Psalm 75 begins with thanksgiving, “We will praise thee, O God: we will praise, and we will call upon thy name,” and then God himself speaks: “When I shall take a time, I will judge justices.” God humbles the proud and lifts up the humble, and holds in his hand a cup of judgment for the wicked. In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 74. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 75 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, corrupt not, a psalm of a canticle for Asaph.
We will praise thee, O God: we will praise, and we will call upon thy name. We will relate thy wondrous works:
When I shall take a time, I will judge justices.
The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein: I have established the pillars thereof.
I said to the wicked: Do not act wickedly: and to the sinners: Lift not up the horn.
Lift not up your horn on high: speak not iniquity against God.
For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert hills:
For God is the judge. One he putteth down, and another he lifteth up:
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine full of mixture. And he hath poured it out from this to that: but the dregs thereof are not emptied: all the sinners of the earth shall drink.
But I will declare for ever: I will sing to the God of Jacob.
And I will break all the horns of sinners: but the horns of the just shall be exalted.
Psalm 75 or Psalm 74?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 74 is Psalm 75 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Confitebimur tibi, Deus. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- Thanks for God’s wonders: “we will relate thy wondrous works.”
- God chooses the time: he will judge with equity at his appointed hour.
- God holds the world steady: when the earth melts, he has “established the pillars thereof.”
- Pride brought low: “Lift not up your horn on high: speak not iniquity against God.”
- The cup: “in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine,” an image of judgment Jesus took upon himself in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39).
How the Church uses Psalm 75
- In the Liturgy of the Hours.
A prayer with Psalm 75
Written for this page:
We give you thanks, O God, and call upon your name.
You judge the world with justice at the time you choose.
Humble my pride and lift up the lowly.
Jesus, who drank the cup of suffering for us, have mercy on us. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What is Psalm 75 about?
Thanksgiving to God, who judges the world at his appointed time, humbling the proud and exalting the just.
What is the cup in Psalm 75?
An image of God’s judgment on the wicked; Christians recall the cup Jesus accepted in Gethsemane.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 74 (75); Matthew 26:39, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.