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Teks -- Psalms 74:1-23 (NET)

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Psalm 74
74:1 A well-written song by Asaph. Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us? Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture? 74:2 Remember your people whom you acquired in ancient times, whom you rescued so they could be your very own nation, as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell! 74:3 Hurry and look at the permanent ruins, and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! 74:4 Your enemies roar in the middle of your sanctuary; they set up their battle flags. 74:5 They invade like lumberjacks swinging their axes in a thick forest. 74:6 And now they are tearing down all its engravings with axes and crowbars. 74:7 They set your sanctuary on fire; they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground. 74:8 They say to themselves, “We will oppress all of them.” They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land. 74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; there are no longer any prophets and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. 74:10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults? Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever? 74:11 Why do you remain inactive? Intervene and destroy him! 74:12 But God has been my king from ancient times, performing acts of deliverance on the earth. 74:13 You destroyed the sea by your strength; you shattered the heads of the sea monster in the water. 74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you fed him to the people who live along the coast. 74:15 You broke open the spring and the stream; you dried up perpetually flowing rivers. 74:16 You established the cycle of day and night; you put the moon and sun in place. 74:17 You set up all the boundaries of the earth; you created the cycle of summer and winter. 74:18 Remember how the enemy hurls insults, O Lord, and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name! 74:19 Do not hand the life of your dove over to a wild animal! Do not continue to disregard the lives of your oppressed people! 74:20 Remember your covenant promises, for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules. 74:21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame! Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! 74:22 Rise up, O God! Defend your honor! Remember how fools insult you all day long! 74:23 Do not disregard what your enemies say, or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.
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Nama Orang, Nama Tempat, Topik/Tema Kamus

Nama Orang dan Nama Tempat:
 · Asaph father of Joah, Hezekiah's recorder,son of Berechiah the Levite; music minister under David,father of Zichri; a Levite ancestor of some returnees,an official over the (Persian) king's forest in Judah
 · Leviathan a twisting aquatic monster, possibly the crocodile of the Nile, and used symbolically of Assyria and Babylonia (by the twisting Euphrates River IBD).
 · Maskil a literary or musical term
 · sea the Dead Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan River,the Mediterranean Sea,the Persian Gulf south east of Babylon,the Red Sea
 · Zion one of the hills on which Jerusalem was built; the temple area; the city of Jerusalem; God's people,a town and citidel; an ancient part of Jerusalem


Topik/Tema Kamus: Asaph | Psalms | Nation | INTERCESSION | PSALMS, BOOK OF | Afflictions and Adversities | Music | Prayer | Zeal | God | Dragon | GOD, 2 | Church | Blasphemy | Leviathan | Carving | Sheep | Fool | Ax | AX (AXE); AX-HEAD | selebihnya
Daftar Isi

Catatan Kata/Frasa
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Catatan Kata/Frasa
Poole , PBC , Haydock , Gill

Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Catatan Rentang Ayat
MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable

Lainnya
Evidence

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Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Psa 74:2 - Thy congregation Thy people.

Thy people.

Wesley: Psa 74:2 - Thine inheritance The tribe of Judah, which thou hast in a special manner chosen for thine inheritance, and for the birth of the Messiah. Nor is it strange that he ment...

The tribe of Judah, which thou hast in a special manner chosen for thine inheritance, and for the birth of the Messiah. Nor is it strange that he mentions this tribe particularly, because the calamity here remembered, did principally befal this tribe, and Benjamin, which was united with it.

Wesley: Psa 74:3 - Lift up Come speedily to our rescue.

Come speedily to our rescue.

Wesley: Psa 74:3 - Because Because otherwise our destruction is irrecoverable.

Because otherwise our destruction is irrecoverable.

Wesley: Psa 74:4 - Roar In a way of triumph.

In a way of triumph.

Wesley: Psa 74:4 - Midst, &c. In the places where thy people used to assemble for thy worship.

In the places where thy people used to assemble for thy worship.

Wesley: Psa 74:4 - Set up Monuments of their victory.

Monuments of their victory.

Wesley: Psa 74:5 - Famous The temple was so noble a structure, that it was a great honour to any man to be employed in the meanest part of the work, though it were but in cutti...

The temple was so noble a structure, that it was a great honour to any man to be employed in the meanest part of the work, though it were but in cutting down the trees of Lebanon.

Wesley: Psa 74:6 - Axes and hammers These words are not Hebrew, but Chaldee or Syriack, to point out the time when this was done, even when the Chaldeans brought in their language, toget...

These words are not Hebrew, but Chaldee or Syriack, to point out the time when this was done, even when the Chaldeans brought in their language, together with their arms, among the Israelites.

Wesley: Psa 74:8 - Destroy them All at once. So they intended, although afterwards they changed their council, and carried some away captive.

All at once. So they intended, although afterwards they changed their council, and carried some away captive.

Wesley: Psa 74:8 - Burnt up All the public places wherein the Jews used to meet together to worship God every sabbath - day.

All the public places wherein the Jews used to meet together to worship God every sabbath - day.

Wesley: Psa 74:9 - Signs Those tokens of God's gracious presence, which we used to enjoy. The temple and ark, and sacrifices, and solemn feasts, were signs between God and his...

Those tokens of God's gracious presence, which we used to enjoy. The temple and ark, and sacrifices, and solemn feasts, were signs between God and his people.

Wesley: Psa 74:9 - Prophet Who can foretell things to come. Probably Ezekiel and Jeremiah were dead when this psalm was composed; and David was involved in civil affairs, and di...

Who can foretell things to come. Probably Ezekiel and Jeremiah were dead when this psalm was composed; and David was involved in civil affairs, and did not teach the people as a prophet.

Wesley: Psa 74:9 - Knoweth How long their captivity should continue.

How long their captivity should continue.

Wesley: Psa 74:11 - Why Why dost thou forebear the exercise of thy power? Bosom - In which thou now seemest to hide it.

Why dost thou forebear the exercise of thy power? Bosom - In which thou now seemest to hide it.

Wesley: Psa 74:12 - King It belongs therefore to thy office to protect and save me.

It belongs therefore to thy office to protect and save me.

Wesley: Psa 74:12 - Midst In the view of the world.

In the view of the world.

Wesley: Psa 74:13 - Dragons He means Pharaoh and his mighty men.

He means Pharaoh and his mighty men.

Wesley: Psa 74:14 - Leviathan Pharaoh.

Pharaoh.

Wesley: Psa 74:14 - The people To the ravenous birds and beasts of the desert. These creatures are significantly called the people of the wilderness, because they are the only peopl...

To the ravenous birds and beasts of the desert. These creatures are significantly called the people of the wilderness, because they are the only people that inhabit it.

Wesley: Psa 74:15 - The flood Thou didst by cleaving the rock, make a fountain and a stream to flow from it, for the refreshment of thy people in those dry deserts.

Thou didst by cleaving the rock, make a fountain and a stream to flow from it, for the refreshment of thy people in those dry deserts.

Wesley: Psa 74:15 - Driedst Jordan and the Red Sea; for the sea itself; yea, a greater sea than that, is called a river, Jon 2:3, where the Hebrew word is the same which is here ...

Jordan and the Red Sea; for the sea itself; yea, a greater sea than that, is called a river, Jon 2:3, where the Hebrew word is the same which is here used. And the same title is expressly given to the sea, by Homer, and other ancient writers.

Wesley: Psa 74:16 - The light The moon, the lesser light.

The moon, the lesser light.

Wesley: Psa 74:17 - Set Thou hast fixed the bounds of the habitable world in general, and of all the countries and people upon the earth. And as this clause shews God's power...

Thou hast fixed the bounds of the habitable world in general, and of all the countries and people upon the earth. And as this clause shews God's power over all places, so the next displays his dominion over all times and seasons.

Wesley: Psa 74:18 - Remember Though we deserve to be forgotten, yet do not suffer our enemies to reproach the name of the great and glorious God.

Though we deserve to be forgotten, yet do not suffer our enemies to reproach the name of the great and glorious God.

Wesley: Psa 74:19 - Soul The life.

The life.

Wesley: Psa 74:19 - Turtle dove - Of thy church, which is fitly compared to a turtle - dove, because simple and harmless, and meek, and faithful.

dove - Of thy church, which is fitly compared to a turtle - dove, because simple and harmless, and meek, and faithful.

Wesley: Psa 74:20 - The covenant Made with Abraham, whereby thou didst give the land of Canaan to him, and to his seed for ever.

Made with Abraham, whereby thou didst give the land of Canaan to him, and to his seed for ever.

Wesley: Psa 74:20 - Dark places This dark and dismal land in which we live.

This dark and dismal land in which we live.

Wesley: Psa 74:21 - Return From the throne of thy grace, to which they make their resort.

From the throne of thy grace, to which they make their resort.

JFB: Psa 74:1 - -- If the historical allusions of Psa 74:6-8, &c., be referred, as is probable, to the period of the captivity, the author was probably a descendant and ...

If the historical allusions of Psa 74:6-8, &c., be referred, as is probable, to the period of the captivity, the author was probably a descendant and namesake of Asaph, David's contemporary and singer (compare 2Ch 35:15; Ezr 2:41). He complains of God's desertion of His Church, and appeals for aid, encouraging himself by recounting some of God's mighty deeds, and urges his prayer on the ground of God's covenant relation to His people, and the wickedness of His and their common enemy. (Psa. 74:1-23)

JFB: Psa 74:1 - cast . . . off With abhorrence (compare Psa 43:2; Psa 44:9). There is no disavowal of guilt implied. The figure of fire to denote God's anger is often used; and here...

With abhorrence (compare Psa 43:2; Psa 44:9). There is no disavowal of guilt implied. The figure of fire to denote God's anger is often used; and here, and in Deu 29:20, by the word "smoke," suggests its continuance.

JFB: Psa 74:1 - sheep . . . pasture (Compare Psa 80:1; Psa 95:7).

(Compare Psa 80:1; Psa 95:7).

JFB: Psa 74:2 - The terms to denote God's relation to His people increase in force: "congregation" "purchased"--"redeemed"--"Zion," His dwelling.

"purchased"--"redeemed"--"Zion," His dwelling.

JFB: Psa 74:3 - Lift . . . feet (Gen 29:1) --that is, Come (to behold) the desolations (Psa 73:19).

(Gen 29:1) --that is, Come (to behold) the desolations (Psa 73:19).

JFB: Psa 74:4 - roar With bestial fury.

With bestial fury.

JFB: Psa 74:4 - congregations Literally, "worshipping assemblies."

Literally, "worshipping assemblies."

JFB: Psa 74:4 - ensigns Literally, "signs"--substituted their idolatrous objects, or tokens of authority, for those articles of the temple which denoted God's presence.

Literally, "signs"--substituted their idolatrous objects, or tokens of authority, for those articles of the temple which denoted God's presence.

JFB: Psa 74:5-6 - -- Though some terms and clauses here are very obscure, the general sense is that the spoilers destroyed the beauties of the temple with the violence of ...

Though some terms and clauses here are very obscure, the general sense is that the spoilers destroyed the beauties of the temple with the violence of woodmen.

JFB: Psa 74:5-6 - was famous Literally, "was known."

Literally, "was known."

JFB: Psa 74:6 - carved work (1Ki 6:29).

JFB: Psa 74:6 - thereof That is, of the temple, in the writer's mind, though not expressed till Psa 74:7, in which its utter destruction by fire is mentioned (2Ki 25:9; Isa 6...

That is, of the temple, in the writer's mind, though not expressed till Psa 74:7, in which its utter destruction by fire is mentioned (2Ki 25:9; Isa 64:11).

JFB: Psa 74:7 - defiled Or, "profaned," as in Psa 89:39.

Or, "profaned," as in Psa 89:39.

JFB: Psa 74:8 - together At once, all alike.

At once, all alike.

JFB: Psa 74:8 - synagogues Literally, "assemblies," for places of assembly, whether such as schools of the prophets (2Ki 4:23), or "synagogues" in the usual sense, there is much...

Literally, "assemblies," for places of assembly, whether such as schools of the prophets (2Ki 4:23), or "synagogues" in the usual sense, there is much doubt.

JFB: Psa 74:9 - signs Of God's presence, as altar, ark, &c. (compare Psa 74:4; 2Ch 36:18-19; Dan 5:2).

Of God's presence, as altar, ark, &c. (compare Psa 74:4; 2Ch 36:18-19; Dan 5:2).

JFB: Psa 74:9 - no more any prophet (Isa 3:2; Jer 40:1; Jer 43:6).

JFB: Psa 74:9 - how long This is to last. Jeremiah's prophecy (Jer 25:11), if published, may not have been generally known or understood. To the bulk of the people, during the...

This is to last. Jeremiah's prophecy (Jer 25:11), if published, may not have been generally known or understood. To the bulk of the people, during the captivity, the occasional and local prophetical services of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel would not make an exception to the clause, "there is no more any prophet."

JFB: Psa 74:10 - -- (Compare Psa 31:1).

(Compare Psa 31:1).

JFB: Psa 74:10 - how long . . . reproach? Us, as deserted of God.

Us, as deserted of God.

JFB: Psa 74:10 - blaspheme thy name Or, "perfections," as power, goodness, &c. (Psa 29:2).

Or, "perfections," as power, goodness, &c. (Psa 29:2).

JFB: Psa 74:11 - -- Why cease to help us? (Compare Psa 3:7; Psa 7:6; Psa 60:5).

Why cease to help us? (Compare Psa 3:7; Psa 7:6; Psa 60:5).

JFB: Psa 74:12 - For Literally, "And," in an adversative sense.

Literally, "And," in an adversative sense.

JFB: Psa 74:13-15 - -- Examples of the "salvation wrought" are cited.

Examples of the "salvation wrought" are cited.

JFB: Psa 74:13-15 - divide the sea That is, Red Sea.

That is, Red Sea.

JFB: Psa 74:13-15 - brakest . . . waters Pharaoh and his host (compare Isa 51:9-10; Eze 29:3-4).

Pharaoh and his host (compare Isa 51:9-10; Eze 29:3-4).

JFB: Psa 74:14 - heads of leviathan The word is a collective, and so used for many.

The word is a collective, and so used for many.

JFB: Psa 74:14 - the people . . . wilderness That is, wild beasts, as conies (Pro 30:25-26), are called a people. Others take the passages literally, that the sea monsters thrown out on dry land ...

That is, wild beasts, as conies (Pro 30:25-26), are called a people. Others take the passages literally, that the sea monsters thrown out on dry land were food for the wandering Arabs.

JFB: Psa 74:15 - cleave the fountain That is, the rocks of Horeb and Kadesh; for fountains.

That is, the rocks of Horeb and Kadesh; for fountains.

JFB: Psa 74:15 - driedst up Jordan, and, perhaps, Arnon and Jabbok (Num 21:14).

Jordan, and, perhaps, Arnon and Jabbok (Num 21:14).

JFB: Psa 74:16-17 - -- The fixed orders of nature and bounds of earth are of God.

The fixed orders of nature and bounds of earth are of God.

JFB: Psa 74:18 - (Compare Psa 74:10; Deu 32:6). The contrast is striking That such a God should be thus insulted!

That such a God should be thus insulted!

JFB: Psa 74:19 - multitude Literally, "beast," their flock or company of men (Psa 68:10).

Literally, "beast," their flock or company of men (Psa 68:10).

JFB: Psa 74:19 - turtledove That is, the meek and lonely Church.

That is, the meek and lonely Church.

JFB: Psa 74:19 - congregation Literally, "the company," as above--thus the Church is represented as the spoiled and defeated remnant of an army, exposed to violence.

Literally, "the company," as above--thus the Church is represented as the spoiled and defeated remnant of an army, exposed to violence.

JFB: Psa 74:20 - -- And the prevalence of injustice in heathen lands is a reason for invoking God's regard to His promise (compare Num 14:21; Psa 7:16; Psa 18:48).

And the prevalence of injustice in heathen lands is a reason for invoking God's regard to His promise (compare Num 14:21; Psa 7:16; Psa 18:48).

JFB: Psa 74:21 - oppressed Broken (Psa 9:9).

Broken (Psa 9:9).

JFB: Psa 74:21 - return From seeking God.

From seeking God.

JFB: Psa 74:21 - ashamed (Psa 35:4).

JFB: Psa 74:22-23 - -- (Compare Psa 3:7; Psa 7:6). God hears the wicked to their own ruin (Gen 4:10; Gen 18:20).

(Compare Psa 3:7; Psa 7:6). God hears the wicked to their own ruin (Gen 4:10; Gen 18:20).

Clarke: Psa 74:1 - O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? - Hast thou determined that we shall never more be thy people? Are we never to see an end to our calamiti...

O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? - Hast thou determined that we shall never more be thy people? Are we never to see an end to our calamities?

Clarke: Psa 74:2 - Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old - We are the descendants of that people whom thou didst take unto thyself; the children ...

Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old - We are the descendants of that people whom thou didst take unto thyself; the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Wilt thou never more be reconciled to us?

Clarke: Psa 74:3 - Lift up thy feet Lift up thy feet - Arise, and return to us, our desolations still continue. Thy sanctuary is profaned by thine and our enemies.

Lift up thy feet - Arise, and return to us, our desolations still continue. Thy sanctuary is profaned by thine and our enemies.

Clarke: Psa 74:4 - Thine enemies roar Thine enemies roar - Thy people, who were formerly a distinct and separate people, and who would not even touch a Gentile, are now obliged to mingle...

Thine enemies roar - Thy people, who were formerly a distinct and separate people, and who would not even touch a Gentile, are now obliged to mingle with the most profane. Their boisterous mirth, their cruel mockings, their insulting commands, are heard every where in all our assemblies

Clarke: Psa 74:4 - They set up their ensigns for signs They set up their ensigns for signs - שמו אותתם אתות samu othotham othoth , they set up their standards in the place of ours. All the e...

They set up their ensigns for signs - שמו אותתם אתות samu othotham othoth , they set up their standards in the place of ours. All the ensigns and trophies were those of our enemies; our own were no longer to be seen

The fifth, sixth, and seventh verses give a correct historical account of the ravages committed by the Babylonians, as we may see from 2Ki 25:4, 2Ki 25:7-9, and Jer 52:7, Jer 52:18, Jer 52:19 : "And the city was broken up, and all the men fled by night by the way of the gate. They took Zedekiah, and slew his sons before his eyes; and put out his eyes, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. And on the second day of the fifth month of the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, came unto Jerusalem; and he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’ s house, and every great man’ s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem burnt he with fire. And they broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about. And the pillars of brass and the bases, and the brazen sea, they broke in pieces, and carried the brass to Babylon. And the pots, shovels, snuffers and spoons, and the fire pans and bowls, and such things as were of gold and silver, they took away."Thus they broke down, and carried away, and destroyed this beautiful house; and in the true barbarian spirit, neither sanctity, beauty, symmetry, nor elegance of workmanship, was any thing in their eyes. What hammers and axes could ruin, was ruined; Jerusalem was totally destroyed, and its walls laid level with the ground. Well might the psalmist sigh over such a desolation.

Clarke: Psa 74:8 - Let us destroy them Let us destroy them - Their object was totally to annihilate the political existence of the Jewish people

Let us destroy them - Their object was totally to annihilate the political existence of the Jewish people

Clarke: Psa 74:8 - They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land - It is supposed that there were no synagogues in the land till after the Babylonish capti...

They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land - It is supposed that there were no synagogues in the land till after the Babylonish captivity. How then could the Chaldeans burn up any in Judea? The word מועדי moadey , which we translate synagogues, may be taken in a more general sense, and mean any places where religious assemblies were held: and that such places and assemblies did exist long before the Babylonish captivity, is pretty evident from different parts of Scripture. It appears that Elisha kept such at his house on the sabbaths and new moons. See 2Ki 4:23. And perhaps to such St. James may refer, Act 15:23, a species of synagogues, where the law was read of old, in every city of the land. And it appears that such religious meetings were held at the house of the Prophet Ezekiel, Eze 33:31. And perhaps every prophet’ s house was such. This is the only place in the Old Testament where we have the word synagogue. Indeed, wherever there was a place in which God met with patriarch or prophet, and any memorial of it was preserved, there was a מועד moed , or place of religious meeting; and all such places the Chaldeans would destroy, pursuant to their design to extinguish the Jewish religion, and blot out all its memorials from the earth. And this was certainly the most likely means to effect their purpose. How soon would Christianity be destroyed in England if all the churches, chapels, and places of worship were destroyed, and only the poor of the people left in the land; who, from their circumstances, could not build a place for the worship of God! After such desolation, what a miracle was the restoration of the Jews!

Clarke: Psa 74:9 - We see not our signs We see not our signs - " They have taken away all our trophies, and have left us no memorial that God has been among us. Even thou thyself hast left...

We see not our signs - " They have taken away all our trophies, and have left us no memorial that God has been among us. Even thou thyself hast left us destitute of all those supernatural evidences that have so often convinced us that thou wert among us of a truth."But we may say that they were not totally destitute even of these. The preservation of Daniel in the lion’ s den, and of the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace; the metamorphosis of Nebuchadnezzar; the handwriting that appeared to Belshazzar; were all so many prodigies and evidences that God had not left them without proofs of his being and his regard

Clarke: Psa 74:9 - There is no more any prophet There is no more any prophet - There was not one among them in that place that could tell them how long that captivity was yet to endure. But there ...

There is no more any prophet - There was not one among them in that place that could tell them how long that captivity was yet to endure. But there were prophets in the captivity. Daniel was one; but his prophecies were confined to one place. Ezekiel was another, but he was among those captives who were by the river Chebar. They had not, as usual, prophets who went to and fro through the land, preaching repentance and remission of sins.

Clarke: Psa 74:11 - Why withdrawest thou thy hand Why withdrawest thou thy hand - It has been remarked, that as the outward habit of the easterns had no sleeves, the hands and arms were frequently c...

Why withdrawest thou thy hand - It has been remarked, that as the outward habit of the easterns had no sleeves, the hands and arms were frequently covered with the folds of the robe; and in order to do any thing, the hand must be disentangled and drawn out. The literal version of the Hebrew is: "To what time wilt thou draw back thy hand; yea, thy right hand, from within thy bosom?"Consomme; that is, manifest thy power, and destroy thy adversaries. I have, in the introduction to the book of Psalms, spoken of the old metrical version by Sternhold and Hopkins, and have stated that it was formed from the original text. A proof of this may be seen by the learned reader in this and the preceding verse; where, though their version is harsh, and some of their expressions quaint almost to ridicule, yet they have hit the true mean ing which our prose translators have missed: -

Psa 74:10     When wilt thou once, Lord, end this shame,
And cease thine en’ mies strong?
Shall they always blaspheme thy name,
And rail on thee so long

Psa 74:11     Why dost thou draw thy hand aback,
And hide it in thy lap?
O pluck it out, and be not slack
To give thy foes a rap!

Clarke: Psa 74:12 - For God is my King of old For God is my King of old - We have always acknowledged thee as our sovereign; and thou hast reigned as a king in the midst of our land, dispensing ...

For God is my King of old - We have always acknowledged thee as our sovereign; and thou hast reigned as a king in the midst of our land, dispensing salvation and deliverance from the center to every part of the circumference.

Clarke: Psa 74:13 - Thou didst divide the sea Thou didst divide the sea - When our fathers came from Egypt

Thou didst divide the sea - When our fathers came from Egypt

Clarke: Psa 74:13 - Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters - Pharaoh, his captains, and all his hosts were drowned in the Red Sea, when attempting to pursu...

Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters - Pharaoh, his captains, and all his hosts were drowned in the Red Sea, when attempting to pursue them.

Clarke: Psa 74:14 - The heads of leviathan The heads of leviathan - Leviathan might be intended here as a personification of the Egypttan government; and its heads, Pharaoh and his chief capt...

The heads of leviathan - Leviathan might be intended here as a personification of the Egypttan government; and its heads, Pharaoh and his chief captains

Clarke: Psa 74:14 - To the people inhabiting the wilderness To the people inhabiting the wilderness - Probably meaning the birds and beasts of prey. These were the people of the wilderness, which fed on the d...

To the people inhabiting the wilderness - Probably meaning the birds and beasts of prey. These were the people of the wilderness, which fed on the dead bodies of the Egyptians, which the tides had cast ashore. The Vulgate, Septuagint, Ethiopic, and Arabic read, "Thou hast given him for meat to the Ethiopians,"or Abyssinians.

Clarke: Psa 74:15 - Thou didst cleave the fountain Thou didst cleave the fountain - Thou didst cleave the rock in the wilderness, of which all the congregation drank

Thou didst cleave the fountain - Thou didst cleave the rock in the wilderness, of which all the congregation drank

Clarke: Psa 74:15 - Thou driedst up mighty rivers Thou driedst up mighty rivers - Does not this refer to the cutting off the waters of the Jordan, so that the people passed over dryshod?

Thou driedst up mighty rivers - Does not this refer to the cutting off the waters of the Jordan, so that the people passed over dryshod?

Clarke: Psa 74:16 - The day is thine, the night also is thine The day is thine, the night also is thine - Thou art the Author of light, and of the sun, which is the means of dispensing it.

The day is thine, the night also is thine - Thou art the Author of light, and of the sun, which is the means of dispensing it.

Clarke: Psa 74:17 - Thou hast set all the borders of the earth Thou hast set all the borders of the earth - Thou alone art the Author of all its grand geographical divisions

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth - Thou alone art the Author of all its grand geographical divisions

Clarke: Psa 74:17 - Thou hast made summer and winter Thou hast made summer and winter - Thou hast appointed that peculiarity in the poise and rotation of the earth, by which the seasons are produced.

Thou hast made summer and winter - Thou hast appointed that peculiarity in the poise and rotation of the earth, by which the seasons are produced.

Clarke: Psa 74:18 - Remember this Remember this - The heathen not only deny these things, but give the honor of them to their false gods, and thus blaspheme thy name.

Remember this - The heathen not only deny these things, but give the honor of them to their false gods, and thus blaspheme thy name.

Clarke: Psa 74:19 - Deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove Deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove - Thy people Israel are helpless, defenceless, miserable, and afflicted: O deliver them no longer into the p...

Deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove - Thy people Israel are helpless, defenceless, miserable, and afflicted: O deliver them no longer into the power of their brutal adversaries.

Clarke: Psa 74:20 - Have respect unto the covenant Have respect unto the covenant - הבט לברית habbet labberith . Pay attention to the covenant sacrifice; to that offered by Abraham, Gen 15:...

Have respect unto the covenant - הבט לברית habbet labberith . Pay attention to the covenant sacrifice; to that offered by Abraham, Gen 15:9, etc., when the contracting parties, God and Abram, passed through between the separated parts of the covenant sacrifice. An indisputable type of Jesus Christ; and of God and man meeting in his sacrificed humanity

Clarke: Psa 74:20 - The dark places of the earth The dark places of the earth - The caves, dens, woods, etc., of the land are full of robbers, cut-throats, and murderers, who are continually destro...

The dark places of the earth - The caves, dens, woods, etc., of the land are full of robbers, cut-throats, and murderers, who are continually destroying thy people, so that the holy seed seems as if it would be entirely cut off and the covenant promise thus be rendered void

The words may either apply to Chaldea or Judea. Judea was at this time little else than a den of robbers, its own natural inhabitants being removed. Chaldea was infested with hordes of banditti also.

Clarke: Psa 74:21 - Let not the oppressed return ashamed Let not the oppressed return ashamed - Do not permit thy people to be so diminished, that when, according to thy promise, they are restored to their...

Let not the oppressed return ashamed - Do not permit thy people to be so diminished, that when, according to thy promise, they are restored to their own land, they may appear to be but a handful of men.

Clarke: Psa 74:22 - Plead thine own cause Plead thine own cause - Thy honor is concerned, as well as our safety and salvation. The fool - the idolater, reproacheth thee daily - he boasts of ...

Plead thine own cause - Thy honor is concerned, as well as our safety and salvation. The fool - the idolater, reproacheth thee daily - he boasts of the superiority of his idols, by whose power, he asserts, we are brought under their domination.

Clarke: Psa 74:23 - Forget not the voice Forget not the voice - While we pray to thee for our own salvation, we call upon thee to vindicate thy injured honor: and let all the nations see th...

Forget not the voice - While we pray to thee for our own salvation, we call upon thee to vindicate thy injured honor: and let all the nations see that thou lovest thy followers, and hatest those who are thy enemies. Let not man prevail against thee or thine

Calvin: Psa 74:1 - O God! why hast thou east us off for ever? 1.O God! why hast thou east us off for ever? If this complaint was written when the people were captives in Babylon, although Jeremiah had assigned t...

1.O God! why hast thou east us off for ever? If this complaint was written when the people were captives in Babylon, although Jeremiah had assigned the 70th year of their captivity as the period of their deliverance, it is not wonderful that waiting so long was to them a very bitter affliction, that they daily groaned under it, and that so protracted a period seemed to them like an eternity. As to those who were persecuted by the cruelty of Antiochus, they might, not without reason, complain of the wrath of God being perpetual, from their want of information as to any definite time when this persecution would terminate; and especially when they saw the cruelty of their enemies daily increasing without any hope of relief, and that their condition was constantly proceeding from bad to worse. Having been before this greatly reduced by the many disastrous wars, which their neighbors one after another had waged against them, they were now brought almost to the brink of utter destruction. It is to be observed, that the faithful, when persecuted by the heathen nations, lifted up their eyes to God, as if all the evils which they suffered had been inflicted by his hand alone. They were convinced, that had not God been angry with them, the heathen nations would not have been permitted to take such license in injuring them. Being persuaded, then, that they were not encountering merely the opposition of flesh and blood, but that they were afflicted by the just judgment of God, they direct their thoughts to the true cause of all their calamities, which was, that God, under whose favor they had formerly lived prosperous and happy, had cast them off, and deigned no longer to account them as his flock. The verb זנה , zanach, signifies to reject and detest, and sometimes also to withdraw one’s self to a distance. It is of no great moment in which of these senses it is here taken. We may consider the amount of what is stated as simply this, that whenever we are visited with adversities, these are not the arrows of fortune thrown against us at a venture, but the scourges or rods of God which, in his secret and mysterious providence, he prepares and makes use of for chastising our sins. Casting off and anger must here be referred to the apprehension or judgment of the flesh. Properly speaking, God is not angry with his elect, whose diseases he cures by afflictions as it were by medicines; but as the chastisements which we experience powerfully tend to produce in our minds apprehensions of his wrath, the Holy Spirit, by the word anger, admonishes the faithful to acknowledge their guilt in the presence of infinite purity. When, therefore, God executes his vengeance upon us, it is our duty seriously to reflect on what we have deserved, and to consider, that although He is not subject to the emotions of anger, yet it is not owing to us, who have grievously offended him by our sins, that his anger is not kindled against us. Moreover, his people, as a plea for obtaining mercy, flee to the remembrance of the covenant by which they were adopted to be his children. In calling themselves the flock of God’s pastures, they magnify his free choice of them by which they were separated from the Gentiles. This they express more plainly in the following verse.

Calvin: Psa 74:2 - Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed of old 2.Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed of old 214 Here they boast of having been the peculiar people of God, not on account of any me...

2.Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed of old 214 Here they boast of having been the peculiar people of God, not on account of any merit of their own, but by the grace of adoption. They boast in like manner of their antiquity, — that they are not subjects who have come under the government of God only within a few months ago, but such as had fallen to him by right of inheritance. The longer the period during which he had continued his love towards the seed of Abraham, the more fully was their faith confirmed. They declare, therefore, that they had been God’s people from the beginning, that is, ever since he had entered into an inviolable covenant with Abraham. There is also added the redemption by which the adoption was ratified; for God did not only signify by word, but also showed by deed at the time when this redemption was effected, that he was their King and Protector. These benefits which they had received from God they set before themselves as an encouragement to their trusting in him, and they recount them before him, the benefactor who bestowed them, as an argument with him not to forsake the work of his own hands. Inspired with confidence by the same benefits, they call themselves the rod of his inheritance; that is to say, the heritage which he had measured out for himself. The allusion is to the custom which then prevailed of measuring or marking out the boundaries of grounds with poles as with cords or lines. Some would rather translate the word שבט , shebet, which we have rendered rod, by tribe; but I prefer the other translation, taking the meaning to be, that God separated Israel from the other nations to be his own proper ground, by the secret pre-ordination which originated in his own good pleasure, as by a measuring rod. In the last place, the temple in which God had promised to dwell is mentioned; not that his essence was enclosed in that place, — an observation which has already been frequently made, — but because his people experienced that there he was near at hand, and present with them by his power and grace. We now clearly perceive whence the people derived confidence in prayer; it was from God’s free election and promises, and from the sacred worship which had been set up among them.

Calvin: Psa 74:3 - Lift up thy strokes 3.Lift up thy strokes Here the people of God, on the other hand, beseech him to inflict a deadly wound upon their enemies, corresponding to the cruel...

3.Lift up thy strokes Here the people of God, on the other hand, beseech him to inflict a deadly wound upon their enemies, corresponding to the cruelty with which they had raged against his sanctuary. They would intimate, that a moderate degree of punishment was not sufficient for such impious and sacrilegious fury; and that, therefore, those who had shown themselves such violent enemies of the temple and of the worshippers of God should be completely destroyed, their impiety being altogether desperate. As the Holy Spirit has dictated this form of prayer, we may infer from it, in the first place, the infinite love which God bears towards us, when he is pleased to punish so severely the wrongs inflicted upon us; and, in the second place, the high estimation in which he holds the worship yielded to his Divine majesty, when he pursues with such rigour those who have violated it. With respect to the words, some translate פעמים , pheamim, which we have rendered strokes, by feet or steps, 215 and understand the Church as praying that the Lord would lift up his feet, and run swiftly to strike her enemies. Others translate it hammers, 216 which suits very well. I have, however, no hesitation in following the opinion of those who consider the reference to be to the act of striking, and that the strokes themselves are denoted. The last clause of the verse is explained by some as meaning that the enemy had corrupted all things in the sanctuary. 217 But as this construction is not to be found elsewhere, I would not depart from the received and approved reading.

