I do encourage you to turn in the Bible to Psalm 75. Psalm 75 which can be found in the Church Bible on page 487. I do encourage you to take notes on the outline that is provided in the bulletin. And later on to work through the questions that are found on the back side of the bulletin. Maybe around the lunch table. Maybe in our online fellowship group later on this evening. Maybe at home with your family. Maybe alone with the Lord. Our text, as I said, is Psalm 75 as we continue a series of five messages on the Psalms. We are taking one Psalm from each of the five books of Psalms. And this morning, following that method, we come to Psalm 75. We live in a wicked world. A world that is in rebellion against God. You do not have to go far to see this. Just think of the atrocities that are being committed in Ukraine and in Iran. Think of the legislation that is coming out of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Just this past week, the Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act. which really is a misnomer, it is an assault on marriage. As it puts into federal law, the idea that marriage is not only between a man and a woman, but it puts into law the idea of same-sex marriage, seeking to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court from overruling the Obergefell ruling. According to the Alliance Defending Freedom, this legislation that the president is about to sign into law, in spite of the wording in it that seeks to give some assurance that there is still religious freedom, In spite of that wording in the legislation, according to ADF, this legislation does open the way for lawsuits against Christian organizations who work together with the government to provide different services. And it even opens the way that potentially churches Tax-exempt status could be removed if the government sees that the church is not respecting their definition of marriage. It is an evil set of legislation. No one can redefine marriage. It is God alone who defines marriage. He has defined marriage as between one man and one woman. It's absolute arrogance and pride for our government, for our legislature to seek to give their own definition of marriage. It's just one example. You don't have to go far to see the wickedness, the rebellion against God that is in the world in which we live. Think of the persecution of Christians. World Magazine just ran an article this last week about missionary Ryan Coher, who was serving the Lord in Mozambique as a missionary pilot working with MAF, Missionary Aviation Fellowship. And Ryan Coher was arrested by the Mozambique government on suspicion of supporting terrorist activities. And he is being held in a high-security prison. That is not true. Those are false charges. This is nothing new, but the world has always hated Christ. The world has always hated those who stand for Christ, who proclaim the word of Christ. And so Christians are in different parts of the world arrested under false charges like this, supporting terrorist activities. It's really because they're living for the Lord, Jesus Christ. They're holding out the gospel of Christ, as Ryan Coher does as a missionary pilot, as he takes supplies and also the gospel message to various areas of Mozambique. Some of the Psalms ask, how long, oh God, how long until you judge the wicked? Let me ask you, do you ever ask God this? How long, oh God? How long until you judge the wicked? Psalm 75, which we're going to study this morning, is a response to this question, how long, oh Lord? The response here is in the form of a psalm of thanksgiving that declares that God will judge at His appointed time. Though evil may appear to be prevailing, we as God's people have great reason to give thanks when we contemplate God's justice. The psalm is meant to lift us from the despair of how long, O Lord, to praising the Lord. I'm going to read to us Psalm 75. Please stand in honor of the Word of God if you are able. To the choir master, according to Do Not Destroy, a psalm of Asaph, a song. We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. At the set time that I appoint, I will judge with equity. When the earth totters and all its inhabitants, it is I who keeps steady its pillars. I say to the boastful, do not boast, and to the wicked, do not lift up your horn. Do not lift up your horn on high or speak with haughty neck. For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. 