Psalm 75:8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he pours out of the same… Many will say that the cup told of in this verse is the Lord's cup of wrath, as in Psalm 11:6; Isaiah 51:17-23, and frequently elsewhere. And if it were here said that the whole cup told of in our text was to be drunk by the wicked, there could be no doubt as to what cup was meant. But it is only "the dregs" thereof that is said to be their portion, not the rich foaming draught that fills the rest of the cup. No doubt there is the cup of God's wrath, but there is also the cup of salvation, and for his people "the Lord" himself "is the portion of their cup." And as in the previous verse the diverse dealings of God with men are told of, putting down one and setting up another, so here also we have the main contents of the cup, which are rich and bright and good, declared, and the miserable dregs which the wicked shall drink and drain out to the last. There is the better part for the good, the evil part for the wicked. We therefore take the "cup" here told of, as setting forth human life, our earthly existence allotted to us by the Lord. And thus we learn - I. THAT OUR LIFE IS GIVEN TO US OF THE LORD. It is a cup, a portion, an assigned lot, intended and ordered for us. "The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" So said our blessed Saviour of the life allotted to him. Life for us all is in the hand of God, and he gives it to each one as he sees fit. This is a very blessed truth. For we know we have no choice over the main elements of our life; when, where, with what endowments, many or few, or of what parentage we shall be born, - all this we have no control over. But it is good to know that not chance, still less ill will, but the Lord, has assigned to each of us the life we have to live, and he, like the master of the feast, deals out to each his cup (cf. Psalm 100," It is he that hath made us," etc.). Therefore we may be sure that he means it to be for our good; for - II. HE PURPOSES THAT IT SHOULD BE BRIGHT AND JOYOUS. This, though apparently so contrary to what life is to many, is, nevertheless, what the metaphor employed here means, it tells of the wine which was meant to "make glad the heart of man;" the wine which was the symbol, not of vile debauchery, as it too often is in this country, but of gladness, mirth, joy. And the wine spoken of is of the choicest sort - sparkling, foaming, bright, not some common sour beverage, such as the "vinegar" which one of the soldiers at the cross gave to our Lord to drink when he cried, "I thirst." But the cup which the Lord gives us, as many of his children know, the life which he assigns us, is one that he would have to be rich and bright and glad. Not rich it may be - it rarely is - with this world's wealth, but rich with those "unsearchable riches," with that "heavenly gift," which is the perpetual gladness of the soul. Do we all of us know this? We ought to. The fault is our own if we do not. Our Lord would have us all live - and we may - bright and blessed and beautiful lives. We thirst for joy, and God gives us, in the gift of life, a cup full of it. But, as in the happiest of homes, the child to be happy must be obedient, so is it with ourselves towards God. III. NEVERTHELESS, THERE IS MUCH OF DANGER IS IT. "It is full of mixture" (cf. Proverbs 9:2). As was the wine mingled with myrrh, intended to stupefy the senses, which was given to our Lord on his way to Calvary. This mixture increased the intoxicating power of the wine, or acted as a narcotic to deaden the senses. And in the cup of life there is much to intoxicate, to excite with pride and passion, and to unduly lift up the foolish heart. See Jeshurun, Nebuchadnezzar, the power of wealth, the pride of life, the effects of power, etc. Oh, how many souls have been ruined thus! And there is much to deaden or dull all holy sensibility. Yes, "full of mixture" is this cup of life. IV. THE WICKED DRINK THE DREGS. They drink so deeply, the world is everything to them, they care for nothing else, and they find that life has its dregs, and they have to drink them. Evil conscience, fear of judgment, disappointment, the future dark, death without hope, - these are some of the dregs. Oh for grace that we may use the world, and not abuse it! - S.C. Parallel Verses KJV: For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. |
    |