Day 552: The wicked 'de-horned' – Psalm 75

A Psalm of Asaph. 1 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. 2-3 “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.”  Selah (A pause or music interlude)

4-5 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.’ 6-7 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgement, putting down one and lifting up another. 8 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. 9-10 But I will declare it for ever; 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 lifted up. Psalm 75 (English Standard Version)

In those days, as now, there would have been power struggles between the nations. Some of the super-powers of the past were Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Smaller nations would've looked to other nations for help when threatened by a stronger foe. But what did the writer want Israel to remember in times when it seemed as if all the world was tottering. (vs 3, 6 & 7)

That's a good thing for us to keep in mind as well. We live in days when the world is tottering on the edge of nuclear wars and rampant widespread lawlessness. The super powers still struggle for supremacy and we may well fear the outcome if a nation like China were to gain control of the world. But vs 2-3 appear to be God Himself speaking to His people and He warns the nations to not proudly think that the final say lies with them. It is He alone who judges; He decides who will rise and who will fall. Vs 8 goes on to say that He has a day of reckoning when all the wicked (nations and individuals) will have to drink the foaming cup of judgement He pours out for them. This picture of a cup 'of the wine of the fury of God's wrath' is also spoken of in the New Testament book of Revelation. 

Horns are mentioned four times in these ten verses. Throughout history horns were associated with strength and power. But the message of the Psalmist is that God will ‘de-horn’ those nations who have oppressed His people, and will lift up the horn of the righteous. The New Living Translation says God “will break the strength of the wicked, but will increase the power of the godly.” So what was the Psalm writers response as he thought about what God said in verses 2-3? (See vs 1, 4-5 & 9-10)

A natural response to when wars are increasing, stock markets are crashing, and the future looks shaky, would be great anxiety. Sometimes it looks very much as if the wicked are winning. There were years during World War 2 when it must have seemed as if the Nazis would take all of Europe. But the Psalm writer kept his eyes upon God. He says God's name was ‘near at hand’. God can be turned to in prayer. The writer recalled God's deeds of the past and so he continued to lift up praise to God.

Christians can have an even deeper confidence when their world is being shaken. The apostle Paul wrote “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I’m sure that neither death nor life, - nor angels nor rulers - nor things present nor things to come - nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)

The powerful wicked will not triumph forever. The final victory is the Lord's. Jesus said it is the meek who will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5) So, like the Psalm writer, we can say “We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near.”