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. but I will declare it forever. I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up." This is God's holy word. Please be seated. This psalm is part of book 3 of the Psalms. Book 3 began with Psalm 73. This book focuses on the community of God's people and their devastation by foreign nations. When this book has been compiled, Israel has been defeated. This book, book 3, concludes dramatically with the crown of the Davidic king defiled in the dust. The Lord has rejected David's son and cast his throne to the ground. It appears that book 3 was compiled during the Babylonian captivity. Since it refers back to Jerusalem being conquered by the Babylonians. It appears to have been compiled during the Babylonian captivity. To be used by the Jewish captives in worship of God. Look closely at the inscription at the top. It says, to the choir master. So this was written to be used in the worship of God at the temple. There was a choir. Their voices were to be raised in the temple and praised to God. And this psalm was written for that purpose. The inscription also says, according to do not destroy. It would appear that this refers to the tune that this was to be sung to. A tune that would have been known by the choir master. It is a psalm of Asaph that speaks about who wrote it. Now, we do know about an Asaph back in David's day. This appears to have been written well after the day of David. So it seems that the psalm here was written by Levites who descended from the Asaph whom David appointed to lead music and singing before the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle. This group of Levites, who are referred to here with the name Asaph, are the ones to whom Psalms 73 through Psalm 83 are all ascribed to. So this psalm really fits very closely together with the other psalms of Asaph here in Book 3. The psalm goes very closely in hand with the previous psalm of Asaph, Psalm 74, which looked back to the destruction of the temple, apparently at the hands of the Babylonians. The psalmist in 74 asks in verse 10, look at it in Psalm 74 verse 10, How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them. Now, the greatest concern of the psalmist is for God's name that is being reviled by the foe. If you look at verse 18, the psalmist says, And then the psalmist asks God to act at the end. Look at verse 22. Remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day. Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually." The response to all of this is our psalm, Psalm 75. The response to that question, how long, O God? The response to this call upon the Lord to arise and to defend His cause? We have the response in Psalm 75. Key terms in Psalm 75 include the term the wicked, you will see that repeated, and also the term judge or judgment, you'll see both. Psalm 75 leads you and me who live in a wicked world to be mindful of God's future justice and to praise Him for it. The Psalm starts and ends with thanksgiving and praise to a just God and in the middle it declares four truths about God's justice. Let's look at the first section of thanksgiving to a just God in verse 1. We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. God's name represents Him. That His name is near, as we read here, means that He is near. And He has shown us that He is near by doing wondrous deeds. Wondrous deeds that the psalmist recounts. And that we are to recount in thanksgiving to Him. We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks to Your name, for Your name is near. We recount Your wondrous deeds. We are to give thanks to God for His wondrous deeds. And for the truth stated here that He is near. In this context, God's nearness speaks of Him ruling over His universe. He is not the God that is imagined by deism. Deism conceives of a God who created the world, but is outside of the world, and is not involved in the affairs of this world. The God of the Bible is not the God imagined by deism. Rather, the God of the Bible sovereignly presides over everything that happens in the world. He presides over everything that happens in your life and mine. He is never far away, but always at hand. He is in charge of His creation. He has not turned His back to it, or abandoned the rule of it to others. He is present in all that happens. Nothing that ever comes into your life, happens or happens to others, is accidental. And for this, we are to give God thanks. Now in verse 2, the speaker changes. In verse 1, it was the people of God. We give thanks to you, O God. Now in verse 2, the speaker changes. Here in verse 2, God begins to speak. And we will have His words throughout most of the rest of this psalm. And it is God's Word that we need to hear in order to give thanks to Him. We need His self-revelation if we are to give thanks to Him. And that's what we have here. We have in verses 2-8 a declaration of God's justice. A declaration that is given to us by God Himself. In which we see four truths about God's justice. The first of these four truths is found in verses 2 and 3. And it's that God will judge at His set time. Look at verse 2. Here is the answer to the question, How long, O God? The answer from God is, at the set time that I appoint, I will judge with equity. That God judges means that He judges the behavior of His moral creatures according to His perfect internal standard of right and wrong, rewarding what is right and punishing what is wrong. Rewarding righteousness and punishing wickedness. That God judges with equity, as He states here, means that He judges without partiality. He judges without accepting a bribe. He judges according to an objective standard of right and wrong that is found in His own character. Here God says in verse 2, at the set time that I appoint, I will judge with equity. Notice that as the Sovereign Lord, He determines when He will judge affairs on earth. We cry out, how long O Lord? And the Sovereign Lord says that