CHAPTER 75

A SONG OF ASAPH: A WARNING TO THE WICKED

¹Unto You, O God, do we give thanks, unto You do we give thanks: for that Your Name is near Your wondrous Works declare. (The speaker of this Verse is the Redeemed; the Messiah Himself is the Speaker in the remaining Verses. He is addressed as God. The expression, Your Name is near, refers to His manifested appearance in His future Coming.)

²When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. (This speaks of the Second Coming, when the Lord will then set up His Government, which will cover the entirety of the Earth.)

³The Earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. (This predicts the termination in confusion and guilt of mans government, as well as the firm establishment of the Messiahs rule. The latter portion of this Verse speaks of all creations that are upheld by God through Christ [Heb. 1:3].)

⁴I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn (eastern women once wore a protruding ornament on the forehead called a horn; as sons were born, the horn was raised, hence the expression, to lift up the horn; it means to become proud; it addresses itself to all who would be lifted up in pride, and specifically to the Antichrist):

⁵Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. (The coming Antichrist will lift himself up greatly [II Thess. 2:4].)

⁶For promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. (The Antichrist will claim great things. In actuality, he will be able to do nothing, at least that is lasting. As well, if it is to be noticed, the north is not mentioned, proclaiming the fact that promotion does come from the north, which has to do with the direction of Heaven and, consequently, the Throne of God.)

⁷But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and sets up another. (Regrettably, men, even in the modern Church, look to other men for promotion. They little remember that God is the Judge. In effect, God is saying that He is the One Who will lift up the horn, not man. If man does such, it will only breed pride. If God does such, it breeds humility.

In the strict interpretation of this Verse, it means that the Lord will put down the Antichrist, and set up the Lord Jesus Christ.)

⁸For in the Hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and He pours out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the Earth shall wring them out, and drink them. (This speaks of the judgment that is coming upon the Earth during the time of the Great Tribulation. Jesus said it would be worse than any time had ever been in history [Mat. 24:21].)

⁹But I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. (The Lord blessed Jacob, when, in fact, Jacob deserved nothing good; consequently, the beautiful phrase, God of Jacob, tells us that the Lord will so honor anyone who will meet His conditions. Those conditions are Faith in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross [Lk. 9:2324; Gal., Chpt. 5].)

¹⁰All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. (Evil will not take best; Righteousnesswilltake best!)