Alright brethren, Psalm 75. This psalm teaches us that all
judgment, all government belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. He
is our risen King and He is governing everything in this world to promote
His humbled people to His glorious salvation. This psalm is Christ
speaking. Beginning it says, to the chief
musician Altashith, a psalm or a song of Asaph. That word means
do not destroy. And Christ has a people in this
world that he's redeemed who must be called out. And so he
says do not destroy. Now we begin here and this is
Christ speaking. We give thanks to God but our
thanksgiving has to come to him through Christ. And Christ here
is interceding on behalf of His people. And He says, unto thee,
O God, do we give thanks. Unto thee do we give thanks,
for that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare. His name
is near. That's His name. Jehovah Shema,
the Lord is there. And His name is manifest in Christ. Now Christ is near all men, even
proud men, in the sense that in Him we live and move and have
our being. He says call on Him while He's
near. Now, while He can be called on.
But God's near to His people who He's given a broken and contrite
heart to believe on Him. Go over with me to Isaiah 66.
This will go right along with our psalm. Isaiah 66, verse 1. Thus saith the Lord, the heaven
is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where's the house
that you build unto me? Where's the place of my rest?
For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things
have been, saith the Lord. But to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word. He that killeth an ox, He wants
to come to God by his sacrifices. He's as if he's a slow man. He
that sacrifices a lamb as if he cut off a dog's neck. He that
offereth an oblation as if he offered swine's blood. He that
burneth incense as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they've chosen
their own ways and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
This is men trying to promote themselves into God's acceptance
by their own sacrifices. He said, I also would choose
their delusions, and would bring their fears upon them, because
when I called, none did answer. When I spake, they did not hear,
but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that which I
delighted not. Hear the word of the Lord, ye
that tremble at his word. Your brethren that hated you,
that cast you out for my name's sake, said, let the Lord be glorified. He shall appear to your joy,
and they shall be ashamed. a voice of noise from the city,
a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense
to His enemies. So our psalm is speaking of Christ
and His wondrous works of salvation, how that He's promoting salvation,
the salvation of His people. And that's what our Lord is doing.
First, He does it by demotion. Promotion with God is first by
demotion. He's going to make proud sinners
humble in heart so we cast all our care on Christ and trust
Him alone. That's His wondrous work in His
people and He makes us trust His wondrous work of redemption.
Now first I want to show you here I've titled this, Promotion
is of God, and that's the lesson here. He that exalts himself
should be abased. He that abases himself should
be exalted. Now, first of all, we know his
name is near by the wondrous work of his government. He says
there in verse 2, when I shall receive the congregation, I will
judge uprightly. And the word judge here is govern.
The government is on his shoulder. The government is His. He said
the earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved. I bear
up the pillars of it. Now Christ is speaking and the
congregation is God's elect. It's the church. It's the spiritual
Israel of God. Now Christ received the congregation
in eternity when He became our surety and entered into everlasting
covenant to redeem His people and bring His people to God in
glory. And that covenant word is upheld
all things. by that Word. And He's upheld
all things by that Word. But the Word here when He says,
I'll receive the congregation, means a set time, a due time. That's when Christ came and when
He finished the work of redemption and put away the sin of His people,
when He arose and entered into glory, it was manifestly shown
that He received the congregation. That He entered into His glory
and all judgment was manifestly given to Him. All judgment. Hebrews 1.3 says, him being the
brightness of his glory, of God's glory, and the express image
of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power.
That's that everlasting covenant word. When he had by himself
purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high. You remember Paul said in Ephesians
1, He prayed that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened,
that you might behold the hope of His calling and the riches
of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. He said, and that
you'd know the exceeding greatness of His power. It's the same power
by which Christ arose is the power by which He regenerated
us. But when He arose, He gave him a name above every name.
He lifted him above all power and principality in heaven and
earth and all deep places. He is above all. And he is the
head of the church. And he fills all in all. And
the next word says, and you hath he quickened who were dead in
trespasses and sin. See, that's the wondrous work
by which we know his name is near. This is how come we know
the government is his. This is how come we know he is
all power. is because He sent the Gospel and made our proud
feet come under the sound of the Gospel. And then He broke
our proud hearts and made us hear His Word and bow to Christ
and behold that He is the Lord our righteousness. He is salvation. He is everything and all to His
people so that we can enter into God's presence. He promoted us
to be accepted of God by what He did. And He did that first
by humbling us in our hearts. So we thank Him and we praise
God for Him because all praise and all thanksgiving is due to
Him. But that's how we know His name is near because that wondrous
work declares it to us. And we know His name is near
by His wondrous work of preserving us to preach His gospel. He says
there in verse 3, the earth and all the inhabitants thereof are
dissolved. I bear up the pillars of it.