when He sees that the time is right, then He will judge. He has a right to judge. at His time. He doesn't work on our timetable. It's always His timetable. And His timetable is always right. He appoints a proper time to judge, which is not a minute too late, nor a minute too early. He will not fail to judge, but He will do so at His set time. At the set time that God appointed, He flooded the earth. Genesis chapter 6 speaks of the wickedness of man. How the wickedness of man multiplied. And that man was wicked across the board and all the way down to the depth of his being. So that every thought and every intention of his thoughts was only evil continually. And God raised up Noah and told him to build an ark. The New Testament tells us he was a preacher of righteousness for about 100 years. Noah was constructing that ark and he was preaching. And at God set time, the time that God had appointed, God flooded the earth. And he destroyed all mankind except for Noah and his family who were saved by the grace of God as they found favor in the eyes of God. At the time that God had appointed, he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham was talking with the Lord. And will you spare it if you find so many righteous people? Well, there weren't so many righteous people there. And at His set time, He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in judgment. At the set time that God appointed, He gave Babylon into the hands of the Medes and Persians. In some cases, the appointed time is on this side of eternity. It's in this life. As in the instances that I gave to you. In other cases it will be in eternity after Jesus Christ returns. God has inscrutable reasons for His timing in His judgments. Sometimes He delays His judgment in mercy giving the wicked time to repent and to be saved. We read of this in Romans 2, verses 3 and 4. Do you suppose, O man, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? We also read of this in 2 Peter 3, verses 7 and 9, which says, But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promises, some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." People were saying, where is Christ coming? It's been so many years since He said that He will come again. And the apostle says, don't count this as God being slow, that God's not going to do what he has said. Count this as God's patience. He's not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance. This is the day of salvation. This is the day of the gospel going forth. This is the day of God's people being saved, people from every tongue, tribe and nation. Sometimes God delays His judgment in mercy, giving the wicked time to repent and to be saved. Other times God waits to judge so that evil has time to come to full fruition. We read of this in Genesis chapter 15 verse 16, when the Lord says to Abraham, God would judge the Amorites after He brings the Israelites out of Egypt. And God gives to His people victory in the land of Canaan. That would be judgment upon the Amorites, judgment upon the Canaanites. But God said at that point when He spoke to Abraham, their iniquity is not yet complete. Sometimes God waits to judge so that evil has time to come to its full fruition. And then He judges it. But we can know without a shadow of a doubt that at the set time that God appoints, He will judge. And He will judge with equity. For God has declared this to us in His Word. Now, what will happen in the meantime? Wickedness abounds. God will judge at His set time. What happens in the meantime before God judges? While we wait for God, might everything fall apart? Look at verse 3. When the earth totters and all its inhabitants, it is I who keeps steady its pillars. When the earth totters in what may appear to be chaos, it is God who keeps steady its pillars. When the world totters in deeper and deeper wickedness, it is God who keeps steady its pillars. When good is called evil and evil is called good, it is God who keeps steady the earth's pillars. When it may appear that wickedness is ruling, it is God who keeps steady its pillars. What do pillars do? They uphold a structure. They are a foundation for what is above it. Man in his arrogance may think that he is upholding the world, through His efforts to save the world, save the earth. But even in the bleakest of times, it is the Lord who is upholding the world. And He is doing so through the Lord Jesus Christ. In Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3, we read that He, that is Christ, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. And He upholds the universe by the word of His power. What is Christ doing right now? This is part of what He's doing right now. Right now Christ is upholding the universe by the word of His power. He is keeping steady the pillars of this earth. Now do you think that Christ's power ever wavers? Absolutely not. His power never wavers. He never wavers as He holds fast the pillars of this earth. Though all hell may appear to break loose, you, brother, you, sister, do not need to fear. Because you know who keeps steady the earth's pillars. You look at the news. You are aware of the wickedness around. You are aware of how the earth is tottering. You do