Psalm 075

Introduction

Last week’s psalm was a lamentation in which the psalmist cried out to the Lord because of the trouble God’s people were facing. And he went on to complain about their enemies who had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and every other place of worship throughout the land. They burned the sanctuary to the ground and defiled God’s holy dwelling-place.

And so, the psalmist asked: ‘How long?’ How long will they mock God? How long will they revile God’s holy name? And why won’t God take his hands out of his pockets and destroy their enemies? So, the psalmist was longing for the time when God would judge their enemies and save his people.

That was Psalm 74. And in today’s psalm, God speaks and he says in verse 2: ‘I choose the appointed time.’ So, God will judge their enemies and save his people, but it will happen at his appointed time. It will happen one day, but not yet. It will happen, but it will only happen in God’s time. God — who rules and reigns in heaven over all that he has made and who determines all things — has appointed the time when he will punish the wicked and save his people.

As you can see from the title, this is another of the psalms of Asaph. And the title describes the psalm as ‘A song’. And it’s a song which begins with praise in verse 1. And then God speaks in verses 2 to 5. The psalmist speaks in verses 6 to 8. And the psalm concludes with the psalmist praising God in verse 9 and there’s one final word from the Lord in verse 10.

Verse 1

The psalmist speaks on behalf of the people in verse 1 to say that they will give thanks to God. And he repeats this, presumably for emphasis and adds that they’re giving thanks to God because his Name is near. When someone says a name to you, you immediately think about the person who was named. And when we hear God’s name, we think about who God is. And so, God’s Name sums up who he is. It represents him. And that means that when the psalmist says God’s Name is near, he really means God is near. Even though the Lord dwells in a high and holy place, far above all that he has made, he is also near his people. When Moses and the Israelites were in the wilderness, the glory-cloud which went before them signified God’s presence with them. And whenever the tabernacle was set up, the glory-cloud filled the tabernacle to signify that God lived there, among his people. And then the temple in Jerusalem was God’s dwelling place among his people. It signified that God was with them. And then God came near his people in the person of his Son when he came to earth as one of us. And God now dwells in every believer by his Spirit. God is always near us, because he lives in us. And the psalmist led the people in praise because he knew that God was with them.

And ‘men will tell of your wonderful deeds’. When someone has done something wonderful, we talk about it, don’t we? Did you hear what so-and-so did? You didn’t hear! Well, let me tell you what she did, because it was wonderful. When someone does something wonderful, we want to tell others about it. And by telling others, we’re praising the person who did so well. And the psalmist says people will tell of God’s wonderful deeds. In other words, they will praise God for what he has done. They will exalt him and give thanks to him. I have a book at home called ‘The Wonderful Works of God’. It’s a book of theology. But it’s not dry and boring, because it’s all about who God is and what he has done; and reading about God and hearing what he has done always leads to praise and thanksgiving and worship.

And so, the psalm begins with praise to God. We give thanks to you, because you are with us. And we give thanks to you, because of all the wonderful things you have done.

Verses 2 to 5

And in verse 2 to 5 the psalmist quotes the words of God. So, when the psalmist says, ‘You say…’ (NIV), he means, ‘God says….’

And what does God say? He says that he chooses the appointed time for judgment to take place. So, in Psalm 74 the psalmist asked: How long? How long will we have to suffer these things? And here’s the answer: until the appointed time has come. God is the one who determines all things and he has worked out on his calendar when he will judge the wicked and save his people.

And the Lord says about his judgment that it is upright. Everything about God’s judgment is right. So, he will not be deceived, the way a human judge can be deceived when he’s presented with false evidence. God cannot be deceived because he knows everything about everyone. And when he passes judgment on a person, no one can complain that God was unfair, because God’s judgment is just. He knows what each person has done and he knows what punishment is fitting for them. And God’s timing is right as well, because God is patient with people and he gives them plenty of time and plenty of opportunties to repent. We’ve been reading through the book of Jeremiah on Sunday evenings, which makes clear that God gave his rebellious people plenty of time to repent before sending the Babylonians to take them away into exile. And he sent Jeremiah to preach to them and to warn them of the coming judgment and to tell them of God’s willingness to pardon them if only they would turn back to him. God does not punish people immediately, but he’s patient with them. And he sends preachers into all the world to warn people of the coming judgment and to tell people everywhere to repent. And he’s written his law on our hearts and he’s given us all a conscience to bear witness to us when we do wrong. He’s also given us his law in the Bible so that we can know what his will for us is. So, no one can complain when God comes to judge the world. No one can say he’s been unfair and they didn’t know what was required of them. No one can say he didn’t give them time to repent. God is patient and fair to everyone.

