Psalm 75

God Sets the Standard of Righteousness, Our Only Judge

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

Matthew 6:10

God Exalts the Righteous, Abases the Proud—God is the only Judge  
A psalm of Asaph

    1     We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks—for Your name is near, men declare Your wondrous works.

    2     “When I select an appointed time, it is I who judge with equity.

    3     “The earth and all who dwell in it melt; it is I who have firmly set it's pillars.    Selah 

    4     “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ — and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn.

    5     Do not lift up your horn on high, do not speak with insolent pride.’ ”

    6     For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation—

    7     God is the Judge—He puts down one and exalts another.

    8     From a cup in the hand of the Lord, the wine foams. 

           It is well mixed, and He pours out of this—surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down to the dregs*  [*the sediment that remains].

    9     But as for me, I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

    10  And all the horns* of the wicked He will cut off,  and the horns* of the righteous will be lifted up.   [*strength]

God sets the standard of righteousness.

This psalm opens with thanksgiving for what good God has done for Israel. God saved the nation from the King of Assyria.  The King of Assyria fought against many places near Judah and won—but when he fought against Judah itself, he could not win. The capital city was Jerusalem. The Temple was in Jerusalem. God kept the Temple and his people that lived near it in safety.

There are three pictures in Psalm 75 — of earthquakes, horns, and a cup of wine. All three of them say one thing: God is our judge...
All his acts are just and true... He is able to humble the proud... 
His ways and judgments are just towards those who walk in pride...
He is able to lower in statue and physical ability, abase... 

The righteousness of God is one of the most prominent attributes of God. 

But telling apart the righteousness of God from His holiness—His goodness—can be difficult. The righteousness of God all works together with His justice.  His every action is consistent with His character.

When we say that God is just, we are saying that He always does what is right—what should be done, and that He does it consistently without partiality or prejudice. His actions are always right and fair.

God’s righteousness (or justice) is the natural expression of His holiness.

 If He is infinitely pure, then He must be opposed to all sin: and that opposition to sin must be demonstrated in His treatment of His people in creation.  We must then say the righteousness of God is evident in the way He consistently acts in accord with His own character. God always acts righteously,

Our Conclusion:

If sin is the manifestation of our unrighteousness and we can be saved only through a righteousness not our own—the righteousness of Christ—then the ultimate sin is self-righteousness. Remembering this, we can now understand that only GOD – “The Righteous Judge” can rightly judge all people.  Jesus did not reject sinners who came to Him for mercy and salvation; He rejected those who were too righteous (in their own eyes) to need grace from the Father.  Jesus came to save sinners and not to save those righteous in their own eyes. 

No one is too lost to be saved—there are only those who feel “too good” to be saved. In the Gospels, those who thought themselves most righteous were the ones condemned by our Lord as wicked and unrighteous.

The justice of God means that when He establishes His kingdom on earth, it will be a kingdom characterized by justice. He will judge men in righteousness, and He will reign in righteousness. If we are among those who have acknowledged our sin and trusted in the righteousness of Christ for our salvation, the righteousness of God is one of the great and comforting truths we should embrace.

We need not fret over the wicked of our day who seem to be getting away with sin. If we love righteousness, we most certainly dare not envy the wicked, whose day of judgment awaits them (see Psalm 37; 73). Their day of judgment is rapidly coming upon them, and justice will prevail.