not need to fear. You know the One who holds the earth in its place. You know the One who upholds it by the word of His power. You do not need to fear. He keeps the pillar steady. And He has appointed a time when He will judge with equity. At the end of verse 3 we find the word Silah. This is a Hebrew word that has been left untranslated because we do not know with certainty what it means. This word Selah is not part of the sentence, and it is found in various Psalms. It may be a directive to pause for a moment, to ponder what has just been said. Here, at the set time that God appoints, He will judge with equity. When the earth totters in all its inhabitants, it is He who keeps steady its pillars. Let that sink in. There is also a second truth that God declares in this psalm about His justice. We find it in verses 4 and 5. And it is that God warns the wicked. He warns the wicked. Look at verses 4 and 5. I say to the boastful, do not boast. And to the wicked, do not lift up your horn. Do not lift up your horn on high or speak with haughty neck. This word that's used here, horn, which also you find in the last verse of this psalm, is used metaphorically in various places in scripture, including here. What kind of animals would the first hearers think of when this imagery of a horn is used. They would think of at least a bull. They would think of a wild ox. Because in Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 17, when Moses blessed the descendants of Joseph, he spoke of Joseph as, where his descendants as a first born bull, he has majesty and his horns are the horns of a wild ox. This is a powerful animal that has horns. Think of a wild ox, think of a bull. It is in the animal's horns that its power is concentrated. If they fight another animal, it is with their horns, the concentration of their power, their strength. And so, in the Bible, this metaphor of a horn speaks of power, it speaks of strength. Hannah's song of praise to the Lord after the Lord answered her prayer, and gave her a baby, a Samuel, after her womb had been closed for a period of time. In her song of praise to the Lord of 1 Samuel 2, she uses this metaphor of a horn, and the ESV actually translates the word for horn, once as strength in that song, and then also as power. She's using the word horn, but ESV translates it as strength or power because that is the significance of the metaphor. The metaphor speaks of strength, it speaks of power, the horn. In our text, God says to the wicked who boast in themselves and exalt themselves, do not boast. Do not lift up your horn. When they do so, they do so against the one who rules over the heavens and the earth. God says to them in verse 5, do not lift up your horn on high or speak with haughty neck. A haughty neck is one that is lifted above others. We may do that with each other. Lifting your neck up, trying to get it higher than the person you're speaking to. Exalting yourself over another. Here He says, do not lift up your horn on high or speak with haughty neck. With a neck that's lifted above others. Now, what kinds of boastful, self-exalting things were the wicked saying? Well, go back to Psalm 74. In Psalm 74, we saw some of those things. Look again in Psalm 74 at verse 10. How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? The enemy was reviling the name of God, the nature of God, the character of God, the person of God. Verse 18, Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name. We see it there again. Verse 22, Arise, O God, defend your cause. Remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day. Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually. What were these foes doing? In the language of Psalm 75, Verses 4 and 5, they were boasting, they were lifting up their horn, lifting up their horn on high, speaking with haughty neck. Nebuchadnezzar was boasting and lifting up his horn when he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. In Daniel chapter 4, verse 30, when he said to himself, is not this great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty? And we know how God then put him down into the dust after he lifted himself up in that way. King Belshazzar was lifting up his horn against the Lord when he used in his banquet the golden vessels from the house of God that had been taken from the Jerusalem temple. And this pagan king, Belshazzar, was using those vessels which had been set apart as holy unto the Lord for His worship and only in the temple. And Belshazzar was using them to eat on and drink on in his great orgy. And as he praised idols rather than honoring the true God in whose hand is our breath and whose are all our ways. He was lifting up his horn against the Lord. Man lifts up his horn against God, the ruler of the kingdom of men, when man rebels against God. Here in this psalm, God warns the wicked, telling them to turn from their boastful, self-exalting, wicked way. Just as God warned the world through the preaching of Noah. Just as God warned Nineveh through the preaching of Jonah. Just as God warned Herod Agrippa through the rebuke of John the Baptist. Just as God warned the scribes and the Pharisees through the preaching of Christ. And as