I love the interpretation of Psalm 75 in Presbyterian pastor Eugene Peterson’s The Message bible. Take a moment to read it below. I’m imagining God on Zoom, calling one of our meetings to order, and saying, “I’m ready to set things right. When the earth goes topsy-turvy, and nobody knows which end is up, I nail it all down, I put everything in place again.”
So that’s my prayer for today (and for the many meetings we have in the coming weeks!).
That in all the work of the church, we remember that it’s God who is calling us to order, and it’s God who sets things right. Sometimes it feels like the weight of every decision in these topsy-turvy days is on us. But what if we start our deliberations by talking about God’s mighty works? What if we lift up God’s name as our favorite word? What if we acknowledge that God’s the One (not us), from East to West, from desert to mountains?
Psalm 75 is the word I needed to hear today. Praise God, who is always working to set
things right.
Psalm 75 (from The Message bible)
We thank you, God, we thank you—
your Name is our favorite word;
your mighty works are all we talk about.
2-4 You say, “I’m calling this meeting to order,
I’m ready to set things right.
When the earth goes topsy-turvy
And nobody knows which end is up,
I nail it all down,
I put everything in place again.
I say to the smart alecks, ‘That’s enough,’
to the bullies, ‘Not so fast.’”
5-6 Don’t raise your fist against High God.
Don’t raise your voice against Rock of Ages.
He’s the One from east to west;
from desert to mountains, he’s the One.
7-8 God rules: he brings this one down to his knees,
pulls that one up on her feet.
God has a cup in his hand,
a bowl of wine, full to the brim.
He draws from it and pours;
it’s drained to the dregs.
Earth’s wicked ones drink it all,
drink it down to the last bitter drop!
9-10 And I’m telling the story of God Eternal,
singing the praises of Jacob’s God.
The fists of the wicked
are bloody stumps,
The arms of the righteous
are lofty green branches.