Now when Adam sinned, the earth and the inhabitants thereof were
dissolved. In other words, mankind's government
of ourselves dissolved due to sin. Sinners began attempting
to promote ourselves to God by exalting ourselves over one another
in pride. That's what we started at in
the garden. And the first murder was a wheel worker exalting himself,
trying to promote himself to God, killing a child of God who
believed salvation by grace through faith in Christ. That was the
first murder. And throughout history, nations
of men have sought dominion and vengeance and destruction on
other nations of men. If the government was left to
us, to prideful man, We destroy ourselves trying to promote ourselves
over one another. Just that quick. At times, God
takes restraints off and shows us that when war breaks out.
And we get to see those images and we see what's in your heart
and mind. And if God took the restraint
off, it would just be nothing but war. But by the Word, by
Christ the Word, by the everlasting covenant Word, He upholds His
pillars like He did in the days of Noah. And scoffers scoff now
and they say, well everything goes the same. And He says this,
they are willingly ignorant of. It was the Word of God that held
everything in store then and it is now. The heavens and the
earth which are now by the same Word are kept in store because
He is not willing that any of His people should perish but
that all should be brought to repentance. But when he's done
that, when he's called the last elect child to him, he's going
to remove this governing hand, this governing power, and he
says, and all these things shall be dissolved. Everything should
be dissolved. He's upholding everything by
his governing power. But we know by experience this
wonders work on a daily basis. Because he says, I bear up the
pillars of it. Now Christ upholds everything
in heaven and in earth. But the pillars are you who He's
everlastingly loved. The pillars are His people regenerated
by Him and kept by Him. The house of God is the church
of the living God. That's made up of His people.
The pillar and ground of the truth. The Lord's apostles, James,
Cephas, and John were called pillars. And that's so of every
one of God's saints. They're pillars. the pillars.
What does that mean? He says, I uphold the pillars
of the earth. What does that mean? Well, you
know, he said we're salt. And that means because of his
people in this world, because his church is in this world preaching
this gospel until he calls that last child out, it's the preservative
of the whole world. Well, by the same token, His
people are the pillars on which this whole world is held up because
he's going to call out that last chosen redeemed elect child,
going to regenerate him. But notice here, he says, I bear
up the pillars. We don't bear up ourselves. He
bears us up. And so we experience this on
a daily basis. He bears us up. Not we him. Look over Jeremiah 1, and this
is good news to us brethren, because as we go through this
world, and this world is full of self-promotion, and it's at
the expense of others, and so this is good, especially because
we're sent to preach the Word. And watch this now, Jeremiah
was weeping, he was wilting, because he didn't have any strength,
and he knew he didn't. He knew he did. And he was going
before some hard-faced kings and princes that hated him. But
listen to what the Lord commanded him. Jeremiah 1.17. Thou therefore
gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that
I command thee. Be not dismayed at their faces,
lest I confound thee before them. For behold, I have made thee,
this day, a defense city and an iron pillar. and brazen walls
against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the
princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against
the people of the land. And they shall fight against
thee, but they shall not prevail against thee. For I am with thee,
saith the Lord, to deliver thee." Christ holds up each of His people
as the pillars. He holds us up. And He is the
only reason that the gates of hell won't prevail against His
church and no enemies are going to prevail against His people
until that last sheep is called out. And He is going to call
them out. And by that wondrous work, we know He is near. He
is daily holding us up. And we know Christ is near thirdly
because of His wondrous work of continually keeping us humble,
continually keeping us at His feet. He said in verse 4, I said
unto the fools, To the proud boasters, deal not foolishly,
arrogantly. And to the wicked, lift not up
the horn. Don't lift up your strength. Lift not up your horn
on high. Speak not with a stiff neck,
obstinately. For promotion cometh neither
from the east nor from the west nor from the south, but God is
the judge. He putteth down one and set up
another. My great grandfather Curtis had
a large farm and he had a barnyard that had goats in it. And the
old Billy had pretty long horns and he was always wanting to
lock horns with the other goats. But one thing he always did is
if there was a mound of dirt or anything around, he tried
to get up on that highest peak and be above the other goats.
Well, brethren, all spiritually dead sinners are the fool, the
wicked, boasting, self-exalting, self-promoting, seeking promotion
to heaven by God, by exalting themselves over other worms just
like themselves. That's exactly what's going on.
And I know this applies to everything in this world. All promotion
comes of God. Ask Nebuchadnezzar. Ask the Apostle
Peter. But brother, this applies to
salvation. Men are trying to exalt themselves over others
to promote themselves to glory. The Pharisee thought himself
righteous and he despised that sinful publican. What was he
doing? He was promoting himself by exalting himself over another.
I thank thee, Lord, I'm not like other men. I'm not like this
publican. The Lord says, boast not, deal
not foolishly, lift not up thy horn, speak not with a stiff
neck, but without God's grace, that warning falls on a stony
heart. But that wicked, self-exalting,
prideful nature is in every believer. That's in us too. Every one of
us. Our sovereign judge humbles his
elect by showing us our sin and our inability continually. That
he's the only one who promotes. He says to us continually in
our heart, lift not up the horn. Don't lift up your strength.
Don't lift up your strength on high. Speak not with an obstinate
stiff neck. He continually shows His child
that salvation is of His hand. God alone promotes His child
to His throne. That's the promotion. And He
is the only one that can promote us to His throne. Verse 6, Promotion
comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the
south. It's not of man. It's not of man. But God is the
judge. He puts down one and sets up
another. Now that's true in Providence,
but the Word is concerning salvation. God chose whom He would and passed
by whom He would. Go with me to 1 Samuel 2. This
illustrates this the best, I think. 1 Samuel 2. And I'll give you
the background. Elkanah had two wives. Hannah,
who was barren. That's a picture of a true sinner.
That's a picture of one of God's people. She was barren. and Penina
who had many children. That's a picture of the proud,
self-promoting, self-righteous man. Hannah wanted desperately
to have a child. She wanted to bear fruit, but
she couldn't. She had no ability to produce
a child, not any. And neither does any sinner have
the ability to produce a righteousness God will accept. We don't have
ability to promote ourselves into God's presence. We're barren
with no ability to produce spiritual life. We can't produce a holy
heart. We can't produce any spiritual
fruit. It will not come of us. But Panana
had many children. So she exalted herself over Hannah.
She provoked Hannah's sword to make her cry because the Lord
had shut up Hannah's womb. The fool boasts and exalts his
horn over the poor sinner, bragging that he's got more fruit, because
this one don't have as much fruit. Like the first seal over the
publican, like Panana over Hannah. But by the Lord shutting up Hannah's
womb, he gave her a broken and a contrite spirit. By showing
her she couldn't bear fruit, by showing her promotion wasn't
of her, He gave her a broken and a contrite spirit. And she
humbled herself before the Lord in bitterness of soul, praying
and weeping. She came before God like that
publican who smote upon his breasts and said, Lord, have mercy on
me, the sinner. She was abased. She was humbled. She was brought down. And she
vowed that if the Lord would produce a child in her, she'd
give that child to the Lord all his days. And the Lord's promotion,
when He's going to promote His child to salvation, to righteousness,
to glory, to acceptance, it's going to come first by demotion.
He's going to abase us. He's going to bring us to see
we can't promote ourselves, we can't exalt ourselves, we cannot
produce anything pleasing to God of ourselves. Nothing. His name's near them who are
of a broken and a contrite spirit. A broken spirit, a contrite spirit,
He won't despise. He delights in it because it's
the fruit He produced. It's the fruit He produced. The
confession of sin, the barrenness of soul, the inability, the total
reliance upon the Lord to save us every hour beginning to end. The Lord promoted Hannah. He
produced a child in Hannah, just like He forms Christ in His people.
And she gave that child to the Lord. We come to the Father with
nothing but the child He gave. Christ the Lord. He is our only
acceptance. We come before the Lord trusting
Him. Him alone. And like that publican,
she went down to her house justifying. She went down to her house seeing
His wondrous works for her. And this is what she learned
right here. This is what the Lord taught her right here. First
Samuel 2.1. First Samuel 2.1. And Hannah
prayed and she said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord. Mine horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine
enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation." Panina was boasting
and exalting herself over what she thought she had produced.
Hannah says, I rejoice in God's salvation. My mouth's been made to rejoice
over my enemies. How? Not by what the world thinks
in being elevated over her enemy, but being made lower than her
enemy to trust the Lord alone, to rejoice in his salvation.
Look at this. There's none holy as the Lord,
for there's none besides thee, neither is there any rock like
our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly. Let not arrogance come out of
your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions
are weighed. You think about this. God our
Savior is the God of knowledge. He knows the proud, self-exalting
heart, and He weighs the actions of that one in the scales of
justice, and He's going to come up wanting. His heart is, I'll
provoke myself to God. I'll do the works God's pleased
with. Look how much better I am than that one. Surely God will
receive me. And God says, you're going to
be judged in righteousness by that man, and you'll be wanting. But the believer's actions, the
one who's been broken in contrite, the Lord knows that heart too.
