I. (75:1) O God, We Recount Your Wondrous Deeds. The people who sing this (“we”) is Israel. They are the ones to whom God’s “name is near”; they are the people on whose account God has performed his “wondrous deeds.” In the Psalms deeds that are “wondrous,” “mighty,” “awesome,” and the like are the great acts God has done to guide and guard his people so that they can flourish in true piety—deeds such as the plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Jordan River, and the defeat of enemies.

II. (75:2–5) God Declares That He Will Judge the Earth with Equity. In this stanza God speaks, promising to work his perfect judgment over the earth. Although there are no quotation marks in Hebrew, it is clear that God is the speaker here when we compare verse 2 (“I will judge with equity”) with verse 7 (“It is God who executes judgment”). This judgment will be “with equity,” preserving the stability of God’s creation order; this is the force of the imagery in the statement that “when the earth totters,” God keeps “steady its pillars” (v. 3). Specifically, he will rebuke the “boastful” and the “wicked” (names for people who do not know God and are preeminent in their unbelief). The psalm does not make clear whether the “set time” for judgment is the time of the final judgment for all the earth or any time in which God chooses to make his justice visible. The words fit both senses.

These verses contain words that recur throughout the psalm: “wicked” (vv. 4, 8, 10), “lift up” (vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 10), and “horn” (vv. 4, 5, 10). The horn is a symbol of power (1 Kings 22:11; Zech. 1:18–21), and thus to lift it up (or “exalt” it) is to make a public assertion of power. God warns the ungodly not to lift up their horn and promises to lift up the horn of the faithful instead. To “cut off” the horns (Ps. 75:10) is to render them powerless and humiliated.

III. (75:6–8) It Is God Who Lifts Up and Puts Down. This stanza takes up the idea of “lifting up” from verses 4–5 and makes clear that ultimately it is God who “executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.” The “lifting up” here is a display of authority; those whom God “puts down” are the boastful wicked (v. 4), and the time is his act of judgment (whenever that might be and however it relates to the final judgment; as mentioned above). The congregation that sings this is taking the stance of faith; certainly there are many times when God’s faithful people must simply await his timing and not give in to despair.

Verse 8 describes the judgment upon the “wicked” via an image of potent wine they must drink (cf. Job 21:20; Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15–17; 49:12; 51:7; Rev. 14:10; 16:19). In contrast to the cup that the faithful drink (Ps. 116:13), which brings joy and conviviality, this one produces madness, confusion, and staggering.

IV. (75:9–10) I Will Always Sing God’s Praises. In the final stanza each member of the people says “I will” (v. 9), pledging himself to the life of faith this psalm fosters, including the activities of worship (to “declare” and to “sing praises”). Verse 10 also has an “I” speaking; this could be a personification of all Israel as the agent of God’s judgment, but in view of verses 2–8 it seems far more likely that God is the speaker.