Calvin: Psa 74:4 - Thy adversaries have roared in the midst of thy sanctuaries 4.Thy adversaries have roared in the midst of thy sanctuaries Here the people of God compare their enemies to lions, (Amo 3:8,) to point out the crue...

4.Thy adversaries have roared in the midst of thy sanctuaries Here the people of God compare their enemies to lions, (Amo 3:8,) to point out the cruelty which they exercised even in the very sanctuaries of God. 218 In this passage we are to understand the temple of Jerusalem as spoken of rather than the Jewish synagogues; nor is it any objection to this interpretation that the temple is here called in the plural number sanctuaries, as is frequently the case in other places, it being so called because it was divided into three parts. If any, however, think it preferable to consider synagogues as intended, I would not dispute the point. Yea, without any impropriety, it may be extended to the whole land, which God had consecrated to himself. But the language is much more emphatic when we consider the temple as meant. It thus intimates, that the rage of the enemy was so unbounded and indiscriminate that they did not even spare the temple of God. When it is said, They have set up their signs, 219 this serves to show their insulting and contemptuous conduct, that in erecting their standards they proudly triumphed even over God himself. Some explain this of magical divinations, 220 even as Ezekiel testifies, (Eze 21:21,) that Nebuchadnezzar sought counsel from the flight and the voice of birds; but this sense is too restricted. The explanation which I have given may be viewed as very suitable. Whoever entered into the Holy Land knew that the worship of God which flourished there was of a special character, and different from that which was performed in any other part of the world: 221 the temple was a token of the presence of God, and by it he seemed, as if with banners displayed, to hold that people under his authority and dominion. With these symbols, which distinguished the chosen tribes from the heathen nations, the prophet here contrasts the sacrilegious standards which their enemies had brought into the temple. 222 By repeating the word signs twice, he means to aggravate the abominable nature of their act; for having thrown down the tokens and ensigns of the true service of God, they set up in their stead strange symbols.

Calvin: Psa 74:5 - He who lifted up the axe upon the thick trees was renowned 5.He who lifted up the axe upon the thick trees was renowned The prophet again aggravates still more the barbarous and brutal cruelty of the enemies ...

5.He who lifted up the axe upon the thick trees was renowned The prophet again aggravates still more the barbarous and brutal cruelty of the enemies of his countrymen, from the circumstance, that they savagely demolished an edifice which had been built at such vast expense, which was embellished with such beauty and magnificence, and finished with so great labor and art. There is some obscurity in the words; but the sense in which they are almost universally understood is, that when the temple was about to be built, those who cut and prepared the wood required for it were in great reputation and renown. Some take the verb מביא , mebi, in an active sense, and explain the words as meaning that the persons spoken of were illustrious and well known, as if they had offered sacrifices to God. The thickness of the trees is set in opposition to the polished beams, to show the more clearly with what exquisite art the rough and unwrought timber was brought into a form of the greatest beauty and magnificence. Or the prophet means, what I am inclined to think is the more correct interpretation, that in the thick forests, where there was vast abundance of wood, great care was taken in the selection of the trees, that none might be cut down but such as were of the very best quality. May it not perhaps be understood in this sense, That in these thick forests the trees to which the axe was to be applied were well known and marked, as being already of great height, and exposed to the view of beholders? Whatever may be as to this, the prophet, there is no doubt, in this verse commends the excellence of the material which was selected with such care, and was so exquisite, that it attracted the gaze and excited the admiration of all who saw it; even as in the following verse, by the carved or graven work is meant the beauty of the building, which was finished with unequalled art, But now it is declared, that the Chaldeans, with utter recklessness, made havoc with their axes upon this splendid edifice, as if it had been their object to tread under foot the glory of God by destroying so magnificent a structure. 223

Calvin: Psa 74:7 - They have set fire to thy sanctuaries 7.They have set fire to thy sanctuaries The Psalmist now complains that the temple was burned, and thus completely razed and destroyed, whereas it wa...

7.They have set fire to thy sanctuaries The Psalmist now complains that the temple was burned, and thus completely razed and destroyed, whereas it was only half demolished by the instruments of war. Many have supposed that the order of the words has been here inverted, 224 not being able to perceive how a suitable meaning could be elicited from them, and therefore would resolve them thus, They have put fire into thy sanctuaries. I have, however, no doubt that the sense which I have given, although the accent is against it, is the true and natural one, That the temple was levelled with the ground by being burned. This verse corroborates more fully the statement which I have made, that the temple is called sanctuaries in the plural number, because it consisted of three parts, — the innermost sanctuary, the middle sanctuary, and the outer court; for there immediately follows the expression, The dwelling-place of thy name. The name of God is here employed to teach us that his essence was not confined to or shut up in the temple, but that he dwelt in it by his power and operation, that the people might there call upon him with the greater confidence.

Calvin: Psa 74:8 - They have said in their heart, Let us destroy them all together 8.They have said in their heart, Let us destroy them all together To express the more forcibly the atrocious cruelty of the enemies of the Church, th...

8.They have said in their heart, Let us destroy them all together To express the more forcibly the atrocious cruelty of the enemies of the Church, the prophet introduces them speaking together, and exciting one another to commit devastation without limit or measure. His language implies, that each of them, as if they had not possessed enough of courage to do mischief, stirred up and stimulated his fellow to waste and destroy the whole of God’s people, without leaving so much as one of them. In the close of the verse he asserts that all the synagogues were burned. I readily take the Hebrew word מועדים , moadim, in the sense of synagogues, 225 because he says ALL the sanctuaries, and speaks expressly of the whole land. It is a frigid explanation which is given by some, that these enemies, upon finding that they could not hurt or do violence to the sanctuary of God in heaven, turned their rage against the material temple or synagogues. The prophet simply complains that they were so intent upon blotting out the name of God, that they left not a single corner on which there was not the mark of the hand of violence. The Hebrew word מועדים , moadim, is commonly taken for the sanctuary; but when we consider its etymology, it is not inappropriately applied to those places where the holy assemblies were wont to be held, not only for reading and expounding the prophets, but also for calling upon the name of God. The wicked, as if the prophet had said, have done all in their power to extinguish and annihilate the worship of God in Judea.

Calvin: Psa 74:9 - We see not our signs 9.We see not our signs Here the pious Jews show that their calamities were aggravated from the circumstance that they had no consolation by which to ...

9.We see not our signs Here the pious Jews show that their calamities were aggravated from the circumstance that they had no consolation by which to alleviate them. It is a powerful means of encouraging the children of God, when he enables them to cherish the hope of his being reconciled to them, by promising, that even in the midst of his wrath he will remember his mercy. Some limit the signs here spoken of to the miracles by which God had in the days of old testified, at the very time when he was afflicting his people, that he would, notwithstanding, still continue to be gracious to them. But the faithful rather complain that he had removed from them the tokens of his favor, and had in a manner hidden his face from them. 227 We are overwhelmed with darkness, as if the prophet had said, because thou, O God! dost not make thy face to shine upon us as thou hast been accustomed to do. Thus it is common for us to speak of persons giving us signs either of their love or of their hatred. In short, God’s people here complain not only that the time was cloudy and dark, but also that they were enveloped in darkness so thick, that there did not appear so much as a single ray of light. As to be assured by the prophets of future deliverance was one of the chief signs of God’s favor, they lament that there is no longer a prophet to foresee the end of their calamities. From this we learn that the office of imparting consolation was committed to the prophets, that they might lift up the hearts which were cast down with sorrow, by inspiring them with the hope of Divine mercy. They were, it is true, heralds and witnesses of the wrath of God to drive the obstinate and rebellious to repentance by threatenings and terrors. But had they merely and without qualification denounced the vengeance of God, their doctrine, which was appointed and intended for the salvation of the people, would have only been the means of their destruction. Accordingly, the foretelling of the issue of calamities while yet hidden in the future, is ascribed to them as a part of their office; for temporary punishments are the fatherly chastisements of God, and the consideration that they are temporary alleviates sorrow; but his continual displeasure causes poor and wretched sinners to sink into utter despair. If, therefore, we also would find matter for patience and consolation, when we are under the chastening hand of God, let us learn to fix our eyes on this moderation on the part of God, by which he encourages us to entertain good hope; and from it let us rest assured, that although he is angry, yet he ceases not to be a father. The correction which brings deliverance does not inflict unmitigated grief: the sadness which it produces is mingled with joy. This end all the prophets endeavored to keep in view in the doctrine which they delivered. They, no doubt, often make use of very hard and severe language in their dealings with the people, in order, by inspiring them with terror, to break and subdue their rebellion; but whenever they see men humbled, they immediately address them in words of consolation, which, however, would be no consolation at all, were they not encouraged to hope for future deliverance.

The question may here be asked, whether God, with the view of assuaging the sadness arising from the chastisement, which he inflicted, always determined the number of years and days during which they would last? To this I answer, that although the prophets have not always marked out and defined a fixed time, yet they frequently gave the people assurance that deliverance was near at hand; and, moreover, all of them spoke of the future restoration of the Church. If it is again objected, that the people in their affliction did wrong in not applying to themselves the general promises, which it is certain were the common property of all ages, I answer, that as it was God’s usual way to send in every affliction a messenger to announce the tidings of deliverance, the people, when at the present time no prophet appeared to be expressly sent for that purpose, not without cause complain that they were deprived of the signs of the Divine favor which they had been accustomed to enjoy. Until the coming of Christ it was highly necessary that the memory of the promised deliverance should be renewed in every age, to show the people of God that to whatever afflictions they might be subjected, he still continued to care for them, and would afford them succor.

Calvin: Psa 74:10 - How long, O God! shall the adversary reproach? 10.How long, O God! shall the adversary reproach? Here it is intimated that nothing inflicted upon them greater anguish than when they saw the name o...

10.How long, O God! shall the adversary reproach? Here it is intimated that nothing inflicted upon them greater anguish than when they saw the name of God blasphemed by the ungodly. By this manner of praying, the object of the inspired writer was to kindle in our hearts a zeal for maintaining the Divine glory. We are naturally too delicate and tender for bearing calamities; but it is a decided proof of genuine godliness, when the contumely which is cast upon God grieves and disquiets our minds more than all our own personal sufferings. The poor Jews, there can be no doubt, were assailed with more kinds of reproach than one under a most cruel tyrant, and amongst a barbarous nation. But the prophet, speaking in the person of the whole Church, makes almost no account of the reproaches cast upon the people in comparison of the execrable blasphemies directed against God; according to the statement contained in Psa 69:9, “The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” The phrase for ever is again added; for when the ungodly continue long unpunished, this has a hardening effect, and renders them more audacious, especially when the revilings which they pour forth against God seem to pass unnoticed by him. It is, therefore, added immediately after in the 11th verse,

Calvin: Psa 74:11 - How long wilt thou withdraw thy hand? 11.How long wilt thou withdraw thy hand? It is easy to see what the prophet here intends, and yet interpreters are not agreed as to the words. Some b...

11.How long wilt thou withdraw thy hand? It is easy to see what the prophet here intends, and yet interpreters are not agreed as to the words. Some by the word hand, in the first part of the verse, understand the left hand, to distinguish it from the right hand, mentioned in the last clause of the verse. But this is mere trifling; for when he uses the term right hand, he simply repeats the same thing according to his usual manner. Some translate the verb כלה , kalah, the last word of the verse, by hinder or restrain, as if the prophet had said, Do thou at length stretch forth thy hand, which has been kept too long in thy bosom. But this is a forced sense, to which they have recourse without any color of reason. Those who translate it consume understand the midst of God’s bosom, as denoting allegorically his temple, 228 an interpretation of which I cannot approve. It will be better to continue the interrogation to the last word in this way: “How long wilt thou withdraw thy hand? Yea, wilt thou withdraw it from the midst of thy bosom? Consume, therefore, these ungodly men who so proudly despise thee.” We may also not improperly view the words as a prayer that as God’s enemies persuaded themselves that he was slothful and idle, because he did not bestir himself, nor openly lift up his hand; he would cause them to feel that he was perfectly able to destroy them with his nod alone, although he should not move so much as a finger.

Calvin: Psa 74:12 - But God is my King from the beginning 12.But God is my King from the beginning In this verse, as we have often seen to be the case in other places, the people of God intermingle meditatio...

12.But God is my King from the beginning In this verse, as we have often seen to be the case in other places, the people of God intermingle meditations with their prayers, thereby to acquire renewed vigor to their faith, and to stir up themselves to greater earnestness in the duty of prayer. We know how difficult it is to rise above all doubts, and boldly to persevere in a free and unrestrained course of prayer. Here, then, the faithful call to remembrance the proofs of God’s mercy and working, by which he certified, through a continued series of ages, that he was the King and Protector of the people whom he had chosen. By this example we are taught, that as it is not enough to pray with the lips unless we also pray in faith, we ought always to remember the benefits by which God has given a confirmation of his fatherly love towards us, and should regard them as so many testimonies of his electing love. It is quite clear that the title King, which is here applied to God, ought not to be restricted merely to his sovereignty. He is addressed by this appellation because he had taken upon him the government of the Jewish people, in order to preserve and maintain them in safety. We have already stated what is implied in the words, from the beginning. By the midst of the earth some think that Judea is intended, because it was situated as it were in the midst of the habitable globe. There is no doubt that it is to be understood of a place which stands prominently in view. We find the expression used in this sense in these words which God commanded Moses to speak to Pharaoh,

“And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth,”
(Exo 8:22.)

The simple and natural meaning, therefore, is, that God had wrought in behalf of the chosen people many deliverances, which were as open and manifest as if they had been exhibited on a conspicuous theater.

Calvin: Psa 74:13 - Thou hast divided the sea by thy power 13.Thou hast divided the sea by thy power The prophet now collects together certain kinds of deliverances highly worthy of remembrance; all of them, ...

13.Thou hast divided the sea by thy power The prophet now collects together certain kinds of deliverances highly worthy of remembrance; all of them, however, belonging to the first deliverance by which God emancipated his people from the tyranny of Egypt. We will find him afterwards descending to the general commendation of the goodness of God which is diffused through the whole world. Thus from the special grace which God vouchsafes to his Church, he passes on to speak of the good-will which he displays towards all mankind. In the first place, he says, Thou hast divided, or cleaved, the sea. Some think that the following clause is subjoined as an effect of what is stated in the first clause, — God, by drying up the sea, having caused the whales and other great fishes to die. I am, however, of opinion, that it is to be taken metaphorically for Pharaoh and his army; this mode of expression being very common among the prophets, especially when they speak of the Egyptians, whose country was washed by a sea abounding with fish, and divided by the Nile. Pharaoh is, therefore, not improperly termed Leviathan, 235 on account of the advantages of the sea possessed by his country, and because, in reigning over that land with great splendor, he might be compared to a whale moving up and down at its ease in the midst of the waters of the mighty ocean. 236 As God put forth his power at that time for the deliverance of the people, to assure the Church that he would always be her protector and the guardian of her welfare, the encouragement afforded by this example ought not to be limited exclusively to one age. It is, therefore, with good reason applied to the descendants of that ancient race, that they might improve it as a means of confirming and establishing their faith. The prophet does not here recount all the miracles which God had wrought at the departure of the people from the land of Egypt; but in adverting to some of them, he comprehends by the figure synecdoche, all that Moses has narrated concerning them at greater length. When he says that leviathan was given for food to the Israelites, and that even in the wilderness, 237 there is a beautiful allusion to the destruction of Pharaoh and his host. It is as if he had said, that then a bountiful provision of victuals was laid up for the nourishment of the people; for when their enemies were destroyed, the quiet and security which the people in consequence enjoyed served, so to speak, as food to prolong their life. By the wilderness, is not meant the countries lying on the sea coast, though they are dry and barren, but the deserts at a great distance from the sea. The same subject is prosecuted in the following verse, where it is declared, that the fountain was cleaved or divided, that is, it was so when God caused a stream of water to gush from the rock to supply the wants of the people. 238 Finally, it is added, that mighty rivers 239 were dried up, an event which happened when God caused the waters of the Jordan to turn back to make a way for his people to pass over. Some would have the Hebrew word איתן , ethan, which signifies mighty, to be a proper name, as if the correct translation were rivers of Ethan; but this interpretation is altogether without foundation.

Calvin: Psa 74:16 - The day is thine, the night also is thine 16.The day is thine, the night also is thine The prophet now descends to the consideration of the divine benefits which are extended in common to all...

