◄ Psalm 75:8 ►
For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.
Study Bible
For a cup is in the hand of the LORD
The imagery of a "cup" in biblical literature often symbolizes God's judgment or blessing. In this context, it represents divine judgment. The Hebrew word for "cup" (כּוֹס, kos) is frequently used in the Old Testament to denote a portion or fate assigned by God. The "hand of the LORD" signifies His sovereign control and authority over the affairs of humanity. This phrase assures believers that God is actively involved in the administration of justice, holding the destiny of nations and individuals in His hands.

full of foaming wine mixed with spices
The "foaming wine" suggests a potent and intoxicating drink, symbolizing the intensity and completeness of God's judgment. The Hebrew word for "foaming" (חָמַר, chamar) conveys the idea of fermentation, indicating a process that has reached its full potency. "Mixed with spices" implies a deliberate preparation, enhancing the wine's strength and flavor. Historically, spiced wine was a luxury, reserved for special occasions, underscoring the seriousness and deliberateness of God's judgment. This mixture signifies that God's judgments are not arbitrary but are carefully measured and executed with precision.

He pours from it
The act of pouring indicates the execution of judgment. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, pouring out a drink offering was a common ritual, symbolizing the offering of life or the outpouring of divine wrath. Here, it reflects God's active role in dispensing justice. The Hebrew verb used (שָׁפַךְ, shaphak) often denotes a complete and thorough action, emphasizing that God's judgment is comprehensive and unavoidable.

and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs
The "wicked of the earth" refers to those who live in rebellion against God's righteous standards. The phrase "drink it down to the dregs" suggests consuming something entirely, leaving nothing behind. The "dregs" are the sediment at the bottom of a cup, often bitter and undesirable, symbolizing the full experience of God's wrath. This imagery assures believers that no aspect of God's judgment will be withheld from the wicked; they will experience the full measure of His justice. The Hebrew root for "dregs" (שְׁמָרִים, shemarim) implies the residue left after fermentation, indicating that the wicked will face the consequences of their actions in their entirety.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD
The sovereign God who holds the cup of judgment, symbolizing His authority and power over the earth.

2. The Wicked
Those who oppose God and His ways, destined to experience His judgment.

3. The Cup
A metaphor for God's wrath and judgment, often used in the Old Testament to symbolize divine retribution.

4. Foaming Wine Mixed with Spices
Represents the intensity and completeness of God's judgment.

5. The Earth
The realm where God's judgment is executed, affecting all inhabitants, especially the wicked.
Teaching Points
Understanding God's Justice
God's judgment is inevitable and just. The imagery of the cup reminds us that His wrath is measured and purposeful.

The Certainty of Divine Judgment
The wicked will not escape God's judgment. This should encourage believers to live righteously and warn others of the consequences of sin.

The Sovereignty of God
God holds the cup, signifying His control over all events. Believers can trust in His ultimate authority and justice.

The Call to Repentance
Knowing the certainty of God's judgment should lead individuals to repentance and a renewed commitment to follow Christ.

The Role of Jesus
Jesus drank the cup of wrath on behalf of believers, offering salvation and a way to escape the judgment described in this Psalm.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of the cup in Psalm 75:8 help us understand the nature of God's judgment?

2. In what ways does the concept of divine judgment in this Psalm connect with the New Testament teachings on salvation through Christ?

3. How can the certainty of God's judgment motivate us to live differently in our daily lives?

4. What are some practical ways we can warn others about the consequences of sin, as depicted in this Psalm?

5. How does understanding God's sovereignty, as illustrated in this verse, provide comfort and assurance in times of uncertainty?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Jeremiah 25:15-16
This passage also uses the imagery of a cup of wrath that nations must drink, emphasizing God's judgment on a global scale.

Revelation 14:10
Describes the wrath of God as a cup of wine, reinforcing the theme of divine retribution against the wicked.

Isaiah 51:17
Speaks of the cup of God's wrath, highlighting the suffering that comes from divine judgment.

Matthew 26:39
Jesus refers to His impending suffering as a cup, connecting the idea of divine judgment with His sacrificial role.
Sermons
God's Threatenings Against Incorrigible SinnersT. Horton, D. D.Psalm 75:8
The Dregs for the WickedR. Tuck Psalm 75:8
The Lord's CupW. Gilpin.Psalm 75:8
The Lord's Cup for UsS. Conway Psalm 75:8
God Revealed in NatureThe Signal.Psalm 75:1-10
God's Nearness to the WorldHomilistPsalm 75:1-10
God's Works Declare HimPsalm 75:1-10
The Nearness of GodR. Simpson, M. A.Psalm 75:1-10
The Righteous Judgment of GodC. Short Psalm 75:1-10
The Undaunted OneS. Conway Psalm 75:1-10
People
Asaph, Jacob, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Cup, Drain, Draught, Dregs, Drink, Drop, Foamed, Foameth, Foaming, Foams, Full, Indeed, Mixed, Mixture, Overflowing, Pour, Poureth, Pours, Red, Sinners, Spices, Surely, Thereof, Wicked, Wine, Wring, Yea
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 75:8

     1265   hand of God
     4435   drinking
     4466   herbs and spices
     4544   wine
     5283   cup

