your horn on high; do not ye speak wickedly, or proudly, against God.)

6 For (promotion cometh) neither from the east, neither from the west, neither from desert hills; (For judgement cometh not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the hills in the wilderness;)

7 for God is the judge. He meeketh this man, and enhanceth him; (for God is the judge. He humbleth this one, and raiseth up that one;)

8 for a cup of clean wine, full of meddling, is in the hand of the Lord (for there is a cup of clear wine, full of mixing, or of mixture, in the Lord's hand). And he bowed (some) of this into that; nevertheless the dregs thereof is not diminished, either made less, (for) all [the] sinners of [the] earth shall drink thereof.

9 Forsooth I shall tell into the world; I shall sing to God of Jacob. (And I shall tell this out forever; I shall sing to the God of Jacob.)

10 And I shall break all the horns of sinners; and the horns of the just man shall be enhanced. (And I shall break all the horns of the sinners; but the horns of the righteous shall be raised up.)

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.

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.