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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-skates/psalm-75/
Let's turn to the Psalms, please. Psalm 75. Nice to be back in Waukesha. It's quite a few years since first we were here, 1994. Psalm 75. We'll read the psalm. To the chief musician, I'll tasketh, which means destroy not, a psalm or a song of Asaph.
Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks. Unto thee do we give thanks. For that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare. When I shall receive the congregation, I will judge uprightly. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved.
I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. I said unto the fools, deal not foolishly. Unto the wicked, lift not up the horn. Lift not up your horn on high. Speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
But God is the judge. He puteth down one and setteth up another. For 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.
But I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. The Lord will bless to us the reading from his word.
Most will be familiar with the five books of the Psalms. The book of the Psalms is found in five sections, and you remember that the first Psalm in each book is characteristic of what remains in that book.
So in Psalm 1, for example, you have the prosperous man, and that is characteristic of book 1 right through to Psalm 41. When you come to Psalm 42, that's the beginning of book 2. Again, that Psalm characterizes what follows in book 2.
As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. So if we have the prosperous man in book 1, we have the panting man in book 2. We come to Psalm 73. Our brother Bruce Rogers took it up at a recent conference, and there you have the perplexity of the psalmist as he looks at the prosperity of the wicked, and so on.
And that is characteristic of book 3. We have read from book 3 in Psalm 75. It is a perplexed man, a perplexed man. And just to finish it out, by the way, book 4 will begin with Psalm 90, the prayer of Moses, the man of God, and it's the praying man.
And then Psalm 107 is the beginning of book 5, O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever, the praising man. But let's come to book 3 where we've read. Psalm 75 is found in book 3, the perplexed man.
Interesting that the answer to the perplexity that is faced in these various psalms is found in the sanctuary. You get that in Psalm 73, where he's perplexed at the prosperity of the wicked. Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I therein.
So things are brought into perspective in this sanctuary, and we can expect that view of things to pertain throughout book 3 of the Psalms. Now it's often pointed out as well that the the five books of the Psalms are closely correlated with the five books of Moses.
So in the book of Genesis, you have the going down. Book of Exodus, the coming out. The book of Leviticus, the going in to the sanctuary. The book of Numbers, going through the wilderness. And the book of Deuteronomy, going on into the promised inheritance.
So again coming to book 3, from from which we have read, we have men going into the sanctuary. That's it. Corresponding with the book of Leviticus. And so we have read from Psalm 75. You'll notice the title of the psalm.
It's to the chief musician. Do not destroy a psalm or a song of Asaph. Asaph. Let's take a look at Asaph for just a moment. There are a number of different Asaphs in the Bible, but the Asaph of David's time.
We'll talk about him for a moment. Asaph was a Gershomite. That is, he was of that part of Israel that in the tabernacle system were responsible for the fabrics of the tabernacle. There were the the Morarites responsible for the framework.
There were the Kohathites responsible for the furniture. But Asaph was from that group in Israel, the Gershomites, and they were responsible for the fabrics of the tabernacle. The fabrics of the tabernacle were for two things.
They were for outward testimony so that as you would travel through the wilderness and you would see the tabernacle system, what you would actually see is the fabric of the tabernacle. But then again, the fabrics of the tabernacle were also for concealment because outwardly they look dull and drab, but inwardly there was such beauty, such gold, such amazing works of art in the cherubim that was embroidered in the fine twine linen.
And then whenever the tabernacle was being moved through the wilderness, those fabrics were taken down and they covered the various articles of furniture. So they were actually for concealment as well.
The Gershomites were responsible for that. Outwardly dull, but inwardly beautiful. You know, when I think of Christian testimony in this world, so far as the world is concerned as they look on, they think that living a Christian life is dull and boring.
They know nothing of the inward beauty of enjoying the presence of God or coming together in a conference setting like this here. To hear the Word of God being presented and how it touches our hearts, it thrills our souls, it warms us, it strengthens us, the inward beauty of the sanctuary.
Asaph was as well appointed as a singer and according to 1 Chronicles chapter 15, he played in the brass band of the temple, at least. He played the brass cymbals, the cymbals. And I think if I played in a band, in a brass band, I would like to play the cymbals.
You know, you can make them tremble, you make them tremble gently, and then you could work it up stronger until it comes to that point where you could just let them go with an almighty crash at the appropriate time.
The cymbals were for those crescendos of praise. That's it. And that's what Asaph was involved in. He was marked by those that would give praise to God, a singer. And he was linked with the emphasis in music, the crescendos of praise.
I think I would like that for my life. I would like my life to be marked by praise and to be marked not only by, not only by, you know, just that plateau of Christian existence, but rising up as that which is developing and that which is maturing in the things of God.
A life of praise for God. Asaph is mentioned in the first 11, in the title of the first 11 Psalms here in Book 3. That's interesting. That's a tremendous emphasis. Asaph is an interesting man. He had many experiences in life.