Christ has purposed to warn the world today through the church, we are to be Christ's mouthpiece in the world. And part of that is warning this wicked world. Turn from your wicked way. Hear the word of the Lord. He's a just God. He judges wickedness. Turn from your wicked way, lest you suffer His justice. God continues to declare His justice in this psalm, proclaiming thirdly, that God puts down one and lifts up another. You see that in verses 6 and 7, that God puts down one and lifts up another. Look at verse 6. For not from the east or from the west, not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. The wicked try to lift up their horn. They try to exalt themselves. But in the end, we see here, God puts down one person in retribution and lifts up another in reward. God always has the final say. We see this throughout history. The Lord lifted up Joseph. Joseph was unjustly treated. He was sold into slavery in Egypt. He was falsely accused with Potiphar's wife and put into a dungeon. But the Lord lifted up Joseph and then later put down Pharaoh in the days of Moses. When Israel was in the wilderness, the Lord put down Korah, who led that rebellion, and lifted up Moses and Aaron. The Lord put down King Saul. who was not obedient to God, and lifted up David as king. A man whom God said was a man after his own heart. In the days of Esther, the Lord put down evil Haman and lifted up Mordecai and his fellow Jews. With Haman even being executed on the very gallows that he had constructed for Mordecai. Whether in this life or in eternity, it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. Man never has the final say. God's judgment seat is not vacant, and His authority is not abdicated. He executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. This is God's justice. And there is more. He proclaims fourthly that God holds the cup of judgment. He holds the cup of judgment. Look at verse 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." What is this cup? It is a cup of divine judgment. It is a cup of divine wrath. What is God's wrath? It is His anger. against wickedness. His anger against those who are evil. Here's a cup of divine judgment, a cup of divine wrath. We find the same metaphor in other passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. I want to show you two in the Old Testament. Turn over to Isaiah chapter 51. Isaiah 51, beginning at verse 17. Isaiah 51, 17, the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah to the people of Israel, the southern kingdom, Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering. In our text it talks about drinking this cup to the dregs. Same language here. But here it's specifically called the cup of God's wrath. God had made Israel drunk. Drunk with the cup of His wrath. He made them to drink it to the dregs. That cup of staggering. Turn over to Jeremiah 25. Another example of this metaphor of a cup being used to speak of God's wrath, His judgement. Jeremiah 25, beginning at verse 15. Verse 15, Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me, Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them. Here, this cup that is held in the Lord's hand. We notice that again. Take from my hand this cup. It's in the Lord's hand just as in our psalm, it's in the Lord's hand. Here it's specifically the cup of the wine of wrath. Cup of God's wrath. It speaks in verse 16 about the form that that wrath took. It would take the form of a sword. Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. With this in mind, how this metaphor is used in this way, come back to Psalm 75 verse 8. Let's take a closer look at what God says here about this cup. He says, This is foaming wine that is well mixed, we're told. Spices have been added to this wine for added pungency. To make the cup all the more potent. This is a cup of severe judgment. This cup we read is in the hand of the Lord. The Lord has prepared His judgment. He has the judgment in His hand. It is ready. It is His judgment. Judgment that will come from His hand according to His holy, righteous and just nature. He holds this in readiness. We read that He will pour out this cup and make the wicked drain it down to the dregs. What are the dregs? Dregs are particles of solid matter that settle at the bottom of a liquid. And it says here that He will make them to drain it down to the dregs. It means that the Lord will make the wicked drink the entire cup of His wrath, down to the last drop. You see, the Lord's justice matches the deeds that are committed. This principle of justice was laid down in the law of Moses. In Exodus chapter 21 verses 23-25. In the law it said, But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. The idea was that the punishment is to match the offense. The punishment is not to be less severe than the offence, and nor is the punishment to be more severe than the offence, but the punishment is to match the offence. This is how God's justice is. His justice matches the deeds that have been committed. And here, He's prepared the cup. And He will make the wicked to drink the whole Everything that they deserve from a holy and just God for what they have done against Him. To the last drop. The cup of