There is a relationship between the throne, the covenant, and the judgment of God that runs through these Psalms. The King is not separated from judgment, neither is judgment separated from righteousness. The throne is established upon righteousness and judgment, and from that throne God executes justice, remembers His covenant, delivers the oppressed, destroys the wicked, and ultimately causes even wrath to end in praise.
THE KING AND THE THRONE
Psalm 72:1: Jesus is the King as Son of God & the King as Son of Man. Judgment is a divine law, ordinance (Acts 17:31). The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether (Ps 19:9). He loves righteousness and judgment; the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD (Ps 33:5). His righteousness is like the great mountains, and His judgments are a great deep (Ps 36:6). He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday (Ps 37:6).
Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of the Throne. The sceptre of righteousness is for the King (Ps 45:6-7). Psalm 72:1 means coronate the Son as King. The throne therefore cannot be understood apart from righteousness and judgment. The King reigns, and because He reigns, He judges. His judgment is not an interruption of His kingship. It is an expression of His kingship. This is why the coronation of the Son is also a revelation of the administration of the throne.
Acts 2:36 says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” “Who has anointed both Lord and Christ.” Read Isaiah 11:3-5. Once the Throne is given then (Psalm 72:2) (read Ephesians 1:22, 1 Corinthians 15:27-28). He shall rule and reign. He is co-Eternal and co-reigns with the Father. He sacrificed this place for humanity and deservedly received it back for bringing humanity into the co-heir status (Romans 8:17).
The giving of the throne therefore leads into rule and reign. The Son receives the kingdom, and the kingdom is administered through righteousness and judgment. When we come to the later Psalms, we are not suddenly introduced to a different God. The God who reigns is the God who judges. The righteousness that establishes the throne is the righteousness by which judgment is executed.
THE COVENANT AND THE COURTS OF HEAVEN
Psalm 74: Have respect to the Covenant → remember, O LORD. Calling on God to remember demands that one understands the justice of God and the place we have in the courts of Heaven to make certain demands. The language of remembrance is covenantal language. When the Psalmist says, “remember,” he is not suggesting that God has forgotten. He is appealing to what God has already established. He is calling God to act according to His covenant.
Wherever God delivers His people, it is in remembrance of His Covenant (Lev 26:42). This is how the remembrance of God works. The parameters involved are covenant, tied to mercy → covenanted love; justice; vindication; righteousness. Mercy, truth, righteousness, justice (Ps 36:5-6, Ps 89:14). The covenant is therefore not separated from justice. The covenant is tied to mercy, but that mercy is covenanted love. It is also connected to justice, vindication, and righteousness. This is why calling on God to remember the covenant demands that one understands the justice of God and the place we have in the courts of Heaven to make certain demands.
Psalm 74:8 says there are meeting places of God, and Psalm 74:20 says there are desolate places of the earth. Both places have altars, which are the embassies of spirit to interact with realm without disrupting or disobeying the divine order (Ps 115:16).
GOD THE JUDGE
In Psalm 75: David ascends the Throne as King. God the Judge. God deserves thanksgiving for the wondrous works. The wondrous works of God reveal the Name. His Name is Wonderful because the deeds. Wondrous works, the Name is Near because the hand directly to our enemies. His Name is Near because the wondrous works reveal that He is indeed close to His people.
The wondrous works of God become the evidence of His identity. His works reveal His Name. The God who judges is not an unknown Judge. He has revealed Himself through His works. His Name is Near because His hand has acted directly in the affairs of His people.
Psalm 75:1-7 gives us the revelation of God the Judge. He deserves thanksgiving. He deserves proclamation of praise of works. He has a set time for judgment. He judges in righteousness. He tests all apart from foundation already tested. He warns the wicked, which is Mercy. He judges by Himself. He does not allow evil to go unpunished. He deserves praise after releasing judgment.
Psalm 75:7: God the Judge = Elohim Shaphat. Ps. 50:6 says, “But the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge.” Ps. 58:11 says, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges in the earth.” The Judge is therefore not merely one who determines guilt. “He puts down one, and exalts another.” 1 Samuel 2:7, “He brings low and lifts up.” Daniel 2:21, “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings.”
THE SET TIME OF JUDGMENT
In Psalm 75, God speaks from v2 to v5. The judgment of God has a set time. God always judges uprightly, with perfect righteousness. God judges all, the earth. This is important because judgment is not an emotional reaction from God. There is an appointed time. God becomes angry when mercy is abused and the set time for judgment comes. God becomes angry when unrighteousness and injustice prevails and the set time for judgment comes (Ps 75:2).
God is slow to anger. God does not become angry because He is unstable. God becomes angry when mercy is abused and the set time for judgment comes. He becomes angry when unrighteousness and injustice prevails and the set time for judgment comes. There is a period in which God warns. There is a period in which God waits. There is a period in which mercy is extended. And there is a set time when judgment comes.
MERCY BEFORE JUDGMENT
In Psalm 75:4-5, there is warning to the proud. This is Mercy before the delivery of judgment.
Do not act. Do not deal boastfully (Ps 10:3-5).