16.The day is thine, the night also is thine The prophet now descends to the consideration of the divine benefits which are extended in common to all mankind. Having commenced with the special blessings by which God manifested himself to be the Father of his chosen people, he now aptly declares that God exercises his beneficence towards the whole human family. He teaches us, that it is not by chance that the days and nights succeed each other in regular succession, but that this order was established by the appointment of God. The secondary cause of these phenomena is added, being that arrangement by which God has invested the sun with the power and office of illuminating the earth; for after having spoken of the light he adds the sun, as the principal means of communicating it, and, so to speak, the chariot in which it is brought when it comes to show itself to men. 240 As then the incomparable goodness of God towards the human race clearly shines forth in this beautiful arrangement, the prophet justly derives from it an argument for strengthening and establishing his trust in God.

Calvin: Psa 74:17 - Thou hast fixed 17.Thou hast fixed 241 all the boundaries of the earth. What is here stated concerning the boundaries or limits assigned to the earth, and concerni...

17.Thou hast fixed 241 all the boundaries of the earth. What is here stated concerning the boundaries or limits assigned to the earth, and concerning the regular and successive recurrence of summer and winter every year, is to the same effect as the preceding verse. It is doubtful whether the prophet means the uttermost ends of the world, or whether he speaks of the particular boundaries by which countries are separate from each other. Although the latter are often disturbed by the violence of men, whose insatiable cupidity and ambition cannot be restrained by any of the lines of demarcation which exist in the world, but are always endeavoring to break through them; 242 yet God manifests his singular goodness in assigning to each nation its own territory upon which to dwell. I am, however, rather of opinion, that the clause is to be understood of those bounds which cannot be confounded at the will of men, and consider the meaning to be, that God has allotted to men as much space of earth as he has seen to be sufficient for them to dwell upon. Farther, the well regulated successions of summer and winter clearly indicate with what care and benignity God has provided for the necessities of the human family. From this, the prophet justly concludes, that nothing is more improbable than that God should neglect to act the part of a father towards his own flock and household.

Calvin: Psa 74:18 - Remember this 18.Remember this The prophet having encouraged the hearts of the godly by magnifying the divine power and goodness, now returns to the prosecution of...

18.Remember this The prophet having encouraged the hearts of the godly by magnifying the divine power and goodness, now returns to the prosecution of his prayer. He first complains that the enemies of his people revile God, and yet continue unpunished. When he says, Remember this, the manner of expression is emphatic; and the occasion demanded it, for it is not a crime of small magnitude to treat with contumely the sacred name of God. For the sake of contrast, he states that it was a worthless or foolish people who thus presumed insolently to pour forth their reproaches against God. The Hebrew word נבל , nabal, denotes not only a foolish man, but also a wicked and infamous person. The prophet, therefore, justly describes the despisers of God as people who are vile and worthless.

Calvin: Psa 74:19 - Give not to the beast the soul of thy turtle dove 19.Give not to the beast the soul of thy turtle dove The Hebrew word חית , chayath, which we translate beast, signifies sometimes the soul ...

19.Give not to the beast the soul of thy turtle dove The Hebrew word חית , chayath, which we translate beast, signifies sometimes the soul or life, and so some explain it in the second clause of this verse, where it again occurs. But it is here unquestionably to be taken either for a wild beast or for a multitude. Understood in either of these ways, this form of expression will contain a very apposite comparison between the life of a weak and timorous bird, and a powerful army of men, or a cruel beast. The Church is compared to a turtle dove 243 for, although the faithful consisted of a considerable number, yet so far were they from matching their enemies, that, on the contrary, they were exposed to them as a prey. It is next added, Forget not the soul or congregation of thy poor ones The Hebrew word חית , chayath, is again employed, and there is an elegance when, on account of its ambiguity, it is used twice in the same verse, but in different senses. I have preferred translating it congregation, rather than soul, because the passage seems to be a prayer that it would please God to watch over and defend his own small flock from the mighty hosts of their enemies.

Calvin: Psa 74:20 - Have regard to thy covenant 20.Have regard to thy covenant That God may be the more inclined to show mercy, the prophet brings to his remembrance the Divine covenant; even as th...

20.Have regard to thy covenant That God may be the more inclined to show mercy, the prophet brings to his remembrance the Divine covenant; even as the refuge of the saints, when they have found themselves involved in extreme dangers, has always been to hope for deliverance, because God had promised, in the covenant which he made with them, to be a father to then, From this we learn, that the only firm support on which our prayers can rest is, that God has adopted us to be his people by his free choice. Whence, also, it appears how devilish was the phrensy of that filthy dog Servetus, who was not ashamed to affirm that it is foolish, and gross mockery, to lay before God his own promises when we are engaged in prayer. Farther, the godly Jews again show us how severely they were afflicted, when they declare that violence and oppression were everywhere prevalent; as if all places were the haunts of cut-throats and the dens of robbers. 244 It is said the dark places of the earth; for, whenever God seems to hide his face, the wicked imagine that whatever wickedness they may commit, they will find, wherever they may be, hiding-places by which to cover it all.

Calvin: Psa 74:21 - Let not him who is oppressed return with shame 21.Let not him who is oppressed return with shame The word return, as it has a reference to God, is equivalent to the expression, to go away empty...

21.Let not him who is oppressed return with shame The word return, as it has a reference to God, is equivalent to the expression, to go away empty. The faithful, then, beseech Him that they may not be put to shame by suffering a repulse at his hands. They call themselves afflicted, poor, and needy, as an argument to obtain the Divine favor and mercy. It is, however, to be observed, that they do not speak insincerely, nor give an exaggerated representation of their distresses, but intimate, that by so many calamities they were brought to such a low condition, that there no longer remained for them any quarter in the world from which they could expect any help. By this example, we are taught that when we are reduced to the greatest extremity, there is a remedy always ready for our misery, in calling upon God.

Calvin: Psa 74:22 - Arise, O God! plead thy cause 22.Arise, O God! plead thy cause The pious Jews again supplicate God to ascend into his judgment-seat. He is then said to arise, when, after having...

22.Arise, O God! plead thy cause The pious Jews again supplicate God to ascend into his judgment-seat. He is then said to arise, when, after having long exercised forbearance, he shows, in very deed, that he has not forgotten his office as judge. To induce him to undertake this cause the more readily, they call upon him to maintain his own right. Lord, as if they had said, since the matter in hand is what peculiarly concerns thyself; it is not time for thee to remain inactive. They declare, at the same time, how this was, in a special sense, the cause of God. It was so, because the foolish people daily cast reproaches upon him. We may here again translate the word נבל , nabal, the worthless people, instead of the foolish people. The wickedness charged against the persons spoken of is aggravated from the circumstance, that, not content with reproaching God on one occasion, they continued their derision and mockery without intermission. For this reason, the faithful conclude by invoking God that he would not forget such heaven-daring conduct in men who not only had the audacity to reproach his majesty, but who fiercely and outrageously poured forth their blasphemies against him. They seemed, it is true, to do this indirectly; but, as they despised God, it is asserted that they rose up against him with reckless and infatuated presumption, after the manner of the Giants of old, and that their haughtiness was carried to the greatest excess.

Defender: Psa 74:13 - divide the sea Psa 74:13-17 is best understood as a commentary on Psa 74:12 : "For God is my king of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth." The psalmist ...

Psa 74:13-17 is best understood as a commentary on Psa 74:12 : "For God is my king of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth." The psalmist vividly recalls the ancient judgment of the great Flood as assurance that He will eventually bring righteousness and peace out of sin and turmoil in this present world.

Defender: Psa 74:13 - dragons in the waters The mighty "dragons" in the waters, the same as "leviathan" (Job 41:1-34; Isa 27:1) were invulnerable to human weapons (probably great marine reptiles...

The mighty "dragons" in the waters, the same as "leviathan" (Job 41:1-34; Isa 27:1) were invulnerable to human weapons (probably great marine reptiles, like dinosaurs) but were broken and buried in the mighty waters and rushing sediments of the Flood."

Defender: Psa 74:14 - meat to the people The "people" mentioned here may refer to the fish and other marine creatures whose habitats were overwhelmed in the Flood, but were not preserved on t...

The "people" mentioned here may refer to the fish and other marine creatures whose habitats were overwhelmed in the Flood, but were not preserved on the ark (which contained only land animals). The Hebrew word usually refers to human tribes but can also be used for animal flocks (Pro 30:25). The carcasses of the mighty leviathans could have provided sustenance to sustain marine life through the cataclysm."

Defender: Psa 74:15 - cleave the fountain This must refer to the breaking open of all "the fountains of the great deep" (Gen 7:11) at the beginning of the Flood.

This must refer to the breaking open of all "the fountains of the great deep" (Gen 7:11) at the beginning of the Flood.

Defender: Psa 74:15 - mighty rivers The great flood-rivers were gradually dried up, leaving their evidences in the great valleys and alluvia of all the earth's rivers. Almost all present...

The great flood-rivers were gradually dried up, leaving their evidences in the great valleys and alluvia of all the earth's rivers. Almost all present-day rivers give evidence of much greater depths and flows in the past."

Defender: Psa 74:16 - the light and the sun Note that the "light" prepared by God is distinct from "the sun." God first called for light energy, then light generators (Gen 1:5, Gen 1:14)."

Note that the "light" prepared by God is distinct from "the sun." God first called for light energy, then light generators (Gen 1:5, Gen 1:14)."

Defender: Psa 74:17 - borders of the earth God established both the boundaries of the lands and the nations to occupy those lands and even the inclination of the earth's axis to control their s...

God established both the boundaries of the lands and the nations to occupy those lands and even the inclination of the earth's axis to control their seasons."

TSK: Psa 74:1 - O God // smoke // the sheep O God : Psa 10:1, Psa 42:9, Psa 42:11, Psa 44:9, Psa 60:1, Psa 60:10, Psa 77:7; Jer 31:37, Jer 33:24-26; Rom 11:1, Rom 11:2 smoke : Psa 79:5; Deu 29:2...

TSK: Psa 74:2 - purchased // rod // thine // redeemed // this mount purchased : Exo 15:16; Deu 9:29; Act 20:28 rod : or, tribe thine : Psa 33:12, Psa 106:40, Psa 135:4; Deu 4:20, Deu 32:9; Jer 10:16 redeemed : Isa 51:1...

TSK: Psa 74:3 - Lift // the perpetual // all Lift : Psa 44:23, Psa 44:26; Jos 10:24; 2Sa 22:39-43; Isa 10:6, Isa 25:10, Isa 63:3-6; Mic 1:3 the perpetual : Psa 102:13, Psa 102:14; Neh 1:3, Neh 2:...

TSK: Psa 74:4 - Thine // they set Thine : 2Ch 36:17; Lam 2:7; Luk 13:1; Rev 13:6 they set : Jer 6:1-5; Dan 6:27; Mat 24:15; Luk 21:20

TSK: Psa 74:5 - -- 1Ki 5:6; 2Ch 2:14; Jer 46:22, Jer 46:23

TSK: Psa 74:6 - -- 1Ki 6:18, 1Ki 6:29, 1Ki 6:32, 1Ki 6:35

TSK: Psa 74:7 - cast fire into thy sanctuary // defiled // dwelling cast fire into thy sanctuary : Heb. sent thy sanctuary into the fire, 2Ki 25:9; Isa 64:11; Mat 22:7 defiled : Psa 89:39; Eze 24:21 dwelling : Exo 20:2...

cast fire into thy sanctuary : Heb. sent thy sanctuary into the fire, 2Ki 25:9; Isa 64:11; Mat 22:7

defiled : Psa 89:39; Eze 24:21

dwelling : Exo 20:24; Deu 12:5; 1Ki 8:20

TSK: Psa 74:8 - said // destroy // all the synagogues said : Psa 83:4, Psa 137:7; Est 3:8, Est 3:9 destroy : Heb. break all the synagogues : 2Ki 2:3, 2Ki 2:5, 2Ki 4:23; 2Ch 17:9; Mat 4:23

said : Psa 83:4, Psa 137:7; Est 3:8, Est 3:9

destroy : Heb. break

all the synagogues : 2Ki 2:3, 2Ki 2:5, 2Ki 4:23; 2Ch 17:9; Mat 4:23

TSK: Psa 74:9 - We see // no more We see : Exo 12:13, Exo 13:9, Exo 13:10; Jdg 6:17; Eze 20:12; Heb 2:4 no more : 1Sa 3:1; Amo 8:11; Mic 3:6

TSK: Psa 74:10 - -- Psa 13:1, Psa 13:2, Psa 79:4, Psa 79:5, Psa 89:46, Psa 89:50, Psa 89:51; Dan 12:6; Rev 6:10

TSK: Psa 74:11 - withdrawest // pluck it out withdrawest : Isa 64:12; Lam 2:3 pluck it out : As the outward habit of the easterns has no sleeves, the hands and arms are frequently covered with th...

withdrawest : Isa 64:12; Lam 2:3

pluck it out : As the outward habit of the easterns has no sleeves, the hands and arms are frequently covered with the folds of the robe; and, in order to do anything, the hand must be disentangled, and drawn out. Psa 44:23, Psa 78:65, Psa 78:66

TSK: Psa 74:12 - God // working God : Psa 44:4; Exo 19:5, Exo 19:6; Num 23:21, Num 23:22; Isa 33:22 working : Exo 15:2-15; Jdg 4:23, Jdg 4:24; 1Sa 19:5; Isa 63:8; Hab 3:12-14

TSK: Psa 74:13 - divide // brakest // dragons divide : Heb. break, Psa 66:6, Psa 78:13, Psa 106:8, Psa 106:9, Psa 136:13-18; Exo 14:21; Neh 9:11; Isa 11:15, Isa 11:16 brakest : Exo 14:28; Isa 51:9...

TSK: Psa 74:14 - leviathan // meat leviathan : Psa 104:25, Psa 104:26; Job 3:8 *marg. Job 41:1-34; Isa 27:1; Rev 20:2 meat : Psa 72:9; Exo 12:35, Exo 12:36, Exo 14:30; Num 14:9

TSK: Psa 74:15 - cleave // flood // mighty rivers cleave : Psa 105:41; Exo 17:5, Exo 17:6; Num 20:11; Isa 48:21 flood : Jos 3:13-17; 2Ki 2:8, 2Ki 2:14; Isa 11:16, Isa 44:27; Hab 3:9 *marg. Rev 16:12 m...

cleave : Psa 105:41; Exo 17:5, Exo 17:6; Num 20:11; Isa 48:21

flood : Jos 3:13-17; 2Ki 2:8, 2Ki 2:14; Isa 11:16, Isa 44:27; Hab 3:9 *marg. Rev 16:12

mighty rivers : Heb. rivers of strength

TSK: Psa 74:16 - The day // prepared The day : Psa 136:7-9; Gen 1:3-5 prepared : Psa 8:3, Psa 19:1-6, Psa 136:7-9; Gen 1:14-18; Mat 5:45

TSK: Psa 74:17 - set // made summer set : Psa 24:1, Psa 24:2; Deu 32:8; Act 17:26 made summer : Heb. made them summer, Gen 8:22; Act 14:17

set : Psa 24:1, Psa 24:2; Deu 32:8; Act 17:26

made summer : Heb. made them summer, Gen 8:22; Act 14:17

TSK: Psa 74:18 - Remember // the foolish Remember : Psa 74:22, Psa 89:50, Psa 89:51, Psa 137:7; Isa 62:6, Isa 62:7 *marg. Rev 16:19 the foolish : Psa 41:1, Psa 39:8, Psa 94:2-8; Deu 32:27; Is...

TSK: Psa 74:19 - turtledove // forget turtledove : Psa 68:13; Son 2:14, Son 4:1, Son 6:9; Isa 60:8; Mat 10:16 forget : Psa 68:10, Psa 72:2; Zep 3:12; Jam 2:5, Jam 2:6

TSK: Psa 74:20 - Have // the dark // habitations Have : Psa 89:28, Psa 89:34-36, Psa 89:39, Psa 105:8, Psa 106:45; Gen 17:7, Gen 17:8; Exo 24:6-8; Lev 26:40-45; Deu 9:27; 2Sa 23:5; Jer 33:20-26; Luk ...