wrath here in this psalm is what the wicked deserve. The Lord does give mercy before He pours out the cup of wrath. This is the day of salvation. This is the day in which the gospel is going forth. The gospel of grace, in which men, women, boys and girls are called to repent of sin, and to come to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. And the promise of the gospel is forgiveness of sin. The promise of the gospel is eternal life, given by the grace of God to the one who believes. There is salvation today from the wrath of God. There is salvation today from the judgment of God that will come in the future. There is mercy right now. But when the appointed time comes to make the wicked drink this cup, God will show no mercy. When He pours out the cup, He will make those who stand wicked before Him to drink it down to the dregs. There will be no mercy on that day. We read here, "...all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down." Who are the wicked? The wicked are those who stand guilty before God. Guilty of breaking His holy law. His law which is written on our hearts and also He has given us more clearly in the scriptures. The wicked is every person except those who are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. No one who stands guilty before God will escape drinking the cup of divine wrath. For we are told, all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down. Now, many people today deny the retributive, punitive justice of God that we've been speaking about. People claim that God only punishes sinners to reform them or to deter others from sin. But God does not give a just retribution. That God does not punish for the sake of retribution. However, the Bible is clear that God's punishments of the wicked are retributive. That they are punitive. Isaiah 3.11 says, Deuteronomy 7, verse 10 says, The Lord repays to their face those who hate Him by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates Him. He will repay him to his face. Psalm 34, verse 16 says, The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. And then verse 21 says, Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. That's Old Testament. In the New Testament, in Revelation 16, verses 5-7, John says, I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, Just are you, O holy one, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments, for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve. And John says, I heard the altar saying, Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and just are your judgments. Now, right now, my friend, you may be reacting in your heart, saying, this is too severe. This kind of judgment is too severe. Now, if this is your reaction in your heart, it means that you do not know God as fully as you ought to know Him. Psalm 9 verses 7 and 8 says, We know from the book of Revelation and from the teaching of Jesus what form this cup of wrath will take at the end of time. It will take the form of the lake of fire. A place where the fire does not go out and the worm does not die. A place of eternal conscious punishment from a holy God. That's the form that the cup of wrath will take at the end of time. And you may say, that's not right. That's too severe. But what does God say? He says that He judges the world with righteousness. Scripture says that He judges the peoples with uprightness. This is what is right for God to do. This is what is upright for God to do. He's not a megalomaniac who is acting in a depraved way. No, He is holy. He is righteous. All together. And all of His judgments. is absolutely righteous, absolutely upright. If you only consider yourself and other people, you will see the Bible's teaching on divine justice to be overly severe. But if you truly consider who God is, and what it means that He is thrice holy, you see that in Isaiah 6, a vision of the Lord on His throne is given to the prophet Isaiah, and he sees the Lord seated on His throne, And He sees and He hears the angels around the throne saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of His glory. There's not many times in the Bible where something is repeated three times. But here it is with the holiness of God. He is thrice holy. That means supremely holy. With no other holiness even coming close to it. If you truly consider who God is, as the one who is holy, holy, holy, you will understand the righteousness and the uprightness of what we see here. In Psalm 75 verse 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 drugs. Does it mean that God is holy? He is by His very nature completely set apart from all that is evil, from all that is wicked, from all that is impure. He has a righteous hatred of all that is contrary to His nature, of all that is contrary to His glory. He has a righteous hatred of all that is contrary to His standard that He has given to us in His Word. He's holy. Why does He hate sin so much? Because He loves His own glory so much. And that's right for Him to do because He is God. If you truly understand who God is, you will understand the uprightness and the righteousness of His justice. Understand that if God did not hold a cup of wrath to be poured out on all the