This is such a good question.  There are many cups mentioned metaphorically in the Bible.  Let’s look at just a few of them.

  • It can speak of a person’s fate as in Psalm 16:5, “The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.”
  • It can speak of great joy as in Psalm 23:5, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
  • It can speak of wrath and destruction as in Jeremiah 25:15, “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.”
  • It can speak of sorrow and suffering as in John 18:11, “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”
  • It can speak of the blood of Christ when we partake in remembrance Him as in 1 Corinthians 10:16, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”

Let’s consider the verse you asked about. Psalm 75:6-8 says, “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. 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.” 

The context of this portion shows this to be a cup of God’s fury.  This is a frequent metaphor as we saw in Jeremiah 25:15. Here, the cup is represented as full of wine, which the Lord’s enemies are forced to drink. The redness of the wine typifies the shedding of blood of the enemies of the Lord.  God pours out the cup of his fury on all nations, or persons, whom, in His righteous judgment, He chooses to afflict, and they are compelled to drink of it. The dregs speak of the settlings of the wine and thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them to the very bottom of the cup. To drink a cup, dregs and all, is to empty it wholly, to swallow down all its contents.  We see this same type of language used towards those who worship the beast during the Tribulation period.  We read in Revelation 14:10, “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.”

The Lord’s anger or fury being represented in the cup is quite common in the Old Testament.  Here are a couple of examples:

  • Psalm 11:6, “Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” 
  • Jeremiah 25:15, “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.”

My friend, you want no part of the cup of God’s wrath.  To escape that dreaded cup, you should put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior.  He took God’s cup of wrath and drank it completely up so that we might never have to realize God’s wrath upon ourselves.  To those who know Christ as their savior, we have the assurance in Romans 8:1 that, “There is therefore no condemnation (wrath) to those who are in Christ Jesus…” Won’t you accept Him today before it is eternally too late?  (CC)  (635.2)