TSK: Psa 74:21 - O let not // poor O let not : Psa 9:18, Psa 12:5, Psa 102:19-21, Psa 109:22; Isa 45:17 poor : Psa 102:21; Ezr 3:11; Jer 33:11

TSK: Psa 74:22 - Arise // remember Arise : Psa 9:19, Psa 9:20, Psa 79:9, Psa 79:10 remember : Psa 74:18, Psa 75:4, Psa 75:5, Psa 89:50, Psa 89:51; Isa 52:5

TSK: Psa 74:23 - Forget // tumult // increaseth Forget : Psa 10:11, Psa 10:12, Psa 13:1 tumult : Psa 74:4, Psa 2:1, Psa 2:2; Isa 37:29; Lam 2:16; Rev 17:14 increaseth : Heb. ascendeth, Jon 1:2

Forget : Psa 10:11, Psa 10:12, Psa 13:1

tumult : Psa 74:4, Psa 2:1, Psa 2:2; Isa 37:29; Lam 2:16; Rev 17:14

increaseth : Heb. ascendeth, Jon 1:2

kecilkan semua
Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Psa 74:1 - Why hast thou cast us of for ever // Thine anger // Against the sheep of thy pasture i.e. Composed by Asaph; either, 1. By that famous Asaph who flourished in David’ s time, and by the Spirit of God foresaw and foretold the thin...

i.e. Composed by Asaph; either,

1. By that famous Asaph who flourished in David’ s time, and by the Spirit of God foresaw and foretold the things here mentioned. But the clear, and exact, and particular, and most pathetical description of the thing here expressed, looks much more like a narrative of what is past than a prophecy of what is to come; which usually is delivered marc darkly. Besides, such a prophecy of the destruction of the temple before it was built would have been a great discouragement to the building of it, and would probably have been taken notice of by Solomon in his prayer for it, when it was newly built. Or,

2. By some of his posterity, who is called by their father’ s name, Asaph , as the children Of Israel are frequently called Jacob, or Israel, and David’ s successors David; as hath been noted. Or,

3. By some other person of that name, though of another family; who then was a man of renown, though now his memory be lost. Or this may be rendered for Asaph , i.e. for his posterity; and it might be said by some other holy man of God. But the former seems more probable. This is evident, that this Psalm speaks of the destruction of the temple, and of Jerusalem, and of God’ s people, by the Chaldeans; though some think it. looks further, even to the pollution of the temple by Antiochus; although the things said to be done, Psa 74:6-8 , agree much better to the former, and were not done by Antiochus.

The church complaineth of the desolation which the enemies had made in the temple and synagogue, Psa 74:1-9 ; prayeth God to help by his great power, Psa 74:10-17 , against the reproach and blasphemy of the enemies, Psa 74:18 . He prayeth for God’ s beloved and covenanted ones, Psa 74:19-23 .

Why hast thou cast us of for ever so as to leave us no visible hopes of restitution?

Thine anger or, thy nose ; a metaphor from a man who in a great rage sends forth fumes out of his nostrils.

Against the sheep of thy pasture against thy chosen and peculiar people.

Poole: Psa 74:2 - Remember // Thy congregation // Of old // The rod of thine inheritance // of thine inheritance // Mount Zion Remember show by thine actions that thou hast not utterly forgotten and forsaken them. Thy congregation thy church or people. Purchased ; or, red...

Remember show by thine actions that thou hast not utterly forgotten and forsaken them.

Thy congregation thy church or people. Purchased ; or, redeemed , as it follows; or, bought , as it is Deu 32:6 ; or, procured , though without price, as this word is used, Rth 4:9,10 .

Of old when thou broughtest them out of Egypt, and formedst them into a commonwealth, and gavest them laws, and didst enter into covenant with them at Sinai.

The rod of thine inheritance that people which thou hast measured out as it were by rod, to be thy portion or inheritance, as they are called also Deu 32:6 See also Psa 16:5,6 Jer 10:16 . Or, the tribe (as this word commonly signifies)

of thine inheritance i.e. the tribe of Judah, which thou hast in a special manner chosen for thine inheritance, and for the seat of the kingdom, and for the birth of the Messiah. And thus here is an elegant gradation from the general to particulars; first the congregation , consisting of all the tribes; then the tribe of Judah; and lastly,

Mount Zion Nor is it strange that he mentions this tribe particularly, because the calamity and captivity here remembered did principally befall this tribe and Benjamin, which was united with it and subject to it, and the most that returned were of this tribe; for the generality of the other tubes were long before dispersed into other lands, and continue in their captivity to this day. Mount Zion; which is oft put for the temple, or the hill of Moriah, on which it was built.

Poole: Psa 74:3 - Lift up thy feet // Unto the perpetual desolations // In the sanctuary Lift up thy feet i.e. come speedily for our rescue, and do not sit or stand still, as hitherto thou seemest to do. Unto the perpetual desolations o...

Lift up thy feet i.e. come speedily for our rescue, and do not sit or stand still, as hitherto thou seemest to do.

Unto the perpetual desolations or rather, because of (as this prefix oft signifies) the perpetual desolations . So it is a powerful motive to God, to come to their help, because otherwise our destruction is everlasting and irrecoverable.

In the sanctuary or, against thy sanctuary ; of which see Psa 74:7 .

Poole: Psa 74:4 - Roar // In the midst of thy congregations // Signs Roar i.e. make loud outcries; either from their rage and fury against the conquered and captivated Israelites now in their power; or rather, in way o...

Roar i.e. make loud outcries; either from their rage and fury against the conquered and captivated Israelites now in their power; or rather, in way of triumph for their success and victory.

In the midst of thy congregations in the places where thy people used to assemble together for thy worship; whereby they designed to insult not only over us, but over thee also, as if their gods had been too strong for thee.

Signs or, trophies , or monuments of their victories obtained over God, and over his people, as conquerors used to do in like cases.

Poole: Psa 74:5 - upon thick trees So the meaning is this, The temple was so noble a structure, that it was a great honour to any man to be employed in the meanest part of the work, t...

So the meaning is this, The temple was so noble a structure, that it was a great honour to any man to be employed in the meanest part of the work, though it were but in cutting down the trees of Lebanon. And this translation may seem to be favoured by the opposition in the next verse, But now , &c. But others understand the words thus translated in another sense, that every one of the enemies got renown accordingly as they showed most barbarous rage in destroying the thick wood work (which in the next verse is called the carved work ) of the temple. But this seems not to suit well with the opposition between this work and that of the next verse, which is ushered in by but now . The words therefore may be (and in part are by some) rendered thus, It is known , (or manifest , Heb. It will be known ; it will be published to all posterity, as matter of astonishment and admiration,) that, as one lifteth up his axe (Heb. axes , the plural number for the singular, as it is elsewhere)

upon thick trees to cut them down. This is the first part of the similitude, called the protasis ; then follows the latter part of it, called the apodosis , in the next verse. (Heb. and ; which is sometimes put for a note of similitude, as in that passage of the Lord’ s prayer, Mat 6:10 , as it is in heaven ; and oft in the book of the Proverbs) now (for though this Psalm was composed after the thing was done, yet he speaks of it as if it were now in doing, as the manner of the sacred writers frequently is, that it may be more livelily represented to men’ s minds) they break down the carved works , &c. The meaning is, they neither regard the sacredness of the place, nor the exquisite curiosity and art of the work, but cut it down as indifferently and rashly as men cut down the thick and entangled boughs of the trees of the forest.

Poole: Psa 74:6 - See Poole "Psa 74:5" // Axes and hammers See Poole "Psa 74:5" . Axes and hammers: it hath been ingeniously observed that these two words are not Hebrew, but Chaldee or Syriac words, to poi...

See Poole "Psa 74:5" .

Axes and hammers: it hath been ingeniously observed that these two words are not Hebrew, but Chaldee or Syriac words, to point out the time when this was done, even when the Chaldeans brought in their language together with their arms among the Israelites.

Poole: Psa 74:7 - -- First they polluted it, and then they burnt it, and broke it in pieces.

First they polluted it, and then they burnt it, and broke it in pieces.

Poole: Psa 74:8 - Destroy them together // All the synagogues of God in the land Destroy them together root and branch, one as well as another, or all at once. So they desired, and many of them intended, although afterwards, it se...

Destroy them together root and branch, one as well as another, or all at once. So they desired, and many of them intended, although afterwards, it seems, they changed their counsel, and carried some away captives, and left others to manage the land.

All the synagogues of God in the land i.e. all the public places wherein the Jews used to meet together to worship God every sabbath day , as is noted, Act 13:27 , and upon other occasions. That the Jews had such synagogues is manifest, both from these and other places of Scripture; and from the testimony of the Hebrew doctors, and other ancient and learned writers, who affirm it, and particularly of Jerusalem, in which they say there were above four hundred synagogues; and from the nature and necessity of the thing; for seeing it is undeniable that they did worship God publicly, in every sabbath, and other holy times, even then when they neither did nor could go up to Jerusalem, both conscience and prudence must needs direct them to appoint convenient places for that purpose.

Poole: Psa 74:9 - Our signs // Any prophet // How long Our signs i.e. those tokens of God’ s gracious presence which we and our ancestors formerly used to enjoy; either, 1. Miracles wrought for us, ...

Our signs i.e. those tokens of God’ s gracious presence which we and our ancestors formerly used to enjoy; either,

1. Miracles wrought for us, which are called

signs Psa 78:43 135:9. Or,

2. The ordinances of God, the temple, and ark, and sacrifices, and solemn feasts, all which were signs between God and his people.

Any prophet: either,

1. Any teacher. We have few or no teachers left to us. Or,

2. Any extraordinary prophet, who can foretell things to come, as the next words explain it. For as for Ezekiel and Jeremiah, they might be dead when this Psalm was composed; and Daniel was involved in civil affairs, and did not teach the people as a prophet; and the prophetical Spirit which sometimes came upon him, and made those great discoveries to him which we read in his book, might possibly at this time suspend his influences. Besides, it is not unusual in Scripture, to say that there is none of a sort of persons or things, when there is a very great scarcity of them. But others make this their great argument, that this Psalm speaks of that persecution in the time of Antiochus, when indeed there was no prophet at all.

How long either,

1. How long their captivity should continue; for though seventy years were determined, yet there might arise doubts among them, as there now are among us, whence they were to be computed, which might make their end uncertain. Or,

2. How long they should lie under reproach, as it follows, Psa 74:10 , which they really did, and might foresee that they should, even after the expiration of their captivity, Neh 1:3 .

Poole: Psa 74:10 - Reproach Reproach understand here thy name, which is expressed in the next clause of the verse, by saying that thou art either unkind to thy people, or unfait...

Reproach understand here thy name, which is expressed in the next clause of the verse, by saying that thou art either unkind to thy people, or unfaithful in thy covenant, or unable to deliver thine out of their miseries.

Poole: Psa 74:11 - Why withdrawest thou thy hand? // Pluck it out of thy bosom Why withdrawest thou thy hand? why dost thou suspend or forbear the exercise of that power, which thou hast so oft put forth on the behalf of thy peo...

Why withdrawest thou thy hand? why dost thou suspend or forbear the exercise of that power, which thou hast so oft put forth on the behalf of thy people?

Pluck it out of thy bosom in which thou now seemest to hide it, as idle persons use to do, Pro 19:24 26:15 . Bestir thyself on the behalf of thy people.

Poole: Psa 74:12 - My King // In the midst of the earth My King in a singular manner: it belongs therefore to thine office to protect and save me. In the midst of the earth in the view of the world; so s...

My King in a singular manner: it belongs therefore to thine office to protect and save me.

In the midst of the earth in the view of the world; so saving thy people so eminently and gloriously, that all people round about them observed and admired it.

Poole: Psa 74:13 - The dragons // The waters The dragons or, the crocodiles . He means Pharaoh and all his mighty men, who were like these beasts in strength and cruelty. The waters to wit, o...

The dragons or, the crocodiles . He means Pharaoh and all his mighty men, who were like these beasts in strength and cruelty.

The waters to wit, of the sea, where they were drowned.

Poole: Psa 74:14 - The heads // Leviathan // To the people inhabiting the wilderness // people The heads i.e. the head; called heads , partly for the greatness of this beast, as that great monster is called beasts , Job 40:20 , for the same r...

The heads i.e. the head; called heads , partly for the greatness of this beast, as that great monster is called beasts , Job 40:20 , for the same reason; and partly for the several heads or princes who were and acted under his influence.

Leviathan Pharaoh.

To the people inhabiting the wilderness Heb. to the people in or of the desert ; either,

1. To the Israelites then in the wilderness, to whom the destruction of Pharaoh and his host was meat , i.e. matter of great support and refreshment. Or,

2. To those savage people to whom they were meat , because they lived upon fishes, and might eat those very fishes which had devoured Pharaoh’ s host in the bottom of the sea. Or rather,

3. To those ravenous birds and beasts of the desert, which after their manner fed and feasted themselves upon the carcasses of the Egyptians, who were cast upon the sea-shore, Exo 14:30 , which were properly and immediately meat unto them. And when words can be taken properly, we ought to prefer that before the metaphorical sense, as is agreed by interpreters. And this was a very suitable punishment for this proud and insolent people, that they who were so haughty, that they would not own nor submit to the Lord himself, Exo 5:2 , should be devoured by these contemptible creatures, which was a great reproach, 1Sa 17:44,46 , and oft threatened by God as a grievous curse, as Deu 28:26 Jer 7:33 16:4 , &c. Neither let any think it strange that the name of

people is given to these creatures, for it is given to conies, grasshoppers, pismires, &c., both in Scripture, as Pro 30:25,26 Joe 1:6 , and in Homer, and other ancient profane writers. Nay, here is an elegancy in the expression; for these creatures are significantly called the people of the wilderness, because they are the only people that inhabited it, this being a wilderness wherein was no man , as is said, Job 38:26 .

Poole: Psa 74:15 - Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood // Mighty rivers Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood i.e. thou didst by cleaving the rock make a fountain in it, and a flood or stream to flow from it, for t...

Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood i.e. thou didst by cleaving the rock make a fountain in it, and a flood or stream to flow from it, for the refreshment of thy people in those dry deserts. The phrase is like that Isa 47:2 , grind meal , i.e. by grinding the corn make meal.

Mighty rivers either,

1. Jordan, which was then more mighty than ordinarily, as having overflowed all his banks, and therefore may be called rivers , because it was now equivalent to two or three such rivers; or it is only an ensilage of the plural number for the singular, whereof I have given many instances formerly. Or rather,

2. Both Jordan and the Red Sea; for the sea itself, yea, a greater sea than that, is called a river, Jon 2:3 ; for the Hebrew word is the same which is here used, though there it be rendered floods. And the same title is expressly given to the sea by Homer and other ancient writers. To these the ancient Chaldee interpreter addeth the rivers of Amen and Jabbok, in or about which some extraordinary work was wrought, yea, something which was like God’ s work at the Red Sea, as may seem by the conjunction of these together, Num 21:14 .

Poole: Psa 74:16 - Prepared // The light It is not strange nor incredible that thou hast done these great and wonderful works, for thou hast made the heavenly bodies, and the vicissitudes o...

It is not strange nor incredible that thou hast done these great and wonderful works, for thou hast made the heavenly bodies, and the vicissitudes of day and night, depending upon them, which is a far greater work.

Prepared or rather, established , as this word oft signifies; not only created, but settled in a constant and orderly course.

The light either,

1. That primitive light, Gen 1:3 , which afterwards was condensed and gathered into the sun. Or rather,

2. The moon, as divers, both ancient and modern, interpreters understand it, called here the light , to wit, the lesser luminary or light; wherein there is either a synecdoche of the general for the particular, or an ellipsis of the adjective, both which figures are very usual. And that the lesser light is here meant, may seem probable, both because it is opposed to the greater light, the sun here following; and because this is to rule the night, as the sun is to rule the day, Gen 1:16 ; and so this clause answereth to and explains the former, wherein both day and night are mentioned.

Poole: Psa 74:17 - Thou hast set all the borders of the earth Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast fixed the bounds, both of the habitable world in general; so as the seas, though they do encomp...

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast fixed the bounds, both of the habitable world in general; so as the seas, though they do encompass and assault them, yet they shall never be able to remove them; and of all the countries and people upon earth, whom thou hast confined to such bounds as thou seest fit. And as this clause of the verse showeth God’ s power and government over all places, so the next clause displays his dominion over all times and seasons; and both together are, fitly alleged as a motive to God, that he would at this time take care of his poor people, and restore them to their ancient land and borders, in which he had been pleased to set them.

Poole: Psa 74:18 - The foolish people Though we deserve to be forgotten and destroyed, yet remember thyself, and do not suffer thine and our enemies to reproach and blaspheme the name of...

Though we deserve to be forgotten and destroyed, yet remember thyself, and do not suffer thine and our enemies to reproach and blaspheme the name of that great and glorious God, the Creator and sovereign Lord of the whole world, whom they ought always to reverence and adore.

The foolish people who, though they think themselves and are thought by others to be wise, yet in truth are fools, and herein show their stupendous folly, that they vilify and provoke that God whose powerful anger they can neither resist, nor escape, nor endure.

Poole: Psa 74:19 - The soul // Of thy turtle-dove // Unto the multitude of the wicked The soul i.e. the life. Thou hast delivered thy people into captivity; do not deliver them to death, nor suffer their enemies utterly to destroy them...

The soul i.e. the life. Thou hast delivered thy people into captivity; do not deliver them to death, nor suffer their enemies utterly to destroy them.

