Catholic Commentary on Psalm 75

"It is God who judges: he brings one down, he exalts another." (Psalm 75:7)

We Give Thanks

Psalm 75 opens with a communal act of thanksgiving and then shifts to the voice of God speaking directly to the assembly: We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds. You say, I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity. The divine declaration is the theological heart of the psalm: God chooses the appointed time for judgment. Not the strong of the earth, not the arrogant who lift up their horns against heaven, but God alone sets the time and the terms of the reckoning.

The imagery of the cup is significant: in the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs. The cup of judgment is a powerful image that runs from Psalm 75 through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel to Revelation. The same cup that Jesus prayed to have taken from him in Gethsemane is the cup of divine judgment against sin, which he took so that we would not have to drink it to the dregs.

The Horns of the Righteous

It is God who judges: he brings one down, he exalts another. This is the declaration that frees the community from the anxiety of social comparison. Human promotion and human success are not the ultimate measure of status. God alone exalts and brings down. The horn of the righteous will be lifted up by the Lord. The waiting for divine vindication, rather than seeking it through human means, is the posture the psalm commissions.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the anxiety about our place in the world, about whether we are recognised and promoted and valued, is addressed by Psalm 75. It is God who judges, who brings down and exalts. Your status in his eyes is more important than your status in any human ranking. Stop trying to lift your own horn. Let him lift it in his appointed time.

Prayer

Lord God, we praise you, for your name is near and your judgment is coming. Do not let the arrogant boast. It is you who judges, who brings down and exalts. Lift the horns of the righteous in your time. And fill our mouths with praise for the God of Jacob. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

75
God’s Righteous Judgment
(Romans 2:1–16)
For the choirmaster: To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A song.
 
1 We give thanks to You, O God;
we give thanks, for Your Name is near.
The people declare Your wondrous works.
 
2 “When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.
3 When the earth and all its dwellers quake,
it is I who bear up its pillars.
Selah
4 I say to the proud, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.
5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak with an outstretched neck.’ ”
 
6 For exaltation comes neither from east nor west,
nor out of the desert,
7 but it is God who judges;
He brings down one and exalts another.
8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD,
full of foaming wine mixed with spices.
He pours from His cup,
and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to the dregs.
 
9 But I will proclaim Him * 75:9 Or proclaim it forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
 
10 “All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”

*75:9 75:9 Or proclaim it

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