Promotion
Today we will look at the third powerful “P” in our short series of the three Ps in the book of Psalms. The three powerful Ps are: Provision, Protection, and Promotion. Last week we looked at protection, so now let us look at those of promotion.
We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near. “When I choose the proper time, I will judge uprightly. The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly. Selah
“I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’ And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.’ ” For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south.
But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down.
But I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”
Psalms 75:1-10
[Title]
The opening verse of this psalm presents an inclusive thought, we give thanks. Asaph, the writer of this psalm, wrote it from the perspective of the congregation; they together say we give thanks unto God, and the thought is repeated for emphasis. The people of God gladly give thanks unto their God. We, as a people of God, need to give thanks and understand that God is near.
We should praise God again and again. Stinted gratitude is ingratitude. For infinite goodness there should be measureless thanks. Our gratitude toward God has a basis, a reason. We gave thanks to God not only for His wondrous works, but for what those works proclaimed: that God, in all His character and attributes, was near to His people. Whether you know it or not, or even have problems believing it...but God is near to you and I. The reason for rejoicing lies in the manifest presence of God proclaimed and celebrated in the stories of God’s mighty acts; here in the word of God, those that have been handed down through tradition, and the feeling you have in your own heart. In remembrance and retelling of the history of salvation lies the comforting affirmation of God’s closeness to his people. The very fact that Jesus died for us shows the closeness and nearness of God, because God so loved the world.
The first verse spoken from the perspective of the people, but in verses 2-10 it is from the perspective of God Himself. God declares that He will be the judge the people of earth, throughout all the ages, and that His judgement will be done righteously, unlike that of those who deal corruptly with human judgement. In His judgments God reserves the right to choose the proper time. We often feel that we know the proper time for God’s judgments, and we are often troubled because God does not seem to share our perspective. The believer should have a humble trust in the uprightness of God’s judgments and the proper time for them.
‘Is this not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up among My treasures? Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’
Deuteronomy 32:34-35
A time will come that the wicked for be dealt with by God. Knowing this should keep us from being in the camp of the wicked…continue to praise and give God thanks.
The 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 Messiah’s rule. The latter portion of this verse speaks of all creations that are upheld by God through Christ. Now, we feel that we are under the thumb of governmental powers and authorities who may not be aligned with God's will, but this is where we see promotion of the believers about that of the governmental powers. In short, the governmental powers will be dissolved, while the believers will be established firmly. Although it alludes to an end times event, it may happen to some of us before we breathe our last breath. How's that for a promotion.
In the fourth and fifth verses of our opening psalm God speaks to the proud. God warns the proud to boast and stop exalting their own strength, this is spoken of in our verses as “lifting up the horn no longer."
The week prior to this message I had this dream about being the owner of a bank, and in my position as owner I would sometimes take on the responsibilities of one of my employees. For example, I took the place of an assistant who was responsible for helping people find the right place to go within the bank because she needed the day off. Now I was doing this in my dream because God wanted to show me that everyone is valuable in His kingdom, and that as the king of my bank I can also do it janitorial work. So, I'm assisting people and a celebrity comes in with his entourage, and I direct them to the back of the line, at which point they are angered. They requested to see the manager because they felt they should have been given special treatment. The manager knows that while I am in the position as one of my employees, I am to be treated no differently than if the original person was there. So, the manager explains to the celebrity that everyone in this bank is treated with celebrity status and that no one is placed above another. The angered celebrity demands to speak to the owner of the bank, at which point the manager points to me. The celebrity was confused, but I explained to him that I am not so big or proud that I cannot do the work I require of my employees. I then asked the celebrity why it was so hard for him to stand in line like everyone else, why he was so proud that he needed to push everyone down so that he could get his way.
When I woke from the dream, I understood that God was speaking to me with verses 4 and 5 of our opening verses:
“I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’ And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.’”
Psalm 75:4-5
(Tell story of the owner of a KFC)
Understand that lifting one’s horn against heaven is the equivalent of shaking one’s fist in God’s face. The figure of the stiff neck was taken from the world of agriculture, where ox or cattle might resist the yoke for plowing and other work. God cautioned the proud and wicked not to resist Him in the same way. God will promote you in due time but know that during the promotion God does not want you to become proud, forgetting where you came from. That celebrity in my dream thought that their promotion gave them the right to disrespect others.
The writer of psalm 75 hoped to teach the proud ones whom he warned in the previous lines. They should first know that their exaltation, their promotion, their success and standing did not come from earth and human initiative. They should stop their proud confidence in self. The word ‘exaltation' here is used in a very expressive way; it means the desire of self-advancement, and would teach us that all our inward schemes, and outward plans, cannot give us sustained advancement, that sustained and established promotion is only that way when it is based upon the fear and love of God.
Every successful person, everyone exalted in some way, should humbly look to God with gratitude. It is God who puts down one and exalts another. A humble mind and heart are the proper response, instead of boastful words, the celebration of one’s own strength, or resistance against God. Promotions in any direction, to positions of credit, influence, or consideration, are the gift and the work of God. This is not to say that hard work, preparation, good habits, and other human aspects do not contribute to success – they clearly do. Yet even those things are gifts and abilities from God and should be regarded with humility and gratitude toward Him.
For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down. But I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
Psalm 75:8-9
The psalm writer here used the cup as a figure of God’s judgment. The idea is that God demonstrates His judgment upon the wicked, and they are forced to drain and drink down the bitter cup. The book of Revelations, in chapter 15 speaks of 7 cups of judgement that will be poured out on wicked mankind. From these verses just read and mentioned, we see a grim contrast as we see the imagery of festivity and hospitality, with the host presenting the wine cup to their guests, stern directive that all the wicked will gulp down the nauseous impurities of the wine as God holds it to their reluctant lips. The picture is this: the proud have been promoted by God, but they refused to give Him gratitude for His gifting them with the abilities, and so He stripes them of the things that made them proud and are left to suffer in the bitter thoughts of what they had.
God goes as far as to say their honor and power, which they made an instrument of mischief to oppress good men is equated to that of horned and mischievous beasts. But in contrast to the wicked of the earth, the psalm writer spoke for the people of God who declare and rejoice in the judgments of God.
All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off: The symbol of the horn was used earlier in this psalm (Psalm 75:4-5) in the familiar sense as an expression of strength and domination (as with ox or cattle). This psalm ends with another word from God’s own perspective, vowing to put down the proud and wicked one (as earlier in Psalm 75:7), and promote those that have shown gratitude and love for God.
God’s work of judgment is not only against the proud and wicked; it is also for the righteous. Surely as He will cut off the arrogant pride of the wicked, He will also exalt the strength of the righteous. In the end, God says: All their power and influence, will I cut off; and will exalt and extend the power of the righteous.
