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Psalm 75

Thanksgiving for God’s Wondrous Deeds

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

We give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks; your name is near.

People tell of your wondrous deeds.

At the set time that I appoint

I will judge with equity.

When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah

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 insolent neck.”

For not from the east or from the west

and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;

but it is God who executes judgment,

putting down one and lifting up another.

For in the hand of the L ord there is a cup

with foaming wine, well mixed;

he will pour a draught from it,

and all the wicked of the earth

shall drain it down to the dregs.

But I will rejoice 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 exalted.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

9. and 10. But I will publish for ever. This conclusion of the psalm evinces the joy which God’s people felt from having experienced that He was their deliverer in adversity; for it seems to be their own experience which they engage to publish, and on account of which they resolve to sing praise to God. Whence also they gather, that by the divine aid they will overcome all the power of the reprobate; and that being themselves possessed of righteousness and equity, they will be sufficiently armed for their own preservation and defense. The expression, the horns of the righteous shall be exalted, ²⁶³²⁶³ “By the horns of the wicked is signified pride; by the horns of the righteous, on the other hand, is meant their power. Basil has remarked, that the horn is more exalted and more solid than any other part of the body to which it belongs; and that, at the same time, it supplies ornament to the head, and is also a weapon of defense. Hence it is put metaphorically both for strength and power, and also for pride.” — Cresswell. Here it is threatened that the power and honor of the wicked, which had been employed as the instruments of cruel wrong and oppression, would be destroyed, and their pride effectually humbled; while the righteous would be exalted to power and dignity. implies, that the children of God, by a blameless and holy life, acquire greater strength, and more effectually protect themselves than if it were their endeavor to advance their own interests by every species of wickedness.

²⁶³ “By the horns of the wicked is signified pride; by the horns of the righteous, on the other hand, is meant their power. Basil has remarked, that the horn is more exalted and more solid than any other part of the body to which it belongs; and that, at the same time, it supplies ornament to the head, and is also a weapon of defense. Hence it is put metaphorically both for strength and power, and also for pride.” — Cresswell. Here it is threatened that the power and honor of the wicked, which had been employed as the instruments of cruel wrong and oppression, would be destroyed, and their pride effectually humbled; while the righteous would be exalted to power and dignity.