wicked, He would be something less than God, and He would not be worthy of divine worship. Think about it. If your spouse were brutally raped, tortured and murdered, your heart would cry out for justice. And if the judge who presides over the case sets that criminal free, you would recognize the judge to be a corrupt judge. How much more this is the case when it comes to sinning against the God who is thrice holy. When we see His law broken, when we see His name profaned, there should be a crying out within us that His justice would be done because we know the God who is holy and we love what He loves and we hate what He hates. In the psalm, we have seen God's declaration of His justice. He will judge at the set time. He warns the wicked to turn from their wicked way. He puts down one and lifts up another. He holds the cup of judgment. Now, how are we, God's redeemed ones, to respond to God's declaration of His justice? As God's redeemed ones, we are to give praise to a just God. You see this in verse 9. but I will declare it forever. I will sing praises to the God of Jacob." Understand, beloved brethren, that God is to be praised for His justice. Now this does not mean delighting in the punishment. In Ezekiel 33 verse 11, we read, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked would turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? Wickedness should be repulsive to us as it is to God, and we should shudder at the thought of the judgment that wickedness deserves. At the same time, God is to be praised for being a just God who judges the wicked. For it is right for him to do so. He has to judge the wicked. He has to uphold his holiness. The psalm ends with God's words in verse 10. We had God's words earlier. We have God's words again here in verse 10. All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up. Verse 10 divides all men, women, boys and girls into two categories. Notice those two categories, the wicked and the righteous. Man is divided into two categories here. Just as Jesus spoke of two gates, a wide gate and a narrow gate. Just as Jesus spoke of two ways, an easy way and a hard way. Just as Jesus spoke of two destinies, destruction and life. and two groups of people, many and few. There are many that are going through that wide gate, taking the easy road, the road that leads to eternal destruction. Well, there are a few who enter through the narrow gate, which is Jesus Christ. He declared himself to be the way, the truth and the life. There are a few who go through that narrow gate, taking a hard way, which leads to life. Understand that you need to be counted by God as one of the righteous. Two groups, all the horns of the wicked will be cut off, that is by God, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up. You need to be counted by God among the righteous. But Romans chapter 3, verses 10 through 12 say none is righteous, no not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good. Not even one. And this is precisely why Jesus Christ came into the world. In John 18.11, Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane. His enemies came to arrest him. Peter took out the sword and he tried to defend his master. And Jesus said to Peter in John 18.11, Put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me? This cup of wrath that we've read about in verse 8, was taken by the Father. We read here, it's in His hand. The Father took this cup of wrath, prepared for the wicked, and He gave it to His Son to drink. His Son who is righteous, His Son who is holy, The eternal Son of God who became flesh, who was tempted in all ways as we are, yet without sin. The Father gave this cup to His Son. And Jesus says, shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me? When He contemplated that cup, just shortly before this, in prayer, in Gethsemane, He recoiled at the thought of this. He knew of the spices of vengeance in this cup. He knew that this was the wrath of God, the full amount that is due to us for our sin. And he shuddered as he contemplated that cup. But he says, not my will, but your will be done. And here he says, shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me? And on the cross, the Lord Jesus drank the cup of Psalm 75, verse 8, in the place of every individual who was given to him by the Father. He drank the cup with foaming wine well mixed. He drained it down to the dregs and then cried out, it is finished! And then bowed his head and gave up his spirits. Did this mean Christ's destruction? God's judgment upon the wicked is spoken of as a destruction. Did this mean Christ's destruction? No. In Romans 4, verses 24 and 25, we read that the Father raised from the dead Jesus, our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. The cup of wrath is not the only cup spoken of in Psalms. Psalms also speaks of a cup of salvation. Psalm 116 verses 12 and 13, What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. Understand that because Christ drained to the dregs the cup of wrath on our behalf, we who believe in him as Lord and Savior drink from the cup of salvation. We will never drink from the cup of wrath, but we will drink forever and ever from the cup of salvation, the