Each week as my church gathers to worship, we use the words of Psalm 124:8 to declare that our help is found only in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. The truths sung in Psalm 75 say that our confidence in this help is well placed, because our God works wonders, executes justice, supports the very pillars of the earth, and topples our enemies and his. What we declare is absolutely true! John Calvin summarizes this psalm in his commentary: “It affords matter of rejoicing and thanksgiving to the whole church, to reflect that the world is governed exclusively according to the will of God, and that she herself is sustained by his grace and power alone.”
As is often the case, we are not exactly sure of the immediate historical context for Psalm 75—perhaps the dark days of the Assyrian invasion, which ultimately failed during the reign of King Hezekiah–but not being sure about the context helps to emphasize the psalm’s relevance for all generations. The themes in Psalm 75 are also seen in Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2 and in Mary’s song in Luke 2; in anticipating the salvation of Israel through Samuel (and King David) but especially and particularly in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The voices speaking in the psalm change. At first the covenant community (v.1) speaks, then God himself (vv. 2–4). The psalmist then speaks generally (vv.6–8) and personally (vv.9–10), although some have suggested that verses 4 and 5 are the psalmist speaking. No matter how we interpret which voice speaks when, the different voices all unite to give one recurring message—the Lord actively rules over heaven and earth. Furthermore, Psalm 75 answers the call of Psalm 74:22: “Arise, O God, defend your cause.” That is exactly what the Lord God is doing!
God’s People Give Thanks (v. 1)
The psalmist highlights two reasons why God’s people, the church, give thanks to God: because his name is near and because of His wondrous deeds.
When Moses asked at the burning bush what he should say when the people asked what the God of their fathers’ name is, the Lord replied, “I AM WHO I AM.” The Lord’s name clearly reveals who he is, the Eternal One. As Moses states in Psalm 90, “From everlasting to everlasting, you are God” (v. 2). But his name also reveals his nature, his covenant and purpose, and that name is near!
We know that as we draw near to God, he draws near to us (James 4:8), but the nearness of God is especially seen in our Lord Jesus Christ, who, as the apostle Matthew reminds us, is Immanuel, God with us (see Matt 1:23), and it is Christ who has truly made known God’s name to us (see John 17:26).
The nearness of God, the presence of God, inevitably leads to the praise of His wonderful deeds, both in general in the world but particularly in redemption. There really is no end to God’s wondrous deeds; every day we experience blessing on blessing, kindness on kindness, forgiveness on forgiveness. How can we not praise him?
God Promises Judgment (vv. 2–8)
The Lord warns the enemies of God’s people and those who oppose God himself. At the set time (and this also indicates at a set place) God himself will judge with equity and justice.
Every generation experiences a tottering of some kind. Think about how Habakkuk felt when he learned of the impending judgment of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians, or how the earth tottered at the fall of the Roman Empire, or the spread of the Black Death in the fourteenth century. Did the earth not totter during the two World Wars of the twentieth century? And do we also not sense a tottering of the earth as we see the moral upheaval of the Western world, where evil is celebrated, where the murder of innocents is lauded, and the killing of the aged and infirm is proclaimed as “care”?
In the midst of this tottering, it can be easy to forget that the Lord is in control. The earth has not fallen because the Lord keeps it steady on its pillars. The apostle Paul reminds Timothy that the church of God is the pillar and buttress of truth, and this is absolutely true. It is the proclamation of the gospel that “stabilizes the ship,” so to speak, but with Christ as the head of the church, he is the one who holds all things together and “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb 1:3).
The Lord is in control, and this is why we do not need to fear. He steadies the tottering earth by his word, by his truth, until he is ready to shatter this earth once and for all at the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel because “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16).
Then God (or the psalmist speaking as the prophet of God) warns those who would boast in themselves. Today in many Western countries, June is designated as “Pride Month,” when much preening and haughtiness are on display; few want to be reminded that the rainbow is not a sign of pride in immorality and license, but of God’s covenant to sustain the earth through the generations, emphasizing human dependence. What ought to prompt humility too often leads to arrogance and scorning. In this psalm, it is as if God is speaking directly to this prideful generation: “Do not act like that. Turn away from your pride because exaltation and lifting up do not come from the east or the west or indeed from the south” (as indicated by the wilderness in v. 6). Nowhere on earth will we be able to lift ourselves up or be lifted up apart from God.
