Psalm 75 is a psalm of judgement written by Asaph (Psalm 75:1).
(For some Bible translations, one has to be added to the verses below in Psalm 75).
God says through Asaph:
- "At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity. When the Earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. I say to the boastful, 'Do not boast,' and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horn; do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with haughty neck.'” (Psalm 75:2–5).
- "It is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. 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 75:7–8).
- "All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up." (Psalm 75:10).
A horn is always a symbol of strength in the Bible. To speak with a haughty neck means to adopt a haughty, condescending, or contemptuous expression or manner, that is, 'to speak with one's nose in the air.'
A cup of foaming wine is often a picture of judgement.
The Psalm begins by praising the Lord for his coming judgement (Psalm 75:1,
Rev 14:6–7). It's only God who can judge people fairly and judge at all.
We aren't allowed to judge by ourselves, see Do not judge others and
Love and not revenge in The Sermon on the Mount.
At the end of time there will be a judgement at the great white throne
(Rev 20:11–13), see The Millennial Kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgement.
As born again Christian believers, we shouldn't have to worry about eternal judgement (Rom 8:1), see Salvation. Jesus took care of that on the cross, see
The Crucifixion of Jesus. We therefore don't need to worry about the judgment
on the great white throne (1 John 4:16–18). But it requires that we not abuse our salvation by knowingly living a life of sin, see Sanctification.
When Abraham was concerned about the coming judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah, he asked God the rhetorical question: "Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do what is just?" (Gen 18:25). Abraham knew that God can't be unjust, see God's Attributes.
However, this does not mean that we as Christians are free from the Lord's discipline in this life. We shouldn't despise the discipline of the Lord (Proverbs 3:11–12, 8:33, 10:8, 17, 12:1, 13:1, 18, 15:32, 17:3, 19:27, 23:12, Heb 12:5–7, 1 Pet 1:6–7). We should endure all hardships as discipline, see the first part of The Book of James.
See also The Book of Psalms.
