READ: Ps. 75:1–10: … Do not lift up your horn on high … God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another. For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup … He pours it out … Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down.
The psalmist has no doubts about God’s power and His government over the whole earth, indeed over all the kings and rulers of the world and their subjects. In its contents this psalm closely resembles the songs of Hannah and Mary.
Thus we read in 1 Sam. 2:1–10: “Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed … The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up … For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, And He has set the world upon them.”
Likewise, in Luke 1:51–53 we read: “He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.”
Psalm 75 begins with the confession and expectation that the LORD is near and performs wondrous deeds. Nothing is impossible for Him. Time and again He grants deliverance from distressing circumstances (v.3). Believers draw great comfort from this: God is near to them always and everywhere. But the wicked are warned: nothing escapes the LORD, wherever a person may be or however he may conduct himself.
Moreover, the LORD will judge righteously according to each one’s deeds. Therefore let everyone stand in reverence before the LORD. For God will punish the proud and the violent in His own time. This is not a matter for the nations to determine; God stands above them. Therefore it is also useless to form alliances while leaving God out (Isa. 8:9–15).
God’s vengeance upon His enemies is compared to drinking a cup full of foaming wine, which must be drained to the very dregs. Alongside God’s judgment stands His deliverance of His own people.
When are people “proud”?
Sing: Ps. 75:1,5,6