God Abases the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.
For the choir director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
75 We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,
For Your name is near;
Men declare Your wondrous works.
2 “When I select an appointed time,
It is I who judge with equity.
3 “The earth and all who dwell in it [b]melt;
It is I who have firmly set its pillars. [c]Selah.
4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn;
5 Do not lift up your horn on high,
Do not speak with insolent [d]pride.’”6 For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the [e]desert comes exaltation;
7 But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and exalts another.
8 For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is [f]well mixed, and He pours out of this;
Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.9 But as for me, I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 And all the horns of the wicked [g]He will cut off,
But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
There are a lot of “horns” in this passage, horns being lifted up, and horns being cut off. At first, my mind was picturing animal horns, and while these horns might indeed be of that sort, the psalmist isn’t talking to a bunch of animals. Rather, these are horns as in musical instruments, or used to lead a charge into battle, or declare victory, and so on.
And what does God tell us about these horns? He says “don’t toot your own horn!” Don’t be prideful and insolent, thinking you’re so amazing. It’s only natural to celebrate when you’ve won a victory, to bask in the limelight for a bit. But that’s not what God is looking for, and that’s the last thing we should be doing as followers of Christ.
The only horns we should be tootin’ are those given to us by God (vs. 10). Or in other words, we should toot His horn, give God the glory and the honor. Indeed our goal in whatever we do should be to serve and glorify God. If we have any other motive, the win will be short-lived, and we will not only (vs. 8) drink the wine, but also the dregs.
Rather than seeking our own glory or fame (which is fleeting), we should seek to serve God and serve others. If your job doesn’t let you do that, you’re either in the wrong job or you’re doing it wrong. Certainly, when we do God’s will, He is proud of us, and may even exalt us (vs. 7). But it should be no doing of our own that elevates us to any degree.
Let God have the glory, and focus on what He has called you to do: whether plumbing or preaching, writing or missions, cooking or teaching. Do it with all your heart, and do it “as unto the Lord.”