Of thy turtle-dove i.e. of thy church, which is fitly compared to a turtle-dove, because of the great resemblance of their dispositions and conditions, being simple, and harmless, and meek, and faithful, and mournful, and exposed to manifold injuries, and unable to defend itself from them.

Unto the multitude of the wicked or, to the wild beast, as this word oft signifies; or, to the troop , to wit, of her enemies.

Poole: Psa 74:20 - Have respect unto the covenant // The dark places of the earth // Are full of the habitations of cruelty Have respect unto the covenant made with Abraham, whereby thou didst give the land of Canaan to him, and to his seed for ever; and thou didst further...

Have respect unto the covenant made with Abraham, whereby thou didst give the land of Canaan to him, and to his seed for ever; and thou didst further promise, that if thy people were carried captive into strange lands and did there humble themselves, and pray and turn unto thee, thou wouldst mercifully restore them, 1Ki 8:46-50 : do thou therefore now restore us to that pleasant and lightsome land which thou hast given to us.

The dark places of the earth i.e. this dark and dismal land in which we live, wherein there is nothing but ignorance and confusion, and all the works of darkness; of which the psalmist speaks in general terms, out of a principle of prudence, because the particular designation of the place was unnecessary, and might have been of ill consequence.

Are full of the habitations of cruelty here is nothing but injustice, and oppression, and tyranny, under which we groan in all the parts of this great empire, where we have our abode.

Poole: Psa 74:21 - -- Return ashamed from thee, and from the throne of thy grace, to which they make their resort in this their distressed condition.

Return ashamed from thee, and from the throne of thy grace, to which they make their resort in this their distressed condition.

Poole: Psa 74:22 - Plead thine own cause Plead thine own cause maintain thy honour, and worship, and service against those that reproach thee, as it here follows, and was noted before, Psa 7...

Plead thine own cause maintain thy honour, and worship, and service against those that reproach thee, as it here follows, and was noted before, Psa 74:10,18 . As we are reviled and persecuted for thy sake, so thou art injured in all our wrongs.

Poole: Psa 74:23 - The voice // The tumult // Increaseth The voice their insulting and reproachful expressions against time, as well as against us. The tumult i.e. the tumultuous noise of the loud clamour...

The voice their insulting and reproachful expressions against time, as well as against us.

The tumult i.e. the tumultuous noise of the loud clamours.

Increaseth Heb. ascendeth , to wit, into heaven, being either directed thither by them; their mouth being set against heaven, as theirs was, Psa 73:9 ; or at least being perceived there by God, whose ears were pierced with the loud cry of their sins. See Gen 4:10 18:20 . Or ascending may be here put for increasing, as it is Isa 55:13 Jer 46:7 . So the sense is, They grow worse and worse, encouraging and hardening themselves in their wicked courses by their continual success and prosperity, and by thy patience extended to them.

PBC: Psa 74:9 - -- See Philpot: SIGNS SEEN, AND NOT SEEN

See Philpot: SIGNS SEEN, AND NOT SEEN

Haydock: Psa 74:1 - -- There is a just judgment to come: therefore let the wicked take care.

There is a just judgment to come: therefore let the wicked take care.

Haydock: Psa 74:1 - Corrupt not Corrupt not. 'Tis believed to have been the beginning of some ode or hymn, to the tune of which this psalm was to be sung. St. Augustine and other ...

Corrupt not. 'Tis believed to have been the beginning of some ode or hymn, to the tune of which this psalm was to be sung. St. Augustine and other Fathers, take it to be an admonition of the Spirit of God, not to faint, or fail in our hope; but to persevere with constancy in good: because God will not fail in his due time, to render to every man according to his works. (Challoner) ---

Symmachus has, "concerning incorruption," (Haydock) whence some have explained the psalm of the general resurrection. (Eusebius) ---

The Chaldeans refer it to David, praying that the angel would cease to destroy, (2 Kings xxiv.) while others suppose that he forbids Abisai to hurt Saul, 1 Kings xxvi. 9. (St. Jerome) ---

This and similar difficult terms might resemble the anthems of Church music. (Genebrard) (Berthier) (Psalm lvi.) ---

The psalm is a sequel to the former, (Calmet) or a moral instruction, given by the Son of God, (ver. 3.) after the author had admonished us to attend, and place ourselves in his presence. It is not necessary to suppose that it is written in the form of a dialogue. (Berthier)

Haydock: Psa 74:2 - Praise Praise. The repetition shews the certainty of the event. Christ and his apostles, who sit as judges, praise the ways of Providence. (Worthington) ...

Praise. The repetition shews the certainty of the event. Christ and his apostles, who sit as judges, praise the ways of Providence. (Worthington) ---

Hebrew is more obscure. (Calmet)

Haydock: Psa 74:3 - When I shall take time // A time // Justices When I shall take time. In proper times: particularly at the last day, when the earth shall melt away at the presence of the great judge: the ...

When I shall take time. In proper times: particularly at the last day, when the earth shall melt away at the presence of the great judge: the same who originally laid the foundations of it, and, as it were, established its pillars. (Challoner) (Worthington) ---

This is God's answer to the longer prayer of Asaph, in the preceding psalm, which is here concluded. (Calmet) ---

A time. Hebrew Mohed, "congregation." (Symmachus) ---

When I shall have delivered my people. (Theodoret) ---

Justices. With the utmost rigour I will punish Babylon. (Calmet) ---

No mere creature knows the time of the general judgment, as Christ, the sovereign judge, does. (Worthington) ---

Then the just themselves will tremble. (Haydock)

Haydock: Psa 74:4 - Melted Melted. Symmachus and Houbigant, "is strengthened." (Haydock) --- After the last fire the earth shall remain, though changed in quality. (Worthin...

Melted. Symmachus and Houbigant, "is strengthened." (Haydock) ---

After the last fire the earth shall remain, though changed in quality. (Worthington) (2 Peter iii. 10.) ---

God destroys and establishes kingdoms. (Calmet)

Haydock: Psa 74:5 - Wickedly // Horn Wickedly. This is an epitome of Christian doctrine. (Worthington) --- God had severely punished Nabuchodonosor, Baltassar, and the priests of Bel....

Wickedly. This is an epitome of Christian doctrine. (Worthington) ---

God had severely punished Nabuchodonosor, Baltassar, and the priests of Bel. Yet the people would not attend to these salutary admonitions. ---

Horn. By pride, (Worthington) which is the origin of all evil, (Haydock) and an offence pardoned by God with the greatest difficulty.

Haydock: Psa 74:6 - God God. Hebrew tsauuar means, "neck." But the Septuagint have not seen the a, and translate against God. Literally, "the rock," which is one of...

God. Hebrew tsauuar means, "neck." But the Septuagint have not seen the a, and translate against God. Literally, "the rock," which is one of his titles; (Berthier) and this seems preferable to "speak not with a stiff neck;" (Calmet) or "with the old neck:" (St. Jerome) though this sense is not contemptible, as the sinner's wonted pride rises against God. (Haydock)

Haydock: Psa 74:7 - Hills // Take the cup of the wine of his fury....The king of Sesac Hills. Hebrew harim, may also be considered as the nominative case; "not from the south a re there heights" to which they may flee for succour. ...

Hills. Hebrew harim, may also be considered as the nominative case; "not from the south a re there heights" to which they may flee for succour. (Haydock) ---

Yet most of the ancients agree with us; though is there "refuge," must then be supplied. (Berthier) ---

None would be able to screen the Babylonians, Jeremias xxv. 15, 26. ---

Take the cup of the wine of his fury....The king of Sesac (Babylon) shall drink after them. (Haydock) ---

The cup is so great that all shall taste, and the last will have the most bitter portion. (Calmet)

Haydock: Psa 74:9 - Drink // Fire Drink. The just themselves shall suffer something. But their part will be comparatively the clear wine, while sinners shall have the dregs. Many s...

Drink. The just themselves shall suffer something. But their part will be comparatively the clear wine, while sinners shall have the dregs. Many suppose that God holds in his had two cups, which he mixes according to each one's deserts. So the Septuagint, Syriac, St. Augustine, &c., seem to intimate. Jupiter is thus represented with two barrels of goods and evils near his throne. (Homer, Iliad xxiv.) ---

But most interpreters suppose that only one chalice is here specified, filled with red wine, the sediment being reserved for sinners, though it was usually thrown away at feasts. Wine was mixed with water in those hot countries. (Calmet) ---

Yet here the mixture is of a different nature. (Haydock) ---

Fire, (Psalm x. 7.; Menochius) gall, brimestone, &c., compose the bitter chalice of the damned, who will never arrive at the term of their inexpressible misery. In this life, sinners are frequently punished: but their sufferings do not end here. They shall experience a variety of torments in heat and cold, Job xxiv. (Worthington) (Apocalypse xiv. 10., Isaias li. 17., and Ezechiel xxiii. 34.)

Haydock: Psa 74:10 - Declare // Jacob Declare. Septuagint, "rejoice;" as St. Augustine, &c., read, contrary to the Hebrew. (Calmet) --- Jacob. Christ did all for the glory of his Fat...

Declare. Septuagint, "rejoice;" as St. Augustine, &c., read, contrary to the Hebrew. (Calmet) ---

Jacob. Christ did all for the glory of his Father. (Berthier)

Haydock: Psa 74:11 - Just Just. Zorobabel, (Theodoret) the figure of the Messias. The Jews were shortly after set at liberty by Cyrus, who was the scourge of their oppressor...

Just. Zorobabel, (Theodoret) the figure of the Messias. The Jews were shortly after set at liberty by Cyrus, who was the scourge of their oppressors. (Calmet) ---

The virtuous, who use well their free-will, are thus rewarded. (Worthington)

Gill: Psa 74:1 - O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever // why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?..... This the church supposed because of the prevalence, oppression, and triumph of the enemy, because of t...

O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?..... This the church supposed because of the prevalence, oppression, and triumph of the enemy, because of the hardships and afflictions she laboured under, and because of the hidings of the face of God from her, which unbelief interpreted of a casting off; see Psa 77:7 when in reality it was not so, only in appearance, and according to a wrong judgment made of things; for God never did nor never will cast off, nor cast away, his people whom he foreknew, Rom 11:1,

why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? the people of God are called "sheep", because subject to go astray, not only before conversion, but after; and because harmless and inoffensive in their lives and conversations; and because, though exposed to the insults and persecutions of men, and their butcheries and barbarities, and therefore called "the flock of slaughter", Zec 11:4, yet bear all patiently, as the sheep before her shearers is dumb; and because like sheep they are weak and timorous, unable to defend themselves; are clean, and so distinguished from dogs and swine; and are profitable, though not to God, yet to men, and one another; and like sheep are sociable, and love to be together: and they are called the sheep of the Lord's pasture; because he provides good pasture for them, leads them into it, and feeds them himself with Christ, the bread of life, the tree of life, and hidden manna; with covenant grace and promises, even the sure mercies of David; with discoveries of his love and grace, and with his word and ordinances; and yet these, when under afflictions and desertions, are ready to conclude that God is angry with them, yea, is very angry; that his anger burns against them, and his fierce wrath goes over them, signified by smoking; see Deu 19:20, alluding to men, who, when they are angry, become hot, as Kimchi observes, and their breath like smoke comes out of their nostrils.

Gill: Psa 74:2 - Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old // the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed // this Mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old,.... Alluding to the redemption of the congregation of Israel out of Egypt, when they were...

Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old,.... Alluding to the redemption of the congregation of Israel out of Egypt, when they were said to be "purchased", Exo 15:16 and as that people were typical of the people of God, they may be said to be "purchased then", even of old; though the purchase in reality was not made till the blood of Christ was shed, with which he purchased his church, Act 20:28, indeed he was the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, in the purpose and promise of God, and in the typical sacrifices so early offered up, Rev 13:8, and besides, the words may be considered as the words of the church of God groaning under antichristian oppression and cruelty, hundreds of years since the death of Christ, and so may be said to be of old purchased; and which is called a "congregation", because a select number, chosen of God, and called out of the world, and brought into one body, and into fellowship with Christ and one another; and though they may not meet together in one place, they are all of one body, and will one day make one general assembly and church of the firstborn, called "the congregation of the righteous", Psa 1:5 now it is desired of the Lord for these, that they might be remembered with his lovingkindness and tender mercies, with his covenant and promises, and be delivered and saved out of the hands of their enemies:

the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; the Targum adds, out of Egypt; but this is to be understood not of the redemption of the people of Israel, but of the redemption of the church of God from sin, Satan, the law, the world, hell, and death; who are chosen by the Lord for his inheritance, his peculiar treasure and portion; and which he highly values and esteems, and is dear unto him as such, as the redemption of them by the blood of Christ shows:

this Mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt; meaning the church of God, which often goes by this name, both in the Old and in the New Testament, comparable to the mount of Zion for its height, holiness, and immoveableness; where the Lord has promised to dwell, and where he does dwell, and will for evermore. As the reference to Sion literally understood, it is called "this Sion", because well known, and because the psalm might be composed or said in it, as Kimchi observes; and which shows that it was written before the destruction of the city and temple, and while Zion was the seat of religious worship, and therefore a prophecy of future times.

Gill: Psa 74:3 - Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations // even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations,.... That is, arise, hasten, move swiftly, and in the greatness of strength, and come and see the deso...

Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations,.... That is, arise, hasten, move swiftly, and in the greatness of strength, and come and see the desolations made by the enemy, which look as if they would remain for ever; meaning either the desolations made in the city and temple of Jerusalem, either by Nebuchadnezzar, or by Titus; or the havocs and devastations made in the church of God by the tyranny and persecutions of antichrist; which have continued so long, that an end of them has been almost despaired of. So Jacob is said to "lift up his feet"; which we render went on his way, Gen 29:1. Some take these words in a different sense, as a prayer for the destruction of the church's enemies; so the Targum,

"lift up thy feet or goings, to make desolate the nations for ever;''

and Kimchi makes but one sentence of this and the following clause, and reads it thus,

"lift up thy feet, to make desolate for ever every enemy that does wickedly in the sanctuary:''

but the accent "athnach", which divides propositions, and is upon the word נצח, forbids such a reading. The former sense is best, and most agreeable to the context;

even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary; by profaning and destroying the temple, as did Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, and Titus; or by antichrist sitting in the temple and church of God, setting up idolatrous worship in it, and blaspheming the tabernacle of God, and those that dwell therein, 2Th 2:4.

Gill: Psa 74:4 - Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations // they set up their ensigns for signs Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations,.... Particular churches, gathered out of the world in Gospel order, and which meet together at p...

Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations,.... Particular churches, gathered out of the world in Gospel order, and which meet together at particular times and places; in the midst of these, and against them their enemies, and who are the Lord's enemies, roar like lions, as Satan, and bloody persecutors, and particularly antichrist, whose mouth is the mouth of a lion, which is opened in blasphemy against God and his people, Rev 13:2,

they set up their ensigns for signs; or "signs", "signs", false ones for true ones; meaning either military signs, as the Roman eagle, set as signs and trophies of victory; or idolatrous statues and images, such an one as Antiochus brought into the temple; or false miracles and antichristian marks, in the room of true miracles, and the true mark of Christ's followers; see 2Th 2:9. The Jewish writers generally interpret it of the divinations and superstitions rites used by the king of Babylon, when he was coming up against Jerusalem, Eze 21:21.

Gill: Psa 74:5 - A man was famous // according as he had lifted up // axes upon the thick trees A man was famous,.... Or, "it was", or "is known" m; the desolations the enemy made, the wickedness they committed, the terror they spread, and the si...

A man was famous,.... Or, "it was", or "is known" m; the desolations the enemy made, the wickedness they committed, the terror they spread, and the signs they set in the sanctuary of the Lord:

according as he had lifted up, or "as one that lifts up"

axes upon the thick trees n; that is, the above things were as visible, and as well known, being as easy to be seen as such an action is, a man being obliged to lift his axe above his head, to cut down a thick tree: or rather the sense is, formerly a man was famous for, and it gave him some credit and esteem, to be an hewer of wood in the forest of Lebanon, where he lifted up his axe, and cut down the thick trees for the building of the temple, as the servants of Hiram king of Tyre did; and such an action was esteemed as if a man brought an offering to God; agreeably to which is Kimchi's note,

"when the temple was built, he who lifted up his axe upon a thick tree, to cut it down for the building, was known, as if he lifted it up above in heaven before the throne of glory; all so rejoiced and gloried in the building:''

and Aben Ezra interprets it of acclamations made above on that account. The words, according to the accents, should be rendered thus, "he" or "it was known, as he that lifteth up on high; even as he that lifteth up on high, axes upon the thick tree".

Gill: Psa 74:6 - But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. Formerly it was an honour to be employed in cutting down a tree for the...