cup of blessing. Christ's first coming was to drink the cup of wrath for the Father's elect ones. And His second coming will be to pour out the cup of wrath on the wicked. In John chapter 5, verses 22 and 23, Jesus said, For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Jesus is very God of very God. And the Father has given the judgment into His hand. Jesus is coming again. He will come in power and great glory. Revelation says that He will come on a horse with the words, King of kings and Lord of lords emblazoned on Him. He will come with His armies. He will come to judge the wicked. He will come to judge all those who are not found in Him. He will judge all those who have rejected Him. He will come to judge those who have not believed in Him. He will come to judge those who are not found in His righteousness. Understand that you will either joyfully submit your life to Christ now as your Savior, or in dread you will bow your knee before Him when He returns and makes you to drink the cup of wrath. You cannot avoid the crucified and risen Christ. His gospel goes forth right now. The gospel of grace. The gospel of salvation. That He, the eternal Son of God, humbled Himself in becoming man, becoming one of us, and then laying down His life upon that cruel cross. Fulfilling Isaiah 53 that we read earlier, He was crushed for our transgressions there upon the cross. He died as our substitute. He was raised by the Father on the third day, declaring Him to be who He said He was, the Son of God, the Christ, the Savior. The Father's declaration that He had accepted the sacrifice of the Son. The Son's death had propitiated the Father, had satisfied His wrath in drinking that cup. The Father raised His Son. The Son has ascended to the Father's right hand. The Gospel goes forth now, calling upon you, my friend, to repent of your sin, to forsake your sin, and to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting your life to Him as your Lord, trusting Him as your Saviour to follow Him the rest of your days. The gospel promises forgiveness of sins, eternal life, the gift of a right standing with God and eternity with the Lord to the one who believes in the Son. You're not avoiding the gospel now. You're hearing of Christ now. And if you do not submit your life to Christ in the present, then in the future, you will stand before Him. You can't dodge Him. You will not be able to avoid Him in any way. You will not be able to run away from Him. But He will bring you right before Him. And in dread, you will bow the knee before Him, recognizing His kingship, recognizing His lordship over all. and He will pour out a cup of wrath. He will make you to drink it forever and ever and ever. You cannot avoid Christ. So come to Him today, that you might know Him as your Savior, that you might know Him as your Redeemer who saves us from the wrath that is to come. And oh, what a life there is in Christ. Because His grace is sweet. His mercy is sweet. His love is sweet. He casts your sins away from you as far as the East as the West. And he brings you into relationship with God almighty. So you stand before God as his adopted child and the righteousness of Christ. You stand in the grace of God for fellowship with God forever and ever serving him. worshiping Him, adoring Him. And that's what we were created to do. We were created to know God and to worship Him. As long as you persist in your wickedness, which you think will maybe satisfy, you will never find true satisfaction. Wickedness will never satisfy. The things of this world will never satisfy. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can satisfy your soul. And so you could go on into an eternity of complete emptiness, receiving what is your deserved end. Or, by the grace of God, you can be brought into a life of fellowship with Almighty God, enjoying Him forever and ever and ever. Oh, may the Holy Spirit use what we have seen this morning to give us a truer knowledge of God, a higher view of Him. May this result in praise and thanksgiving and worship from our hearts to Him. May this result in lives that are not lived in fear, but lives that are lived in trust, in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank You. that you are just. You are perfect in every respect. You are holy, you are righteous, you are merciful, you are love, you are faithful. You have so many perfections, and one of them is your justice. We thank you that you will judge the wicked. Help us, Father, today. to praise you, to thank you, and to hold out the gospel of Christ, the gospel of salvation. And we pray, Father, that our lives would bring you glory. Lord, may we not take our salvation for granted, but may you grow within us a love for what is righteous, and a hatred for what is wicked. Help us, Father, to live out the knowledge of you each day, each week, each year. Looking forward to the return of your son. I think that as believers, we do not need to dread the return of your son because he is the way, the truth, and the life. because he has paid the ransom at the cross. We thank you that we can look forward to his return with eager expectation. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.