John Calvin Commentary Psalms 74:5

"They seemed as men that lifted up Axes upon a thicket of trees." — Psalms 74:5 (ASV)

He who lifted up the axe upon the thick trees was renowned. The prophet again further emphasizes the barbarous and brutal cruelty of his countrymen’s enemies, because they savagely demolished an edifice built at such vast expense, embellished with such beauty and magnificence, and finished with such great labor and art.

There is some obscurity in the words; but they are almost universally understood to mean that when the temple was about to be built, those who cut and prepared the wood required for it were held in great reputation and renown. Some take the verb מביא, mebi, in an active sense, explaining the words to mean 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 more clearly the exquisite art with which the rough and unwrought timber was brought into a form of the greatest beauty and magnificence.

Alternatively, the prophet means—and I am inclined to think this is the more correct interpretation—that in the thick forests, where there was a vast abundance of wood, great care was taken in selecting the trees, ensuring that only those of the very best quality were cut down.

Could 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, being already of great height and exposed to view?

Whatever the case may be regarding this, the prophet, there is no doubt, in this verse commends the excellence of the material. It was selected with such care and was so exquisite that it attracted the gaze and excited the admiration of all who saw it. Similarly, in the following verse, the carved or graven work signifies 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 their object was to trample underfoot the glory of God by destroying so magnificent a structure.