Some have suggested that the points of the compass are not directly in view here since north is not mentioned, but perhaps the psalmist is thinking of Psalm 48, where the far north is described as the city of the great God. Our help or exaltation does not come from any human or natural resources from any direction, but from our God and God alone!
It is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. The world exalts those it considers worthy and puts down those it judges unworthy or opposed to its agenda, and increasingly the latter are those who belong to Christ and his church. But the world will never have the final say. It is God who will execute the final judgment, and Psalm 75 makes it clear that it will not be a light punishment: there is a well-mixed foaming cup in God’s hand that the wicked will drink to its dregs until every drop is gone.
The Lord Jesus also used this vivid imagery to describe what was to take place on the cross: “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” he asks rhetorically in John 18:11. Jesus drinks the cup of wrath on behalf of His people. He, too, drinks it to its dregs, suffering the full penalty and punishment for our sins. Either Christ drinks the cup of wrath for all those who belong to Him by faith, or those who reject him drink it.
The Righteous Lifted Up (vv. 9–10)
What do those for whom Christ has drunk the cup of God’s wrath do, those who are blessed because their sins are forgiven? “I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob” (v. 9). Whereas in verse 1 praise was communal, here, for emphasis, it is personal: “I will sing praises.” Everyone who belongs to the covenant community must truly and sincerely praise and give thanks to the Lord. As is often the case, the covenant-keeping God is referred to as the God of Jacob. He who was faithful to the patriarchs of old—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—keeps His promises throughout all generations since the steadfast love (covenant love) of the Lord never ceases!
As a final reminder, verse 10 tells us that the pride and strength of the wicked will be cut off. There is no hope for those who reject Christ, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up. The apostle Peter wrote that we are to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand so that at the proper time he may exalt us (see 1 Pet 5:6). It is only as we humble ourselves in Christ that we have hope to be lifted up into the presence of God, to enjoy eternal life and the glorious resurrection of our incorruptible bodies.
The word “righteous” in verse 10 is singular but can mean one or multiple. If we use the apostle Paul’s reasoning in Galatians concerning the word “offspring” or “seed,” that it specifically refers to Christ, “the righteous” in verse 10 also refers to Christ (not just we who are followers of Christ). The Righteous One, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the one who is truly exalted, as the apostle Paul writes to the Philippians. He is the highly exalted one (Phil 2:9), and because of that great exaltation, we are lifted up. The writer to the Hebrews, citing Isaiah 8:18, quotes the Lord Jesus saying, “Behold, I and the children God has given me” (Heb 2:13). Because the Righteous One is lifted up in death on the cross and then in exaltation, so those who are counted righteous in him by faith are likewise exalted.
Conclusion
In his famous poem “If,” Rudyard Kipling claimed that part of being a man is to keep your head when all around are losing theirs (and blaming you for it). But the reality is that when the earth and its people totter, only God holds the pillars steady. Looking to ourselves is more than foolish; it is dangerous. To flaunt our own strength and pride and to hold our haughty heads high really only sticks out our necks further, making us more ready for the axe of judgment (see Matt 3:10).
In contrast stands the Lord Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He came from heaven (the far north) to redeem His people by humbling Himself and drinking the cup of wrath for their sin in their place so that all who believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Without Christ we will all be brought down, but with Christ and in Christ, we will be lifted up with him, the one who is highly exalted. He truly is our only hope.
We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds. . . .
I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. (vv. 1, 9)
Amen!
©Keith Giles. All Rights Reserved.
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Keith Giles
Keith was raised in England in the Open Brethren churches. He has been an elder and minister and served Castlereagh Baptist Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland for fifteen years. He earned an MA in Theology from the University of Wales and an MProf. Studies from the University of Chester, both in conjunction with the Irish Baptist College. In recent years, however, he became Reformed in conviction and in 2021 he accepted a call to Covenant Reformed Church, Grande Prairie, AB (URCNA).
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