3 Go up and see the unending destruction; all the evil which your haters have done in the holy place;
4 Sending out their voices like lions among your worshippers; they have put up their signs to be seen.
5 They are cutting down, like a man whose blade is lifted up against the thick trees.
6 Your doors are broken down with hammers and iron blades.
7 They have put on fire your holy place; they have made the place of your name unclean, pulling it down to the earth.
8 They have said in their hearts, Let us put an end to them all together; they have given over to the fire all God's places of worship in the land.
9 We do not see our signs: there is no longer any prophet, or anyone among us to say how long.
10 O God, how long will those who are against us say cruel things? will the hater go on looking down on your name for ever?
11 Why are you keeping back your hand, and covering your right hand in your robe?
12 For from the past God is my King, working salvation in the earth.
13 The sea was parted in two by your strength; the heads of the great sea-beasts were broken.
14 The heads of the great snake were crushed by you; you gave them as food to the fishes of the sea.
15 You made valleys for fountains and springs; you made the ever-flowing rivers dry.
16 The day is yours and the night is yours: you made the light and the sun.
17 By you all the limits of the earth were fixed; you have made summer and winter.
18 Keep this in mind, O Lord, that your haters have said cruel things, and that your name has been looked down on by a people of evil behaviour.
19 O give not the soul of your dove to the hawk; let not the life of the poor go out of your memory for ever.
20 Keep in mind your undertaking; for the dark places of the earth are full of pride and cruel acts.
21 O let not the crushed be turned back in shame; let the low man and the poor give praise to your name.
22 Up! O God, be the judge of your cause; keep in mind the bitter things which the man of evil behaviour says against you every day.
23 Keep in mind the voice of your haters; the outcry of those who come against you goes up every day.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 74
Commentary on Psalms 74 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 74
This psalm does so particularly describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, by Nebuchadnezzar and the army of the Chaldeans, and can so ill be applied to any other event we meet with in the Jewish history, that interpreters incline to think that either it was penned by David, or Asaph in David's time, with a prophetical reference to that sad event (which yet is not so probable), or that it was penned by another Asaph, who lived at the time of the captivity, or by Jeremiah (for it is of a piece with his Lamentations,) or some other prophet, and, after the return out of captivity, was delivered to the sons of Asaph, who were called by his name, for the public service of the church. That was the most eminent family of the singers in Ezra's time. See Ezra 2:41; 3:10; Neh. 11:17, 22; 12:35, 46. The deplorable case of the people of God at that time is here spread before the Lord, and left with him. The prophet, in the name of the church
In singing it we must be affected with the former desolations of the church, for we are members of the same body, and may apply it to any present distresses or desolations of any part of the Christian church.
Maschil of Asaph.
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 this instruction in general it gives us, That when we are, upon any account, in distress, it is our wisdom and duty to apply to God by faithful and fervent prayer, and we shall not find it in vain to do so. Three things the people of God here complain of:-
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 herself and silences her own complaints. Two things quiet the minds of those that are here sorrowing for the solemn assembly:-
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 present troubles. To encourage his own faith, he interests God in this matter (v. 22): Arise, O God! plead thy own cause. This we may be sure he will do, for he is jealous for his own honour; whatever is his own cause he will plead it with a strong hand, will appear against those that oppose it and with and for those that cordially espouse it. He will arise and plead it, though for a time he seems to neglect it; he will stir up himself, will manifest himself, will do his own work in his own time. Note, The cause of religion is God's own cause and he will certainly plead it. Now, to make it out that the cause is God's, he pleads,