Daily Devotional Sunday 26th March 2023
by William MoodyPsalms 75–76
God Will Judge with Equity
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75:1 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We1 recount your wondrous deeds.
2 “At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
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 But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Who Can Stand Before You?
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
76:1 In Judah God is known;
his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic
than the mountains full of prey.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
were unable to use their hands.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you, you are to be feared!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared and was still,
9 when God arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;
the remnant2 of wrath you will put on like a belt.
11 Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them;
let all around him bring gifts
to him who is to be feared,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.(ESV)
Psalm 75 is a wonderful Psalm to remind us that in this world the Lord is in control over everything. Asaph begins by speaking God’s wondrous deeds (v1). He speaks of how when the world seems to be tottering the Lord steadies things (v3). He is the One who holds all things and all people in His hands. Therefore, there can be no room for arrogance and boasting (v4-5). People need to realise the right order of things in regards who is in control.
This is the God who both rules and executes judgment (v6-7). This judgment is seen as a bitter cup of wrath that all the wicked have to drink (v8). This naturally points us to Jesus who in Gethsemane agreed to take the cup of God’s wrath and who on the cross drank it down to the very last drop so as to deliver His people.
It is only in the light of what Jesus has done that the wicked will be cut off but the righteous will be exalted (v9-10). Not righteous on our own account but through faith in Jesus and His perfect righteousness.
Are you anchored in Christ and have a received righteousness through Him?
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