God Will Judge With Equity Series

Introduction

My wife Eileen and I have just said “Goodbye” to our three precious, young grandchildren. We spent several weeks with them this past summer.

Now, grandparents and parents know that some of our time is spent administering justice when we watch our grandchildren and children.

“That’s not fair!”

“It’s mine! I had it first! I want it!”

“Ouch! You hit me!”

We have all heard those words from little children.

It is our job to step in and administer justice.

The difficulty, however, is that we often don’t see what happened.

We hear the shout, shriek, or scream, and by the time we look, we have no idea who is guilty or innocent.

That is what makes administering justice so tricky.

As the children grow older and become teenagers, it becomes more challenging to administer justice.

The children are now better able to communicate. But they are also better able to withhold or shade the truth.

As children grow into adults, they develop astonishing skills at shading the truth and deceiving others.

Administering justice to adults requires an entire justice system. Even then, justice is only sometimes administered perfectly.

We might want to give in to despair were it not for the fact that we have been given the word of God to guide us as we think about the administration of justice.

In today’s Psalm, Psalm 75, we learn that God will administer justice perfectly to everyone in the future.

God’s administration of justice so blows away the Psalmist that Psalm 75 is a psalm of thanksgiving for God’s just rule and future judgment.

You will note that the superscription is as follows: “To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.”

We don’t know the context for this Psalm.

Asaph, Heman, and Ethan (also known as Jeduthun) were Levites who served as chief musicians at the sanctuary during King David’s reign (1 Chronicles 15:16-19; 16:4-7, 37-42; 2 Chronicles 5:12-14; 29:13; 35:15). They established guilds for their sons so that they might carry on their worship traditions.

Twelve Psalms are attributed to Asaph(50; 73-83).

Scripture

Let’s read Psalm 75:1-10:

1 We give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks, for your name is near.

We 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.

Lesson

Psalm 75:1-10 is a psalm of thanksgiving for God’s just rule and future judgment.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. God Will Judge in His Own Time (75:2-3)

2. God Will Eventually Humble the Wicked (75:4-5, 8)

3. God Will Eventually Exalt the Righteous (75:6-7, 9-10)

Asaph begins Psalm 75 with these words in verse 1a: “We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near.”

Asaph begins by thanking God for one thing: “Your name is near.”

Of course, there are innumerable things for which he could have thanked God, but he began by naming just one thing: “Your name is near.”

The “name” stands for God himself. So, “your name is near” means that God himself is near, at hand, and never far away.

What exactly did the Psalmist mean when he said that God is near?

First, he could have meant that God is omnipresent. That is, God is everywhere at the same time.

That is an important truth. The Psalmist wanted to remind his readers that God is everywhere at once. Nothing escapes his sight. He sees all. He knows all.

It reminds God’s people that no one should be deluded into thinking that God does not see or know what a person is thinking or doing.

Second, the Psalmist could have meant that God is near to support and encourage his people.

The Psalmist wanted God’s people to know that God was with them even in the most challenging and trying circumstances. While everyone may abandon God’s people, God will never leave them.