GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
PSALM 75:6-10
6 Exaltation does not come
from the east or from the west,
nor from the desert,
7 for God is the Judge:
He brings down one and exalts another.
“Glory and trumpets!” Where does exaltation come, if not from any direction on earth? It comes from God the Judge. Asaph explains this clearly and simply so that there can be no mistake: God is the one who brings one down, and who exalts another. He is in charge.
8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
full of fermenting wine blended with spices.
He pours a drink from it,
and all the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.
“Fermenting” here is sometimes translated “foaming” in other versions like the NIV, NASB or RSV (we’re using my own translation for Psalm 75). Our word here, hamar, is foaming or churning in passages like Habakkuk 3:15 (churning waters). Wine foams as it ferments because of the yeast that’s used. The violence of the reaction in the cup is part of the point of the text: it is the punishment that unbelievers must undergo for rejecting God in favor of their own ideas and opinions. Since only unbelief damns, it is unbelief first and foremost for which those in hell are punished. When the wicked man in Jesus’ account of poor Lazarus is in hell, his request is that someone go to his brothers to warn them, so that they would repent (Luke 16:27-30). But Abraham’s response was “They have Moses and the Prophets” (verse 29). The word of God is enough to create and sustain saving faith in God.
How much punishment will there be in hell? They will drain it “to the dregs.” Some readers may not know that the dregs of a cask of wine are the last few sips possible, which include the silt from the mixture—the very last drop, we might say. How much of our punishment did Christ undergo on the cross? The cup of his punishment was filled to the very top, and he drained it dry for our sakes.
9 As for me, I will proclaim him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
How are the horns of the wicked cut off? Whenever we proclaim God, preach about him, and teach our children to fear, love and trust in God above all things. Even if the wicked try to maintain their arrogance, their haughty words will fall on deaf ears as we rely on Christ and put our faith in him. In this same act, the horns of the righteous—our strength, our courage, and our confidence—will be lifted up. That’s because the very same gospel crushes the devil’s power and glorifies Christ. When we turn away from unbelief and trust in Jesus, we receive the forgiveness of our sins, eternal life, and rescue from sin, death and the power of the devil. Be lifted up! Your heavenly Father loves you.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota