psa 75:0 The psalmist praises God for present mercies, Psa 75:1; the Lord answers, and promises to judge the people righteously, Psa 75:2, Psa 75:3; rebukes the proud and haughty, Psa 75:4, Psa 75:5; shows that all authority comes from himself, Psa 75:4-7; that he will punish the wicked, Psa 75:8; the psalmist resolves to praise God, Psa 75:9; and the Most High promises to cast down the wicked, and raise up the righteous, Psa 75:9, Psa 75:10. The title is, "To the chief Musician, or conqueror, Al-taschith, destroy not, A Psalm or Song of Asaph." See this title Al-taschith explained Psa 57:1-11 : The Chald:ee supposes that this Psalm was composed at the time of the pestilence, when David prayed the Lord not to destroy the people. Some of the Jews suppose that Al-taschith is the beginning of a Psalm, to the air of which this Psalm was to be set and sung. The Psalm seems to have been composed during the captivity; and appears to be a continuation of the subject in the preceding. Psalms 75:1
tPs 75::4I said unto the fools - I have given the idolatrous Chald:eans sufficient warning to abandon their idols, and worship the true God; but they would not. I have also charged the wicked, to whom for a season I have delivered you because of your transgressions, not to lift up their horn - not to use their power to oppress and destroy. They have, notwithstanding, abused their power in the persecutions with which they have afflicted you. For all these things they shall shortly be brought to an awful account. On the term horn, see the note on Luk 1:69. Psalms 75:5
tPs 75::6For promotion cometh neither from the east, etc. - As if the Lord had said, speaking to the Babylonians, None of all the surrounding powers shall be able to help you; none shall pluck you out of my hand. I am the Judge: I will pull you down, and set my afflicted people up, Psa 75:7. Calmet has observed that the Babylonians had Media, Armenia, and Mesopotamia on the East; and thence came Darius the Mede: that it had Arabia, Phoenicia, and Egypt on the West; thence came Cyrus, who overthrew the empire of the Chald:eans. And by the mountains of the desert, מדבר הרים midbar harim, which we translate South, Persia, may be meant; which government was established on the ruins of the Babylonish empire. No help came from any of those powers to the sinful Babylonians; they were obliged to drink the cup of the red wine of God's judgment, even to the very dregs. They were to receive no other punishment; this one was to annihilate them as a people for ever. Psalms 75:8