Do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high. Do not speak with a stiff neck (Ps 12:3-4).
The warning itself is mercy. Before the delivery of judgment, God warns the proud. Before the execution of judgment, there is a word. The warning gives the proud an opportunity to cease from their pride. The horn that exalted God’s people (Zech 1:21). The horn of self-exaltation (AMP). There is therefore a distinction between what God exalts and what man exalts. It is God who exalts our horn (Ps 92:10). We do not blow our own trumpet.
EXALTATION COMES FROM GOD
Psalm 75:6-7 shows where does exaltation come from? God. Promotion comes from God! The GNT says “Judgment”. “He puts down one, and exalts another.” 1 Samuel 2:7, “He brings low and lifts up.” Daniel 2:21, “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings.”
Where does exaltation come from? God. Promotion comes from God. The Judge is therefore also the One who determines position. He puts down one and exalts another. He brings low and lifts up. He removes kings and raises up kings. This is why self-exaltation is such a serious matter. When man lifts himself up, he is reaching into an area that belongs to God. The throne belongs to God. Judgment belongs to God. Exaltation belongs to God.
THE CUP OF GOD’S WRATH
Psalm 75:3. In judgment, God will shake the earth to its very foundations. He shakes it up so only the unshakable will remain (2nd Cor?). The shaking re-orders, re-aligns, and turns the table. Heb 12:26-27. Judgment is therefore not merely the removal of individuals. There is a shaking of the earth to its very foundations. He shakes it up so only the unshakable will remain.
Psalm 75:8 talks of the cup of God’s wrath. (Read Isaiah 51:17-22). Job 21:20, “Let his eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.” Ps. 60:3, “You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion.”
Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath → Matt. 26:39, Mark 14:36. The cup that appears in the language of judgment becomes profoundly significant in the Passion of Christ. Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath. The King who receives the throne is also the One who enters into the place of humanity and drinks the cup.
GOD ARISES TO JUDGMENT
Psalm 74:21-24
The Psalmist places demands upon the justice of God. He calls upon God to remember the covenant, to have respect for it, and to arise on behalf of His people. The justice of God is often expressed in three parts throughout time: God arising (v22, Ps 7:6), delivering the righteous (v21, Ps 7:8), and destroying the wicked (v23, Ps 7:9).
There is therefore a movement in divine judgment. God arises. God delivers the righteous. God destroys the wicked. Judgment is not an isolated act of destruction. It is an act through which God restores what has been violated. When God arises, He does not merely come against something. He comes for something. He comes to deliver the oppressed and to establish justice.
This is the primary reason for the judgment in Psalm 74:21-23. God judges to deliver the oppressed through justice and righteousness, which is covenanted love. He also judges to destroy the wicked through righteousness and justice. The judgment of God therefore has both a negative and a positive expression. He removes the wicked, and He vindicates the righteous. He destroys what is contrary to His order, and He delivers those who have suffered under that disorder.
This is the heart of divine judgment. God judges because unrighteousness and injustice cannot be allowed to prevail forever. He delivers the oppressed. He destroys the wicked. He vindicates righteousness. He establishes justice.
WHEN GOD IS ANGRY, HE SPEAKS
Psalm 76:7-9
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Hebrews 10:31). None can stand when He is angry. Who can oppose this terrible fury? He pours out the flaming anger of His judgment before Him.
Psalm 76:7 introduces us to the anger of God. When God is angry, He speaks (Ps 2:4-6). His anger is not silent. His judgment is not without declaration. There is a word that comes before the execution of judgment. God speaks because He is the Judge, and when the Judge speaks, His word establishes what is to be done.
Psalm 76:8 continues this movement. When God spoke, the earth feared and was still. God the Judge declares judgment from Heaven, from the Throne in His sanctuary. Psalm 60:5 says, “God has spoken in His Holiness.” Psalm 50:2 says, “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.”
The Judge therefore declares judgment from Heaven, from the Throne in His sanctuary. The God who judges speaks from His holiness. His judgment does not proceed from corruption, confusion, or injustice. It proceeds from His holiness.
WHEN GOD SPEAKS, HE ARISES
Psalm 76:9
When God arose, He came to judgment. When God speaks, He arises (Ps 7:6). When God arises, He judges (Ps 7:7-8).
The sequence becomes clear. When God is angry, He speaks. When God speaks, He arises. When God arises, He judges.
God arises to the judgment He has commanded (Ps 76:9). There is therefore a movement from retribution, to pronouncement, to execution. The judgment is first established, then declared, and then executed. Between the time of retribution, pronouncement, and execution, He hardens the hearts of the vessels of wrath so that they do not escape the established judgment.
The judgment is therefore commanded. There is a pronouncement. There is retribution. There is execution. The established judgment remains established.
This is why the rising of God is so significant. The language of God arising is the language of divine intervention. What has been allowed to continue reaches its appointed boundary, and God Himself arises to execute the judgment He has commanded.
THE PURPOSE OF JUDGMENT
Psalm 74:21-23
God’s primary reason for this judgment is revealed again in Psalm 74. He judges to deliver the oppressed through justice and righteousness, which is covenanted love. He judges to destroy the wicked through righteousness and justice.