But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. Formerly it was an honour to be employed in cutting down a tree for the building of the temple; but now so little regard was paid to it, that all its fine carved work, which Solomon made, 1Ki 6:18, was demolished at once in a rude and furious manner with axes and hammers; which was done either by the Chaldeans in Nebuchadnezzar's time, or by the Syrians in the times of Antiochus, or by the Romans in the times of Vespasian; the first seems intended; see Jer 46:22.

Gill: Psa 74:7 - They have cast fire into thy sanctuary // they have defiled, by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground They have cast fire into thy sanctuary,.... Or, "thy sanctuary into the fire" o; which denotes the utter destruction of it by fire, which was done bot...

They have cast fire into thy sanctuary,.... Or, "thy sanctuary into the fire" o; which denotes the utter destruction of it by fire, which was done both by the Chaldean and Roman armies; see 2Ki 25:9,

they have defiled, by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground, or "to the earth they have defiled the habitation of thy name" p; that is, to the last and lowest degree; this Antiochus did when he set up an idol in the temple, and Titus when he laid it level with the ground, not leaving one stone upon another, as our Lord predicted, Mat 24:1 the aggravation of which was, that it was the place where the Lord had put his name, where his name was called upon, and where was the symbol of his presence.

Gill: Psa 74:8 - They said in their hearts, let us destroy them together // they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land They said in their hearts, let us destroy them together,.... The Targum is, "their children, are together;'' or "their kindred", as the Septuagi...

They said in their hearts, let us destroy them together,.... The Targum is,

"their children, are together;''

or "their kindred", as the Septuagint Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, taking the word to be of נין, which signifies a "son"; and the sense to be, that seeing they were all together, as the Jews were at the taking of Jerusalem, they might be cut off at once. Jarchi explains it of their rulers; Marinus, as Aben Ezra observes, derives it from a word which signifies to afflict and oppress, to which he agrees; see Psa 83:3,

they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land; not only in Jerusalem, where there were, the Jewish q writers say, four hundred and sixty, and others four hundred and eighty of them, but also in all the land of Judea; of these synagogues there is much mention made in the New Testament; they were places for public worship, in which, prayer was made, and the Scriptures were read and explained; see Mat 6:5, but it may be doubted whether they are meant here, since it does not appear that there were any until after the return of the Jews from Babylon r; the temple, and the parts of it, may be meant, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; or the schools of the prophets; though the psalm may refer to times after the Babylonish captivity, and so may design Jewish synagogues, and even take in places of worship among Christians.

Gill: Psa 74:9 - We see not our signs // there is no more any prophet // neither is there among us any that knoweth how long We see not our signs,.... Either such miracles as were formerly wrought to support the faith of God's people in distress, and for their deliverance ou...

We see not our signs,.... Either such miracles as were formerly wrought to support the faith of God's people in distress, and for their deliverance out of it, as when they were in Egypt, and brought forth from thence; see Psa 78:43 or rather their sabbaths and sacrifices, the passover and circumcision, and other ordinances and institutions of divine worship; which were signs of the presence of God with them, and of Christ, and blessings of grace, and good things to come by him; which ceased, or were interrupted in their captivity, and which the godly lament: or the signs of redemption, as Kimchi; and may be interpreted of the blindness and stupidity of the greater part of them, who could not discern the signs of the times, as before the destruction of the city and temple, Mat 16:3 so after it, when these being destroyed, and they in the hands of the Romans, might easily have perceived that the sceptre was departed from Judah, and therefore Shiloh must be come, or the Messiah; who also must have been in his temple, and Daniel's weeks be up; but these signs they saw not, nor do they yet: and so though the signs of the latter day are upon us, we see them not, or at least very few take notice of them, and lament them; such as a very great departure from the faith of the Gospel, a neglect of Gospel worship and ordinances, coldness and lukewarmness in matters of religion, want of love to Christ and his people, a general sleepiness and security, a form of religion without the power of it, a name to live and be dead, and iniquity abounding even among professors of religion; besides the frequent signs in heaven and in earth; see Mat 24:12,

there is no more any prophet; there were but few in the Babylonish captivity, and after Malachi there were none; there were none in the times of Antiochus; there were none till John the forerunner of Christ came; and in the latter day the two prophets that prophesy in sackcloth will be slain, and there will be no prophesying for a while, Rev 11:7. Kimchi explains it, there is no prophet yet, and interprets it thus, Elijah the prophet is not yet come:

neither is there among us any that knoweth how long; the calamity will endure, and ere deliverance will come; how long the Babylonish captivity would continue was known, that it would be seventy years, and no longer; the prophets that searched after the time of salvation and redemption by Christ knew how long it would be to it; Daniel fixed the exact time of it; but how long the present times will last we know not, or how long it is to the end of wonders; or when will end the 1260 days of the reign of antichrist, of the church's being in the wilderness, of the holy city being trodden under foot by the Gentiles, and of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth.

Gill: Psa 74:10 - O God, how long shall the adversary reproach // shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?.... The name of God, as in the next clause, the divine Persons and perfections, the purposes and provide...

O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?.... The name of God, as in the next clause, the divine Persons and perfections, the purposes and providence of God, his people, ways, worship, truths, and ordinances:

shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? The "adversary" and "enemy" being in the singular number, may intend some particular one, as antichrist; who is emphatically and eminently "the enemy" of God, he opposing himself to, and exalting himself above, all that is called God; and the adversary of Christ, as his name shows; not only setting himself in his room and stead, but undermining him in all his offices; changing his laws as a King, dishonouring his sacrifice and intercession as a priest, and doing injury to his word and ordinances as a Prophet; and who has a mouth speaking blasphemies against God, his name, and tabernacle, heaven, and they that dwell therein, angels and saints, Rev 13:5. He reproaches and blasphemes God himself, by showing himself to be God, by suffering himself to be so called, and to be worshipped as if he was God; by taking infallibility to himself, and setting up image worship, and obliging persons to it: he reproaches and blasphemes the Son of God, in whom the name of God is, by pretending to be his vicar on earth, and head of the church; to transubstantiate the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ; and to offer him up again in the blasphemous service of the mass: he reproaches and blasphemes his Gospel, which is his name, Act 9:15, by introducing doctrines contrary to it, as the doctrines of merit, of works of supererogation, and justification by works; and the Scriptures, which bear the name and authority of God, by making them a nose of wax, taking upon himself to be the infallible interpreter of Scripture, and sole judge of controversies; by setting up his own unwritten traditions upon an equality with them, and forbidding the use of them to the people in their mother tongue: and he reproaches and blasphemes his name and authority by assuming it to himself in civil things, deposing and setting up kings at his pleasure; in religious affairs, dispensing with the laws of God, and teaching for doctrines the commandments of men; yea, in matters of salvation, giving out pardons and indulgences, pretending to open and shut heaven at pleasure. Moreover, these terms may be understood of many enemies and adversaries, even of all the enemies of the grace of God, and person of Christ; such reproach and blaspheme the name of God the Father; by denying some of his perfections, as his sovereignty, omniscience, and punitive justice, and by charging his decrees with injustice, insincerity, and cruelty; they reproach and blaspheme the name of Christ, by denying his deity, eternal sonship, and distinct personality, and by speaking contemptuously of his righteousness, blood, and sacrifice; and they do despight unto the Spirit of grace, and speak evil of his person, and the operations of his grace on the souls of men; and such a day of rebuke and blasphemy is the present one: and these things give good men that observe them a great concern for the name of God, who are ready to fear there will be no end to these reproaches and blasphemies; but there will, the time is coming when the name of the Lord will be excellent in all the earth, and the Lord alone shall be exalted; but it is not known how long it will be to it.

Gill: Psa 74:11 - Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even that right hand // pluck it out of thy bosom Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even that right hand?.... By which is meant the power of God; by which he made the heavens and the earth, and all thing...

Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even that right hand?.... By which is meant the power of God; by which he made the heavens and the earth, and all things therein, and supports them in their beings; by which the work of his grace is wrought in the hearts of his people, and they are upheld; and by which he conquers their enemies, and saves them: this may be said to be withdrawn when he denies his people the help and succour they have had from him; when he seems to have forsaken the work of his hands; when there is not that success in the ministry of the word there formerly was, his arm being not revealed and made bare; and when the enemies of religion prosper and get ground; and when the Lord seems to be altogether inactive and unconcerned, like a man that folds up his arms under his arm holes, or hides his hands in his bosom, see Psa 44:23 wherefore it follows:

pluck it out of thy bosom; as he will one day, and strike with a home blow, antichrist and his followers, and destroy them with his rod of iron, with which he will break them in shivers as a potter's vessel; and all his enemies shall feel the lighting down of his arm with the indignation of his anger; and then this request will be fulfilled: the word used signifies to "consume" a; and Kimchi interprets it, consume the enemy out of thy bosom, which is the house of the sanctuary; his secret place, as the bosom is to man; but both senses of the word maybe retained, and the meaning be, pluck it out of thy bosom to consume them b: also it signifies to restrain c; and the sense may be, as the above writer observes, restrain it, that it may not return to thy bosom, till thou hast executed judgment on the wicked.

Gill: Psa 74:12 - For God is my King of old // working salvation in the midst of the earth // in the midst of the earth For God is my King of old,.... Or "but God", or "verily God", &c. d; for these words contain the church's consolation under all the above melancholy c...

For God is my King of old,.... Or "but God", or "verily God", &c. d; for these words contain the church's consolation under all the above melancholy circumstances, taken from what God was, and had been to her, even Christ, who is God over all; he was her King by the constitution and designation of his Father, and so he had been of old, even from everlasting; for so early was he set up as King; and he had in all ages been exercising his kingly office for the good of his church, and continued to do so; and this was her comfort, and is the comfort of saints in the worst of times, that Zion's King reigneth, see Psa 46:1.

working salvation in the midst of the earth; it is "salvations" e in the plural number, and means both spiritual and eternal salvation, which the Lord has wrought out; and is continually applying to his people; and temporal salvation, which the Lord has been and is daily working out; he continually protecting his people, and saving them from their enemies, and delivering them out of their afflictions and temptations; and which the church considers and improves into an argument to encourage her faith, and expect the time when her walls would be salvation, and her gates praise; and she should have reason to say, now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ; and give him all the glory of it; see Isa 60:18, which salvation, as it has been, so will be wrought

in the midst of the earth; meaning not in the midst of the land of Judea, or in Judea, the middle of the world, but openly and publicly in all the earth; though Cyril of Jerusalem says f Golgotha is the midst of the earth, where Christ suffered and wrought out salvation; and that it is here referred to.

Gill: Psa 74:13 - Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength // thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength,.... This and the following instances from hence to Psa 74:18 are proofs of God's working salvation in the m...

Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength,.... This and the following instances from hence to Psa 74:18 are proofs of God's working salvation in the midst of the earth; some of them seem peculiar to the people of Israel, and others are benefits common to mankind in general; which the church makes use of to encourage her faith and hope, in expectation of salvation, and deliverance out of her present distressed and melancholy circumstances. This seems to refer to the Lord's dividing of the Red sea into parts by a strong east wind, while Moses lifted up his rod and stretched out his hand as he was ordered, as a token of the divine power, and so the children of Israel passed through it as on dry land, Exo 14:21, and he that did this can make way for his redeemed ones to return to Zion with everlasting joy, Isa 51:10. Some render the words, "thou hast broken the sea by thy strength" g; subdued and conquered it, and so hast the dominion over it, rulest the raging of it, settest bounds to it, and hast ordered its proud waves to go so far and no farther; and thus the Arabic version, "thou hast made it to stand"; and the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "thou hast confirmed it": but our version is best, which refers it to the work of God at the Red sea, and with which the Targum agrees; and Aben Ezra observes, that some refer it to the dividing of the Red sea:

thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters: or great whales, as the word is rendered in Gen 1:21, by which are meant Pharaoh and his generals, his captains and chief men, who were destroyed in the waters of the Red sea; comparable to dragons for their strength, for their cruelty to the children of Israel, and for their wrath and malice against them; and so, for the same reason, another Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in later times, is called the great dragon, that lies in the midst of his rivers, Eze 29:3 and the king of Babylon or of Egypt, Isa 27:1. So the Targum paraphrases it:

"thou hast broken the heads of dragons, and hast suffocated the Egyptians in the sea.''

Rome Pagan is compared to a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, which have been broken and destroyed, Rev 12:3, and Rome Papal has the power, seat, and great authority of the dragon; and though the Romish antichrist has two horns like a lamb, he speaks as a dragon, who also has seven heads and ten horns, and which ere long will be broke in pieces, see Rev 13:1, in the faith of which the church might be strengthened, by considering what God had done to the heads of the dragon in the Red sea; to which may be added that Satan is called a dragon, Psa 91:13, whose head was bruised, and his principalities and powers spoiled, by Christ at his death, and will be utterly destroyed at his second coming.

Gill: Psa 74:14 - Thou breakest the heads of leviathan in pieces // and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness Thou breakest the heads of leviathan in pieces,.... A large fish, generally thought to be the whale, by some the crocodile, described in Job 41:1 to w...

Thou breakest the heads of leviathan in pieces,.... A large fish, generally thought to be the whale, by some the crocodile, described in Job 41:1 to which the king of Egypt or Babylon is compared, Isa 27:1 and so the Romish antichrist in one of his characters is represented as a sea beast with many heads, which will all be broken in pieces in due time, Rev 13:1, as here is one "leviathan" with heads in the plural number. Aben Ezra thinks the word כל is wanting, and may be supplied thus, "thou hast broken the heads of every leviathan"; it may be interpreted as before of Pharaoh and his chief men; so the Targum,

"thou hast broken the heads of the mighty men of Pharaoh:''

and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness; either to the wild beasts, called "tziim", the word here used, Isa 13:21 and may be called a people, as the ants and coneys are, Pro 30:25, to whom the dead bodies of Pharaoh and his host, drowned in the Red sea, were given for food, when they were cast upon the shore, where the Israelites saw them dead, Exo 14:28, or to the "Ichthyophagy", a sort of people that dwelt by the Red sea, and lived on fishes; and so the Egyptians became their food, they living upon the fish which devoured their bodies, at least some of them: the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "to the people", the Ethiopians; who, it seems, living upon the borders of Egypt, took this opportunity, when Pharaoh and his host were drowned, and seized upon their country; but others refer it to the people of Israel themselves, as the Targum,

"thou hast given them for destruction to the people of the house of Israel, and their bodies to the dragons;''

and so Jarchi,

"thou hast given his mammon or riches to the people of Israel, to feed their companies and armies;''

and Kimchi interprets it of the spoil of the sea which the Israelites took from them; and they may be truly called the people inhabiting the wilderness, since they were in one forty years; so the Romish "leviathan", or antichristian whore, will be given to the Christian kings, who will hate her, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; and to the Christian church, which now is in the wilderness, where it is nourished for a time and times, and half a time.

Gill: Psa 74:15 - Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood // thou driedst up mighty rivers Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood,.... That is, the rocks at Horeb and at Kadesh, from whence water flowed as out of a fountain, and became...

Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood,.... That is, the rocks at Horeb and at Kadesh, from whence water flowed as out of a fountain, and became a flood, whereby the people of Israel were supplied with water in the wilderness, and also their beasts; and from this instance it may be concluded that God will not leave his people, nor suffer them to want, but will supply all their need while they are in the wilderness, and will open fountains and rivers for them, Isa 41:17 he himself is a fountain of living water; Christ is the fountain of gardens, and the Spirit and his grace a well of living water springing up unto everlasting life:

thou driedst up mighty rivers; the river of Jordan, called "mighty", as Kimchi says, because by its strength it overflowed all its banks and "rivers", and because other rivers flowed into it; this was dried up, or way was made through it, as on dry land, for the people of Israel to pass into Canaan, Jos 3:14, the Targum is,

"thou hast dried up the fords and brooks of Hermon, and the fords of Jabbok and Jordan;''

see Num 21:14, and the Lord, that did this, is able to dry up, and will dry up, the river Euphrates, as is foretold, Rev 16:12, that is, destroy the Turkish empire, and make way for the spread of the Gospel in the eastern parts of the world; to which reference is had in Isa 11:15.

Gill: Psa 74:16 - The day is thine, and the night also is thine // thou hast prepared the light and the sun The day is thine, and the night also is thine,.... He made the one and the other, and divided the one from the other; and can make them longer or shor...

The day is thine, and the night also is thine,.... He made the one and the other, and divided the one from the other; and can make them longer or shorter, clear or cloudy, as he pleases: and the day of prosperity and night of adversity are at his disposal; all the times of his people and of his church are in his hands; sometimes it is a night of darkness, deadness, sleepiness, and security, as it now is; ere long there will be no more night, but bright day; the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven fold as the light of seven days; and this is to be expected from him whose is the day and the night also, Rev 21:25. Jarchi interprets the day, of the redemption of Israel; and the night, of distresses and afflictions:

thou hast prepared the light and the sun; first the light, and then the sun; for the light was before the sun; or the luminary, even the sun. Aben Ezra interprets the "light" of the moon, and so the Targum; and Kimchi, both of the moon and of the stars; Jarchi takes the light figuratively to be meant of the light of the law; but it is much better to understand it of the light of the Gospel, which God has prepared, and will send forth more largely in the latter day, whereby the whole earth shall be lightened; and when Christ the "sun" of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings, and who gives both the light of grace and glory to his people.