When you come to Psalm 77, perhaps recording one of those dark days in his experience, he cries on to God with his voice, he says in verse 1, and he gets to the point where he was likely afflicted in his body and in his health, my sore ran in the night.
And he gets to the point where he's actually doubting God. Has God forgotten to be gracious? But then in verse 13 of that Psalm 77, you'll notice this. He comes to this realization. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.
And there's a man who, in his perplexity, in the darkness of the trial, he finds the answer again in the sanctuary. So in Asaph, we have this mingling of delight and sorrow. A man marked by praise, but also deep valleys.
A man who knows something of what it is to doubt, but also his song of praise rises to God. We've thought about the dullness. We've thought about the inward beauty. And so we embody so much of what the people of God are today, this side of heaven, in this world, as we move through this man, Asaph, a very interesting man.
Then again, when we come to 2 Chronicles chapter 29, it's been another generation now. 2 Chronicles 29 is the days of Hezekiah. Remember that Hezekiah was a man that brought in reform. He brought in renewal.
He brought in repair, renovation for the temple. Hezekiah gave command that the Levites should sing praise to God, and quote, with the words of David and Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
So here's another generation that's coming along, but they're singing the words of Asaph the seer. He's called the seer. He was acting in a prophetic way, telling out the mind of God. I thank God as I look back in my own life for those men who had an impact upon me in earlier days.
And I can say this, those men were worshippers. They were men who knew what it was to pour out their hearts in devotion to God, left its mark. I would like to leave a mark from my lifetime on a succeeding generation, and I would like it to be this, to be known as a worshipper.
Wouldn't you? That was Asaph. So he is the man who's mentioned here at the beginning of the psalm in the title. When we come to an outline of the psalm, I want you to notice that, first of all, in verse 1, we have praise ascending, and then we have a purpose announced in verses 2 and 3.
Come down to verse 4 through 8, we have the people's admonished. Verse 9, we have praise again ascending. And in verse 10, we have the principle of God's administration. So verse 1, the psalmist is giving thanks.
Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks. Unto thee do we give thanks, for that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare. So the psalmist speaking in thanksgiving, he's thankful for God is who he is. He's thankful for the name of God and all that that expresses.
Now this comes in contrast to what has just gone before in Psalm 74. If your Bible is still, if that's still on your same page, you'll notice verse 1, O God, why hast thou cast us off forever? Why dost thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
And so on. Verse 7, they have cast fire into thy sanctuary, and so on. So in Psalm 74, it is a dark picture, but when we come to Psalm 75, we have thankfulness in the heart of this man Asaph for the fact that God is still who he is.
God hasn't changed. God hasn't changed. Thy name is near, and thy wonderful works declare. In David's reign, we would note that Israel has been delivered by God from her enemies repeatedly, and right here in this psalm, recently, they have known deliverance from God.
Thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare. Isn't it true, brothers and sisters, that in spite of whatever comes along in life, difficulties that we may face, trials along the road, isn't it wonderful to know that God doesn't change?
That God is still the same, and that we have his name still near to us. And what's the significance of that? I thought of a number of areas in which the name of God is relevant to us and meaningful to us.
His name is near, first of all, I want you to notice, for service. Matthew 28, verse 19, Who are ye therefore? I make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even on to the end of the age.
Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, so they begin their Christian experience, if you will, in the name, and they can expect his nearness, his presence, his supply for their service, even on to the end of the age.
His name is near for service. His name is near for supply. Hebrews 13 and 5, Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have. For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper.
I will not fear what men shall do unto me. So in the context of not being covetous, we can look to him, the Lord, to meet the need for supply. His name is still near. For supplication, John 14, Upper Room Ministry, and verse 13, The Lord said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do.
And so we can call upon him. It's not merely tacking his name on to the end of a prayer like some kind of formula, although we typically do that. We're creatures of habit. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
But it means much more than that, doesn't it? It means to ask in his interest that the Father may be glorified in the Son. So if we're asking for that which is going to glorify God, then that is something that God is going to respond to, and we will have answers of peace in supplication.
1 Corinthians chapter 1, his name for sanctification. Paul's writing on to the Church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, call to be saints with all that in every place.
Call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours. So his name is linked with the testimony of assembly gathering. We gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as we gather with the people of God, set apart from the world, called out from the world, set apart unto God, his name is that which ought to in sanctification as we bear his name and testimony before the world.
And then finally, his name is near. I was thinking connection of security, and for this I'm going to Revelation 3. You remember as the letter is written to the Church of Philadelphia, that faithful church, to him that overcome it, that's the true believer.
Will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write on him my new name.
So here is the one that overcomes, the true believer, and we'll be linked with his name eternally, right into the eternal state. He'll write upon the overcomer his new name. So his name is near, thy wonderful works declared.
Coming out of verse 2, we have a purpose announced. When I shall receive the congregation, I will judge uprightly. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved. I bear up the pillars of it.
So initially here we have the thought of God's purpose in Christ, that this world will be administered in that coming day by the Messiah. Initially with the remnant of Israel in the tribulation, they will be brought across the threshold of the millennium into the kingdom and manifestation in that coming day of righteousness, when righteousness will reign upon the earth.