The judgment of God has a set time. God always judges uprightly, with perfect righteousness. God judges all, the earth. He does not allow evil to go unpunished.
The same Judge who puts down also exalts. The same judgment that destroys what is wicked establishes what is righteous. The judgment of God is therefore not merely about punishment. It is about restoration of divine order. God arises because something has been violated, and He judges because what has been violated must be answered for.
The oppressed therefore have a reason to appeal to the justice of God. They are not merely asking God to act according to emotion. They are appealing to His righteousness, His covenant, His justice, and His covenanted love.
GOD IS SLOW TO ANGER
God is slow to anger.
God becomes angry when mercy is abused and the set time for judgment comes. God becomes angry when unrighteousness and injustice prevails and the set time for judgment comes (Ps 75:2).
This gives us a different understanding of divine anger. God does not become angry because He is unstable. His anger is not the uncontrolled reaction of a being who has lost patience. His anger operates within His righteousness and His appointed times.
There is a period in which God warns. There is a period in which God waits. There is a period in which mercy is extended. And there is a set time when judgment comes.
This is why the warning to the wicked is itself mercy. God gives space before judgment. He speaks before He strikes. He warns before He executes judgment. But mercy should never be interpreted as the absence of judgment.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the Living God (Hebrews 10:31). None can stand when He is angry. Who can oppose this terrible fury? He pours out the flaming anger before Him.
Mercy has a set time. Judgment has a set time. And when that set time comes, the Judge arises.
THE RESTRAINT OF WRATH
Psalm 76:10
“Now surely Your wrath against mankind brings You praise.”
Praise is “anger released after judgment, a portion of Scripture.” Ps 58:10, Ps 67:3-4, Ps 75:8-10, Rev 11:17-18, Rev 15:7-4, Prov 15:7-?, Rev 19:1-2, 5-6.
This is one of the great mysteries of divine judgment. God ensures that it all ends in praise, including the expression of man’s wrath.
The language of the verse also brings us to the idea of the remainder, the surviving portion that has escaped, the residue. The survivors of Your wrath are restrained. When You dress Yourself with whatever remains of Your wrath, those remnants become a reminder of wrath. You will clothe and arm Yourself.
God also ensures that man’s wrath is restrained. He sets its boundaries just as He sets the boundaries of the seas, so that they are not able to perform their full or entire purpose (Ps 65:7).
Even when human wrath is expressed, it does not possess ultimate authority. Man’s wrath has boundaries. The sea has boundaries. Wrath has boundaries. God sets the boundaries.
This means that even what appears to be outside the control of God remains within His sovereignty. Man may express wrath, but man cannot determine its final outcome. God restrains it. God limits it. God gives it boundaries.
JUDGMENT ENDS IN PRAISE
Psalm 75:1
God deserves thanksgiving for the wondrous works. The wondrous works of God reveal the Name. His Name is Wonderful because the deeds. Wondrous works, the Name is Near because the hand directly to our enemies. His Name is Near because the wondrous works reveal that He is indeed close to His people.
The wondrous works of God reveal His Name. The judgment of God reveals His righteousness. The deliverance of the righteous reveals His covenant. The destruction of the wicked reveals His justice.
This is why Psalm 75 begins with thanksgiving and Psalm 76 brings us to praise after judgment. The God who judges is the same God whose wondrous works cause His people to give thanks. His judgment does not diminish His goodness. His judgment reveals it.
Psalm 76:10 gives us the conclusion: every time judgment is rendered, praise follows.
The NIV says, “Surely Your wrath against mankind brings You praise.”
God ensures that it all ends in praise, including the expression of man’s wrath. The wrath that appears to be directed against God can ultimately become an instrument through which the greatness of God is revealed.
God is still God in the judgment. God is still God in the wrath. God is still God in the shaking. God is still God when He puts down one and exalts another. God is still God when He arises. God is still God when He judges.
And because He is God, the final result is praise.
THE VOW OF PRAISE
Psalm 76:11
The vow of praise.
Ps 22:25, Ps 50:14, Ps 61:8, Ps 65:1, Jonah 2:9.
The proper response to the judgment of God is therefore not merely fear. It is praise.
There is a vow of praise. The God who remembers His covenant deserves praise. The God who delivers the oppressed deserves praise. The God who destroys the wicked deserves praise. The God who shakes the earth deserves praise. The God who puts down one and exalts another deserves praise. The God who restrains wrath deserves praise. And the God whose judgment ultimately produces praise deserves praise.
The entire movement therefore returns to where it began.
The King is on the throne. Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of the Throne. The covenant gives the oppressed a place to appeal to the justice of God. The Judge has a set time. Mercy precedes judgment. God warns the proud. God speaks. God arises. God judges. He delivers the oppressed. He destroys the wicked. He restrains wrath. And every time judgment is rendered, praise follows.
The throne, the covenant, the judgment, and the praise are therefore not separate realities. They belong to one divine order.
The King reigns.
The Judge judges.
The Covenant stands.
The righteous are delivered.
The wicked are destroyed.
Wrath is restrained.
And praise follows judgment.
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