And, according to verse 3, when God comes to judge, the earth and all its people will quake. The verb translated ‘quake’ can also be translated ‘melt away’. And the same word is used in Exodus 15:15 where Moses sang of how the Canaanites will melt away or quake when God leads his people to conquer the Promised Land. And in Joshua 2:9 — when Joshua sent men to spy out the Promised Land — Rahab said to them that the Canaanites are melting in fear or quaking in fear because of the Israelites. God was going to use the Israelites to punish the Canaanites for their wickedness. And the Canaanites were quaking in their boots and melting in fear because of it. And when God comes to judge the world, the earth and all its people will quake and melt with fear.

But, according to the second line of verse 3, God still holds the pillars of the earth firm. So, God’s people need not fear that the whole world will collapse, because God will uphold his creation and he will uphold his people too.

And since the day of judgment is coming, God says to the arrogant to boast no more. And God says to the wicked not to lift up their horns. The horn signifies strength. We might say that they’re not to throw their weight around. And God says to them that they’re not to lift their horn against heaven. So, they’re not to think they can defy God in heaven. And they’re not to speak with an out-stretched or proud neck. In other words, instead of boasting, humble yourself before the Lord.

Since the day of judgment is coming, turn from your wickedness and humble yourself before the Lord. Seek his forgiveness for what you have done while you still have time. And so, the Lord’s message of judgment is actually a message of grace, because he’s warning the wicked of the trouble that’s coming so that they will repent and seek God’s forgiveness.

Back in Psalm 74 the psalmist asked why God had his hands in his pocket. Why won’t he do someting about the wicked? And the answer is that God is being patient with them and he’s given them time to repent.

Verses 6 to 8

And so, we come to verses 6 to 8 where the psalmist speaks. Who is able to exalt a man or woman? According to verse 6 there is no one from the east or west who is able to do it. On the other hand, it is God who judges and he’s the one who brings down and he’s the one who exalts. So, the wicked person may boast that he can conquer the world. However, that wicked man is in God’s hands; and God is the one who will decide what happens to him. And when the time is right, God is able to tear the wicked man down. God holds in his hand the cup of his wrath which he will give to the wicked to drink. He will pour it down on them so that they will suffer the full force of his wrath. And since this is the case, the wicked should repent.

Verses 9 and 10

Verses 9 and 10 are the conclusion of the psalm. ‘As for me’, the psalmist says, ‘I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.’ Whereas the wicked boast about themselves, the psalmist will boast about the Lord.

And in verse 10 that Lord issues another warning to the wicked: he will cut off their horns. That is, he will cut off their strength and will humble them. However, he will lift up and exalt the horns of the righteous. He will strengthen his people and lift them up over their enemies.

Conclusion

God has given us this psalm to encourage his people, because it makes clear to us that the Lord has appointed a time when he will judge the wicked and punish them for what they have done wrong. When wicked things are happening around the world and when wicked people are hurting us, it’s good to remember that God is in control and that, when the time is right, he will put a stop to what the wicked are doing and he will judge them for what they have done wrong. Justice will be done; and the wicked will be held accountable for what they have done wrong. God may intervene sooner rather than later, or he may leave it until the final day of judgment. The timing is in his hands, but we can be assured that he will do what’s right.

And God has given us this psalm to warn the wicked and to teach them to repent. God says to them: Boast no more. Do not lift up your horns. Do not speak with a proud neck. Instead humble yourself before the Lord and seek his forgiveness for what you have done wrong.

And the psalm also leads us to gratitude to God for Jesus Christ our Saviour, because we know that we are sinners by nature and once we were enemies of God and we deserved nothing from him but condemnation and punishment for all that we have done wrong. But the Lord Jesus Christ took the cup of wrath which we deserved to receive; and he drank it for us. He bore the punishment we deserve and suffered the full force of God’s wrath in our place. He satisfied the justice of God by paying for our sins with his life, so that we now have peace with God and the hope of everlasting life in the presence of God in the new and better world to come.

The wicked will be kept out of that new and better world. And therefore there will be no one to harm us. And there will be no one who will lift himself up against the Lord. And forever and forever, we will say: We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks to you. We give thanks to you, because you came near to us in the person of your Son to save us from our sin and misery and to give us everlasting life in your presence. And so, we give thanks to you, because of the wonderful deeds you did for you by your Son our Saviour.