The rise and fall of nations and civilisations is documented in a whole host of books, explaining why such civilisations as the Romans have risen and fallen. Yet, the truth is, as we turn to the Bible, there is one fundamental cause. The Psalmist in Psalm 75 points us to the great truth that God riles and judges. It is God who rises up and casts down. It is a sombre theme, yet the Psalm begins and ends with praise. The one who rules and is above all things is the one who draws near to His people.
The Psalm has a collective voice as the congregation are gathered (verse 1). In verses 2-5 God Himself speaks. In verses 6-8 Asaph, the preacher, takes up the theme. The Psalm ends with an individual voice, a testimony.
The Psalm is to strengthen and comfort God’s people. Yet it contains a solemn warning to those who are far from God. You either respond with joy and thanksgiving or fear and dread if you are far from God.
The collective response (verse 1). If you’re a believer you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your Lord, so we can lift our voices in thanksgiving. The Psalmist tells us our God is near to us. God gives us cause to thank Him because He is near, at hand. He is omnipresent – in all places in all times. To His people He is there to guard them, to protect them.
In the congregation of Asaph’s nation, the people could delight in Him. They give thanks because they can recount His great deliverances. Of course, for the people of the Old Testament the one great act of redemption was their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. We, as believers today, can join in this thanksgiving as we recount the wondrous deeds of God. We can rejoice in full realisation of redemption in Jesus, not just the Passover of the Israelites. Christ came to redeem us, to ransom us, so we are all able to lift our voices in thanksgiving. God is near us and has delivered us.
Suddenly the voice changes. While the people give thanks, God is now heard to speak (verses 2-7). As believers, we have to confess our thanksgiving is not as it ought to be. Sometimes, doubt, anxiety and fear creeps in. We face our own trials; society is increasingly antagonistic to faith. We may ask where God is in all of this? We need to turn to passages like this, where God speaks words of assurance to our souls. He is on the throne, working for us. We rejoice in the knowledge that God is ruling and reigning. His plans are never overthrown, never delayed. It is God alone who determines the timing of world events. It is God who holds not only the stars in His hands, but the very heart of people. Psalm 102.
“Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end.” (Daniel 8:19).
‘But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons’ (Galatians 4:4-5)
In this Psalm, God says ‘At the set time that I appoint, I will judge with equity’ (Psalm 75:2). His set time refers to His judgement. God is ever in control. He will act at His appointed time, whether judgement on a particular nation or individual or at the end of time.
It seems the church of Christ suffers when the world does not. But there is a day coming when God will judge. Questions will arise, why does it seems God will delay His judgement? There are two reasons. Firstly, God’s delay is a measure of His kindness; enemies are given time to repent, to seek forgiveness and be saved (Romans 2). Secondly, as men and women refuse to turn to God, God is waiting until that day when their sin is full to the brim.
Words of assurance are given to God’s people in verses 2-3. Though things seem to be falling apart, God is in control. When everything else seems to fail, He remains a sure foundation.
We read in verses 4-5 of those still in sin. God says, through the Psalmist, ‘Don’t boast, don’t shake your fist to God, don’t tell Him what you want. Don’t flex your muscles in the face of God.’ Here’s a challenge for us; where are we? Is there pride in our heart to submit to God’s rule and reign? Do our desires and ambitions come before God? The Lord Jesus Christ told a solemn parable of a rich young farmer. Don’t seek the riches of this world.
In verses 6-8 the voice changes again. Asaph, the preacher speaks. Here’s a model of what the preacher’s role is. Asaph doesn’t come with soothing words, like false prophets of Jeremiah’s day. What Asaph does is take God’s words and applies them further. The message is don’t boast in your own strength, it is not from the East, West or wilderness. Your success comes from God alone, who lifts up and casts down. Those who walk in pride, God is able to abase (Psalm 2:1-4).
As we hear God’s word there is a far greater concern. Today, our government is in total confusion. There is a message for each and every one of us; there are days coming when there will be an eternal lifting up or casting down of our bodies, ‘For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs’ (Psalm 75:8). As in so many parts of the Bible, this picture of a cup brimming over is a picture of God’s final judgement.
In all the solemnity we come to this final, individual testimony. ‘But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up, (Psalm 75:9-10).
Here, the believer rejoices to take up God’s word. Who are the righteous? Our thoughts surely are taken forward to the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and that night before He was crucified, in Gethsemane, experiencing the beginning of His suffering (Mark 14:32). There, the Lord Jesus Christ looks into this cup and knows He must drink it. In His holy soul He trembles. Yet He does God’s will. At Calvary He drank that cup to the very last drop. It is He who rode into Jerusalem on that donkey, as an altogether different king to the one people imagined. He is the one who will come to judge in equity and righteousness on that great day. We, as believers, can rejoice in the Psalm. That’s the glory of the gospel. None of us deserve anything yet there is a lifting up to glory itself, to look on our Saviour, face to face. Are you able to rejoice? If not, you face God’s judgement alone.