He knows that heart too. He broke it. He put humility,
He put him in the dust to seize nothingness. And our actions
are weighed as well. Because our actions is coming
to Him, casting all our care on Christ. Trusting His righteousness
alone. and nothing of ourselves. And
the Lord receives that broken and contrite sinner. Hannah learned
that he that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles
himself shall be exalted. That's what she says now. Look
at verse 4. The bowels of the mighty men are broken, and they
that stumble are girded with strength. They that were full
have hired out themselves for bread. They're empty. And they
that were hungry ceased. They've been filled. So that
the barren hath born seven, and she that hath many children is
waxed feeble. The Lord killeth and maketh alive. He bringeth down to the grave
and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and maketh
rich. He bringeth low and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set them
among princes. And here's the promotion Christ
gives right here. To make them inherit the throne
of glory for the pillars of the earth. They're the Lord's. He bought us. There He is. And He has set the world on them.
He's going to bring us to glory. He'll keep the feet of His saints,
and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, for by strength
shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken to pieces. Out of heaven shall He thunder
upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends
of the earth, and He shall give strength unto His King, and exalt
the horn of His anointed. He gives strength to Christ,
and exalts Christ, and exalts His people in Him. You see that? She learned this, that it's not
the proud, it's those that He makes humble before Him. Promotion
with God is devotion. He lifts up. He puts down and
then He lifts up for His people. And the proud that won't bow,
just be put down. Now, go back to our text. Here's
a warning to the proud. Psalm 75, 8. For in the hand of the Lord there
is a cup, and the wine is red. It's full of mixture, and he
poureth out of the same." Now God's judgment right now in this
earth. He's pouring out of this cup.
And it's tempered right now. There's a mixture. The judgment's
tempered. For His people, He's judging,
but there's mercy mixed with it for His people. Everything
he's doing is in mercy. But even for the proud, it's
not anything like what it will be. It's tempered. But in the
day of judgment, there won't be any mixture of judgment. He says, with the dregs thereof,
all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them.
They're going to drink them to the last drop. Now listen, why
do you say that? Because He said, right now there
is a mixture. But in the Day of Judgment in
Revelation 14.10, He said, the same shall drink of the wine
of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into
the cup of His indignation. And He shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the
presence of the Lamb. But Christ drank that cup dry
for His people. He drank it dry for His people.
When He went to Calvary's cross and bore the fierce fury of God's
wrath for us, He drank the dregs of the cup. He said, I've taken
it out of your hand, you will not drink it again. But He's
given you the cup of salvation. The cup of salvation. And so
Christ says this, verse 9, but I will declare forever. I'll
live forever. I'll declare forever. I will
sing praises to the God of Jacob and so do all his sinful Jacobs
in him. The way we praise God and glorify
God and perfectly obey God so that God receives us is because
Christ perfectly glorified and praised him and we did in him. We're Jacobs. Aren't you glad
he said sons of Jacob? We're going to find ourselves,
like Hannah, at His feet, broken and contrite, barren, because
we can't bear fruit. And we're going to find ourselves
being exalted over by bananas who got so much fruit that they
about to pop. But the Lord's going to keep
you at His feet. He's going to keep you knowing Christ is everything.
He says, don't play the fool. Don't exalt your horn. Why? Because all the horns of the
wicked also will I cut off. Everybody that tries to come
to our God and promoting themselves and what they've done, he says,
I'm cutting them off. Cutting them off. But now get
this. but the horns of the righteous.
And really that word horns, it's speaking of all of us having
a horn. It's just really the word horns
is singular. The horn of the righteous is
Christ. It's Him. And the horn of the
righteous shall be exalted. He was exalted on the cross. He's exalted in the gospel. He's
exalted in our heart. He's exalted in God's right hand.
And He's going to bring us there with Him, exalted with Him to
that full promotion. That's all of the Lord, brethren.
Every bit of it. So as we go through this life
and these lesser things, we don't have to try to protest and make
something happen. Why? Because promotion doesn't
come of us, it comes of Him. He lifts up, He puts down. There's
no point in us boasting about how we outshine the next fellow
at work. That's all promotion really is
about, is trying to do it at the expense of the other fellow.
The Lord said, I'm the one that does the promoting. And especially,
we see that in salvation. So here's the lesson. Whosoever
exalts themselves should be abased. He that humbles himself should
be exalted. Let's go to the Lord. Father,
we thank you for this word. We pray that you would be pleased
to bless it to our hearts. Lord, keep your people at your
feet. Keep us knowing that we have
nothing but what we receive from you. Keep us mourning over our
barrenness and our sinfulness. Keep us trusting your righteousness
only. Lord, bear us up as your pillars
and protect us, defend us, And Lord, we trust that you will.
We thank you for your grace. Thank you for your mercy. Lord, this is a world that's
dangerous, but we're thankful you're holding everything in
store, ruling everything from the White House to the trailer
house. And pray, Lord, you keep us,
keep us looking only to you. Forgive us our sins, Lord, in
Christ's name. Amen.