In righteousness he will judge, he will make war, he will establish his kingdom, and that will be the principle of administration throughout the millennium age. Righteousness will be over the earth. Notice the inhabitants of the earth are dissolved, and yet he says, I bear up the pillars of it.
During that tribulation period, the heavens and the earth literally will be shaken from stem to stern, reeling to and fro like a drunk man, and yet God is still in control. He still is holding the pillars of the earth, if you will.
This earth will still be established under his control, though things will go from bad to worse as heaven pours out her judgment upon this world. That should be an encouragement to us, that though wickedness increases in this world, that God is still in control.
You know, we do live in a wicked old world, don't we? This postmodern world, a postmodern world where all is so relative, where there's no absolute truth, where it is thought that the way in which people perceive the world, well, that's their reality.
It's all subjective, it's all open to interpretation. There's nothing kneeled down anymore as concrete, no clear classifications, no male and female classifications, no black and white, no straight versus gay, no rights versus wrong, but whatever is your take, well, that's your reality.
That's postmodernism. The education system is full of it. It is structured around that. I was amazed when our kids would come home from school, and they were much younger, and kind of assignments that they were given, it wasn't learning facts and reiterating facts as such, but it seemed to be that the emphasis was all upon on what they felt about it.
You know, here's the story, what's your feelings about this? And so that was the most important thing, how you feel about things. That's postmodernism. That leads into humanism or spawned from it. Humanism is the idea that man has the answers within himself, without God.
Secularism is the result, and that leads into materialism, that this material world is all there is. Live for it, go in for it. These are the attitudes that are in the world, aren't they? But how easily we become influenced by it, how easily it infiltrates into our thinking, how easily it is that we might become dominated by that same philosophy, and by that same thinking.
And if this material world is all there is, then there's no need for God. And so you have the ground fertile for atheism, for the denial of God's existence. And that's no longer just a passive thing out there.
You can look this up on the internet if you like, but there is a movement called New Atheism, and it's the name given to ideas promoted by a collection of modern atheists and writers. And they advocate the following, and this is a quotation.
They say that religion should not simply be tolerated anymore, but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises. And you can see that in North America, the influence of that kind of thinking.
There are four principal men that are heading up that movement. Richard Dawkins, a name you may be familiar with, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. They actually call themselves the Four Horsemen.
How about that? No doubt it's tongue-in-cheek, taken from Revelation chapter 6, right? But how sinister, how much more significant, because after all, that will be the philosophy of the coming world religion, that man is his God, and anything else will be put down.
The Antichrist will appear, and he will wear out the saints of the Most High, the remnant. That's the direction this world is headed. We live in that world, a world that's getting darker by the minute.
But God is still in control. And so we have in verse 4 through verse 8, we have the people's admonish, the rebuke, 4 and 5. To the fool, steal not foolishly. To the wicked, lift not up the horn in arrogance against God.
All arrogance, all the arrogance of men will be dissolved sooner or later, and all that is not according to the mind of God will be subjugated. Verse 8, the cup of the wine of God's indignation is going to be poured out.
In the hand of the Lord, there is a cup, and the wine is red. It is full of mixture. Brothers and sisters, I believe that we're living right on the very cusp, on the very edge, on the very threshold of the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This world is about to plunge headlong into those events that are described in the book of Revelation and in the tribulation. And God will see to it that the earth dwellers, those that dwell in the earth, the technical term throughout the book of Revelation, will come under his judgment.
And this world will receive payback for what they did to the Lord Jesus Christ. They'll look upon him whom they pierced. And God will establish his rule. And as the psalmist thinks of this, verse 9, he again praises God, I will declare forever, I will sing praises unto the God of Jacob.
I think that's the response of our hearts too, as we think of God asserting his right to rule and to reign. That was the response from John's heart, wasn't it? As he's given the revelation. And as he comes right through those chapters, right through to chapter 22, and three times over, he hears the assuring words, behold, I come quickly.
And as you come down to the very end of the chapter, he that testified these things said, surely I come quickly. And John's response from his heart is, yes, even so come, Lord Jesus. He longs to see him coming, reigning, and putting down all authority and all rule, all principality and power.
God will be exalted. Men that oppose his rule will be exterminated. And the Christ of God will reign, from the river to the ends of the earth, his administration covering the planet. What a glorious day that's going to be.
And we're going to be linked with him. We're going to be in heaven, for sure. When we return with him at his manifestation, it's a scene of judgment. As the glory of God is put on display, that's a scene of judgment for this world.
But we shall reign with him from heaven, and we shall be with him, we shall be like him. He says, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be.
Brothers and sisters, let us be encouraged this morning. We live in a dark world. We live in a world that's full of turmoil, full of strife, full of personal difficulty, full of personal trial. But it's better on before.
And God is still in control. And God will see to it that his man reigns. His man will rule, our Lord Jesus Christ. We'll be linked with him and like him forever and forever. The.