Gill: Psa 74:17 - Thou hast set all the borders of the earth // thou hast made summer and winter Thou hast set all the borders of the earth,.... Of the whole world, and each of the nations, as of the land of Canaan, so of others, Deu 32:8, and eve...

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth,.... Of the whole world, and each of the nations, as of the land of Canaan, so of others, Deu 32:8, and even has fixed and settled the bounds of every man's habitation, Act 17:26,

thou hast made summer and winter; see Gen 8:22, which, taken literally, are great benefits to the world; and, figuratively understood, may represent the two dispensations of the law and Gospel; see Son 2:11, and the different frames of God's people when under temptations, and clouds, and darkness, and when they enjoy peace and comfort; and the different state of the church, when affected with affliction, persecution, false doctrine, deadness, and formality, which is now greatly the case; but there is a summer coming, when it will be otherwise; see Luk 21:30.

Gill: Psa 74:18 - Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord // the foolish people have blasphemed thy name Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord,.... Or "hath reproached the Lord", as the Septuagint version and others render it, and very rig...

Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord,.... Or "hath reproached the Lord", as the Septuagint version and others render it, and very rightly; though not so well the former part of the clause, which it renders, or rather paraphrases, thus: "remember this thy creation", or "creature"; as if it referred to what goes before, as day and night, light and sun, the borders of the earth, summer and winter; whereas it is to be connected with what follows, the reproach of the Lord by the enemy; and it is a prayer of the church, that God would remember the enemy and his reproaches, which seemed to be forgotten, and inflict deserved punishments on him, which will be done in due time, Rev 16:19, and that

the foolish people have blasphemed thy name; the "foolish people" are not such as want common sense, or are idiots; the blasphemers of God and Christ, and the blessed Spirit, are generally the wise and prudent of this world, from whom the things of the Gospel are hidden; but wicked and profane men: scoffers at religion, and blasphemers of Christ, his truths and ordinances, are commonly such who walk after their own ungodly lusts, who, though wise to do evil, are foolish in matters of religion: perhaps the Gentiles, which know not God, are here meant, and are so called, Deu 32:21, and it is observable, that the Papists bear the name of Gentiles in Rev 11:2, and may be the foolish people here chiefly designed, who worship images of gold, silver, brass, and wood, and are notorious for their blasphemies; See Gill on Psa 74:10.

Gill: Psa 74:19 - O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove // unto the multitude of the wicked // forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove,.... By which is meant the church, see Son 2:14, which is comparable to this creature for its cleanness and p...

O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove,.... By which is meant the church, see Son 2:14, which is comparable to this creature for its cleanness and purity, for its amiableness and beauty, for its harmlessness and innocence, for its modesty and meekness, for its affection and chastity to its mate, for its mournful and bemoaning voice for the loss of it, for its being a timorous and fearful creature, a weak one, and exposed to the prey of others; all which is true of the church, and may be applied to it: the Targum is,

"do not deliver the souls of them that teach thy law;''

the word having some affinity with "torah", the law; but Jarchi says, that Jonathan, in his Targum (which is not now extant) interprets it a turtle; the Syriac version, by the change of a letter, renders it, "the soul that confesseth thee": and the Arabic version, by a like change, and the addition of a letter, "the soul that knows thee"; all which, indeed, is applicable to the church of God; but our version expresses the true sense of the word, with which agree Jarchi, Kimchi, Ben Melech, and others: and it is a prayer of the church for herself; that the life of her members, their corporeal life (for not the soul, the better part, and its eternal concerns, are meant, which are safe in Christ's hands), might not be delivered

unto the multitude of the wicked, or "to the beast" g; to persecutors comparable to lions and bears, and particularly the Romish antichrist, often called the beast in Rev 11:8, do not deliver

"to the people, who are like to the beasts of the field, the souls of, &c.:''

forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever; the church of God is a congregation of men gathered out of the world by effectual grace, and consists chiefly of such who are literally poor, and all of them are spiritually so, and are sensible of it; for the most part they are a poor and "afflicted" h people, as the word may be also rendered, which the church is made up of; and may seem by themselves and others to be forgotten of God, when under divine desertions, or under afflictions, and immediate help is not given; but they are not forgotten, and still less for ever; see Isa 49:14.

Gill: Psa 74:20 - Have respect unto the covenant // for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty Have respect unto the covenant,.... The Targum adds, "which thou hast made with our fathers;'' meaning not the covenant of works, which being br...

Have respect unto the covenant,.... The Targum adds,

"which thou hast made with our fathers;''

meaning not the covenant of works, which being broken, no good thing was to be expected from it, not liberty, life, nor eternal salvation, but all the reverse; but the covenant of grace, made with Christ before the world was, and made manifest to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to David, and others: this God has a respect unto, and does look unto it; he looks to the surety and Mediator of it, which is Christ, for the fulfilment of all conditions in it; to the promises of it, that they may be made good; to the blessings of it, that they be bestowed upon the persons to whom they belong; to the blood of it, for the delivering of the church's prisoners, and the salvation of them from wrath to come; and to the persons interested in it, that they be all called and brought safe to glory; and particularly to the things in it, respecting the glory of the church in the latter day, and increase of its members, and of its light, which seem chiefly designed here; and therefore it follows:

for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty; many places of the earth are in gross darkness as to the knowledge of spiritual and divine things; even all those places which are inhabited by Pagans, Mahometans, and Papists, which make a great part of the globe; and in these dark places cruelty reigns, and especially in the antichristian states; wherefore the church pleads the covenant of God and his promises, that he would send forth his light and his truth, and cover the earth with the knowledge of the Lord, which is now covered with gross darkness, and under the tyranny and oppression of the man of sin.

Gill: Psa 74:21 - O let not the oppressed return ashamed // let the poor and needy praise thy name O let not the oppressed return ashamed,.... From the throne of grace, not having an answer of their prayer, but still continuing under the oppressions...

O let not the oppressed return ashamed,.... From the throne of grace, not having an answer of their prayer, but still continuing under the oppressions of their enemies:

let the poor and needy praise thy name; let them have occasion for it, by the destruction of their enemies, and their deliverance from them, as they will have ere long; see Rev 19:1.

Gill: Psa 74:22 - Arise, O God, plead thine own cause // remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily Arise, O God, plead thine own cause,.... The church's cause being the cause of God; and therefore she desires that he would arise and exert himself, a...

Arise, O God, plead thine own cause,.... The church's cause being the cause of God; and therefore she desires that he would arise and exert himself, and take vengeance on his and her enemies: this is an interesting argument, and a forcible one:

remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily; this being so frequently repeated, as in Psa 74:10, shows how much the name and glory of God lay near her heart; the Targum is,

"remember the reproach of thy people by a foolish king all the day;''

perhaps the man of sin is meant, the king of the locusts, and angel of the bottomless pit.

Gill: Psa 74:23 - Forget not the voice of thine enemies // the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually Forget not the voice of thine enemies,.... Their roaring in the midst of the sanctuary and the congregation, Psa 74:4, their reproaching and blasphemi...

Forget not the voice of thine enemies,.... Their roaring in the midst of the sanctuary and the congregation, Psa 74:4, their reproaching and blaspheming voice, Psa 74:10,

the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually, or "ascendeth" i; goes up to God, and is taken notice of by him; the cry of their sins, like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of the city of Nineveh, Gen 18:20, was continually going up to God; wherefore it might be hoped and expected that vengeance in a little time would come down; see Rev 18:5, the Septuagint, and the versions that follow that, render it, "the pride of those", &c. all these petitions are prayers of faith, and are, or will be, heard and answered; upon which will follow thanksgivings, with which the next psalm begins.

buka semua
Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

NET Notes: Psa 74:1 Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.

NET Notes: Psa 74:2 Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).

NET Notes: Psa 74:3 Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:4 Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to ...

NET Notes: Psa 74:5 Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.

NET Notes: Psa 74:6 This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. An Akkadian cognate refers to a “pickaxe” (cf. NEB “hatchet and pick”; NIV “...

NET Notes: Psa 74:7 Heb “to the ground they desecrate the dwelling place of your name.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:8 Heb “they burn down all the meeting places of God in the land.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:9 Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:11 Heb “Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? From the midst of your chest, destroy!” The psalmist pictures God as having pla...

NET Notes: Psa 74:12 Heb “in the midst of the earth.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:13 The Hebrew text has the plural form, “sea monsters” (cf. NRSV “dragons”), but it is likely that an original enclitic mem has b...

NET Notes: Psa 74:14 You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them....

NET Notes: Psa 74:15 Perpetually flowing rivers are rivers that contain water year round, unlike the seasonal streams that flow only during the rainy season. Perhaps the p...

NET Notes: Psa 74:16 Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:17 Heb “summer and winter, you, you formed them.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:18 Or “[how] the enemy insults the Lord.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:19 Heb “do not forget forever.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:20 Heb “for the dark places of the earth are full of dwelling places of violence.” The “dark regions” are probably the lands wher...

NET Notes: Psa 74:21 Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! The statement is metonymic. The point is this: May the oppressed be delivered from their enemies! Then th...

NET Notes: Psa 74:22 Heb “remember your reproach from a fool all the day.”

NET Notes: Psa 74:23 Heb “the roar of those who rise up against you, which ascends continually.”

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:1 "Maschil of Asaph." O God, ( a ) why hast thou cast [us] off for ever? [why] doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? ( a ) The Churc...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:2 Remember thy congregation, [which] thou hast purchased of old; the ( b ) rod of thine inheritance, [which] thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherei...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they ( c ) set up their ensigns [for] signs. ( c ) They have destroyed your true religion, and ...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:5 [A man] was famous according as he had ( d ) lifted up axes upon the thick trees. ( d ) He commends the temple for the costly matter, the excellent w...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:8 They said in their ( e ) hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. ( e ) They encouraged one a...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:9 We see not our signs: [there is] no more any prophet: neither [is there] among us any that knoweth ( f ) how long. ( f ) They lamented that they had ...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? ( g ) pluck [it] out of thy bosom. ( g ) They join their deliverance with God's glory and power, ...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:12 For God [is] my King of old, working salvation ( h ) in the midst of the earth. ( h ) Meaning in the sight of all the world.

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the ( i ) dragons in the waters. ( i ) That is, Pharaoh's army.

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:14 Thou brakest the heads of ( k ) leviathan in pieces, [and] gavest him [to be] ( l ) meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. ( k ) Which was a g...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:16 The ( m ) day [is] thine, the night also [is] thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. ( m ) Seeing that God by his providence governs and di...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:19 O deliver not the soul of thy ( n ) turtledove unto the multitude [of the wicked]: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. ( n ) He means t...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:20 Have respect unto the covenant: for ( o ) the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. ( o ) That is, all places where your w...

Geneva Bible: Psa 74:22 Arise, O God, plead thine ( p ) own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. ( p ) He shows that God cannot permit his Church to b...

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Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

MHCC: Psa 74:1-11 - --This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is...

MHCC: Psa 74:12-17 - --The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's do...

MHCC: Psa 74:18-23 - --The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of such as revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to...

Matthew Henry: Psa 74:1-11 - -- This psalm is entitled Maschil - a psalm to give instruction, for it was penned in a day of affliction, which is intended for instruction; and t...

Matthew Henry: Psa 74:12-17 - -- The lamenting church fastens upon something here which she calls to mind, and therefore hath she hope (as Lam 3:21), with which she encourages her...

Matthew Henry: Psa 74:18-23 - -- The psalmist here, in the name of the church, most earnestly begs that God would appear fro them against their enemies, and put an end to their pres...

Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 74:1-3 - -- The poet begins with the earnest prayer that God would again have compassion upon His church, upon which His judgment of anger has fallen, and would...

Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 74:4-8 - -- The poet now more minutely describes how the enemy has gone on. Since קדשׁ in Psa 74:3 is the Temple, מועדיך in Psa 74:4 ought likewise t...

Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 74:9-11 - -- The worst thing the poet has to complain of is that God has not acknowledged His people during this time of suffering as at other times. "Our signs"...

Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 74:12-17 - -- With this prayer for the destruction of the enemies by God's interposition closes the first half of the Psalm, which has for its subject-matter the ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 74:18-23 - -- The poet, after he has thus consoled himself by the contemplation of the power of God which He has displayed for His people's good as their Redeemer...

Constable: Psa 73:1--89:52 - --I. Book 3: chs 73--89 A man or men named Asaph wrote 17 of the psalms in this book (Pss. 73-83). Other writers w...

Constable: Psa 74:1-23 - --Psalm 74 The writer appears to have written this psalm after one of Israel's enemies destroyed the sanct...

Constable: Psa 74:1-2 - --1. A call for God to remember His people 74:1-2 Evidently Israel was suffering under the oppress...

Constable: Psa 74:3-9 - --2. A lament over the enemy's destruction 74:3-9 74:3 There is no record that any of Israel's enemies ever destroyed the temple in David's day to the e...

Constable: Psa 74:10-17 - --3. An appeal for divine help 74:10-17 The psalmist pleaded for God to help His people and to sub...

Constable: Psa 74:18-23 - --4. An appeal to the covenant 74:18-23 The writer also appealed for action because of God's reput...

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Tafsiran/Catatan -- Lainnya

Evidence: Psa 74:9 There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than the doctrine of hell, if it lay in my power. But it has the full suppo...

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Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

JFB: Psalms (Pendahuluan Kitab) The Hebrew title of this book is Tehilim ("praises" or "hymns"), for a leading feature in its contents is praise, though the word occurs in the title ...

JFB: Psalms (Garis Besar) ALEPH. (Psa 119:1-8). This celebrated Psalm has several peculiarities. It is divided into twenty-two parts or stanzas, denoted by the twenty-two let...

TSK: Psalms (Pendahuluan Kitab) The Psalms have been the general song of the universal Church; and in their praise, all the Fathers have been unanimously eloquent. Men of all nation...

TSK: Psalms 74 (Pendahuluan Pasal) Overview Psa 74:1, The prophet complains of the desolation of the sanctuary; Psa 74:10, He moves God to help in consideration of his power; Psa 74...

Poole: Psalms (Pendahuluan Kitab) OF PSALMS THE ARGUMENT The divine authority of this Book of PSALMS is so certain and evident, that it was never questioned in the church; which b...

MHCC: Psalms (Pendahuluan Kitab) David was the penman of most of the psalms, but some evidently were composed by other writers, and the writers of some are doubtful. But all were writ...

MHCC: Psalms 74 (Pendahuluan Pasal) (Psa 74:1-11) The desolations of the sanctuary. (Psa 74:12-17) Pleas for encouraging faith. (Psa 74:18-23) Petitions for deliverances.

Matthew Henry: Psalms (Pendahuluan Kitab) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Psalms We have now before us one of the choicest and most excellent parts of all the Old Te...

Matthew Henry: Psalms 74 (Pendahuluan Pasal) This psalm does so particularly describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, by Nebuchadnezzar and the army of the Chaldeans, and can so i...

Constable: Psalms (Pendahuluan Kitab) Introduction Title The title of this book in the Hebrew Bible is Tehillim, which means...

Constable: Psalms (Garis Besar) Outline I. Book 1: chs. 1-41 II. Book 2: chs. 42-72 III. Book 3: chs. 73...

Constable: Psalms Psalms Bibliography Allen, Ronald B. "Evidence from Psalm 89." In A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus,...

Haydock: Psalms (Pendahuluan Kitab) THE BOOK OF PSALMS. INTRODUCTION. The Psalms are called by the Hebrew, Tehillim; that is, hymns of praise. The author, of a great part of ...

Gill: Psalms (Pendahuluan Kitab) INTRODUCTION TO PSALMS The title of this book may be rendered "the Book of Praises", or "Hymns"; the psalm which our Lord sung at the passover is c...

Gill: Psalms 74 (Pendahuluan Pasal) INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 74 Maschil of Asaph. Some think that Asaph, the penman of this psalm, was not the same that lived in the times of David, but ...

Advanced Commentary (Kamus, Lagu-Lagu Himne, Gambar, Ilustrasi Khotbah, Pertanyaan-Pertanyaan, dll)


TIP #32: Gunakan Pencarian Khusus untuk melakukan pencarian Teks Alkitab, Tafsiran/Catatan, Studi Kamus, Ilustrasi, Artikel, Ref. Silang, Leksikon, Pertanyaan-Pertanyaan, Gambar, Himne, Topikal. Anda juga dapat mencari bahan-bahan yang berkaitan dengan ayat-ayat yang anda inginkan melalui pencarian Referensi Ayat. [SEMUA]
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