Library
Of Compunction of Heart
If thou wilt make any progress keep thyself in the fear of God, and long not to be too free, but restrain all thy senses under discipline and give not thyself up to senseless mirth. Give thyself to compunction of heart and thou shalt find devotion. Compunction openeth the way for many good things, which dissoluteness is wont quickly to lose. It is wonderful that any man can ever rejoice heartily in this life who considereth and weigheth his banishment, and the manifold dangers which beset his soul. …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Advertisement.
It seems necessary to give the following outline of the history of this Oxford translation. It was undertaken as part of the great series of original translations which appeared "under the patronage of William, Archbishop of Canterbury, from its commencement, a.d. 1836, until his Grace's departure in peace, a.d. 1848." It proposed to include all the "Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church before the division of the East and West," and this exposition was dedicated as a memorial of Archbishop Howley …
St. Augustine—Exposition on the Book of Psalms

Derivative Doctrines. Grace and the Means of Grace; the Christian Life; the Last Things.
The idea of Grace is important to the theological system of Athanasius, in view of the central place occupied in that system by the idea of restoration and new creation as the specific work of Christ upon His fellow-men (supra, §2, cf. Orat. ii. 56, Exp. in Pss. xxxiii. 2, cxviii. 5, LXX.). But, in common with the Greek Fathers generally, he does not analyse its operation, nor endeavour to fix its relation to free will (cf. Orat. i. 37 fin., iii. 25 sub fin.). The divine predestination relates …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Power of God
The next attribute is God's power. Job 9:19. If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong.' In this chapter is a magnificent description of God's power. Lo, he is strong.' The Hebrew word for strong signifies a conquering, prevailing strength. He is strong.' The superlative degree is intended here; viz., He is most strong. He is called El-shaddai, God almighty. Gen 17:7. His almightiness lies in this, that he can do whatever is feasible. Divines distinguish between authority and power. God has both. …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Appendix v. Rabbinic Theology and Literature
1. The Traditional Law. - The brief account given in vol. i. p. 100, of the character and authority claimed for the traditional law may here be supplemented by a chronological arrangement of the Halakhoth in the order of their supposed introduction or promulgation. In the first class, or Halakhoth of Moses from Sinai,' tradition enumerates fifty-five, [6370] which may be thus designated: religio-agrarian, four; [6371] ritual, including questions about clean and unclean,' twenty-three; [6372] concerning …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Of his Cross what Shall I Speak, what Say? this Extremest Kind of Death...
9. Of His cross what shall I speak, what say? This extremest kind of death He chose, that not any kind of death might make His Martyrs afraid. The doctrine He shewed in His life as Man, the example of patience He demonstrated in His Cross. There, you have the work, that He was crucified; example of the work, the Cross; reward of the work, Resurrection. He shewed us in the Cross what we ought to endure, He shewed in the Resurrection what we have to hope. Just like a consummate task-master in the matches …
St. Augustine—On the Creeds

St. Malachy's Apostolic Labours, Praises and Miracles.
[Sidenote: 1140, October] 42. (23). Malachy embarked in a ship, and after a prosperous voyage landed at his monastery of Bangor,[576] so that his first sons might receive the first benefit.[577] In what state of mind do you suppose they were when they received their father--and such a father--in good health from so long a journey? No wonder if their whole heart gave itself over to joy at his return, when swift rumour soon brought incredible gladness even to the tribes[578] outside round about them. …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Third Stage of the Roman Trial. Pilate Reluctantly Sentences Him to Crucifixion.
(Friday. Toward Sunrise.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 15-30; ^B Mark XV. 6-19; ^C Luke XXIII. 13-25; ^D John XVIII. 39-XIX 16. ^a 15 Now at the feast [the passover and unleavened bread] the governor was wont { ^b used to} release unto them ^a the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. { ^b whom they asked of him.} [No one knows when or by whom this custom was introduced, but similar customs were not unknown elsewhere, both the Greeks and Romans being wont to bestow special honor upon certain occasions by releasing …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Ci. Foretelling his Passion. Rebuking Ambition.
(Peræa, or Judæa, Near the Jordan.) ^A Matt. XX. 17-28; ^B Mark X. 32-45; ^C Luke XVIII. 31-34. ^b 32 And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem [Dean Mansel sees in these words an evidence that Jesus had just crossed the Jordan and was beginning the actual ascent up to Jerusalem. If so, he was in Judæa. But such a construction strains the language. Jesus had been going up to Jerusalem ever since he started in Galilee, and he may now have still be in Peræa. The parable …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Eternity of God
The next attribute is, God is eternal.' Psa 90:0. From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.' The schoolmen distinguish between aevun et aeternum, to explain the notion of eternity. There is a threefold being. I. Such as had a beginning; and shall have an end; as all sensitive creatures, the beasts, fowls, fishes, which at death are destroyed and return to dust; their being ends with their life. 2. Such as had a beginning, but shall have no end, as angels and the souls of men, which are eternal …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

A Few Sighs from Hell;
or, The Groans of the Damned Soul: or, An Exposition of those Words in the Sixteenth of Luke, Concerning the Rich Man and the Beggar WHEREIN IS DISCOVERED THE LAMENTABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED; THEIR CRIES, THEIR DESIRES IN THEIR DISTRESSES, WITH THE DETERMINATION OF GOD UPON THEM. A GOOD WARNING WORD TO SINNERS, BOTH OLD AND YOUNG, TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BETIMES, AND TO SEEK, BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, TO AVOID, LEST THEY COME INTO THE SAME PLACE OF TORMENT. Also, a Brief Discourse touching the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Providence of God
Q-11: WHAT ARE GOD'S WORKS OF PROVIDENCE? A: God's works of providence are the acts of his most holy, wise, and powerful government of his creatures, and of their actions. Of the work of God's providence Christ says, My Father worketh hitherto and I work.' John 5:17. God has rested from the works of creation, he does not create any new species of things. He rested from all his works;' Gen 2:2; and therefore it must needs be meant of his works of providence: My Father worketh and I work.' His kingdom …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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