John Gill Commentary Psalms 74

O God, why have you cast us off for ever ?
&c.]. 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 (Psalms 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, (Romans 11:1Romans 11:2) ,

why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your 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", (Zechariah 11:4Zechariah 11:7) , 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 because 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 (Deuteronomy 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.

FOOTNOTES:

• F11: Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 29. col. 984.
• F12: Vid. T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 56. 2.

Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old ,
&c.] Alluding to the redemption of the congregation of Israel out of Egypt, when they were said to be "purchased", (Exodus 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, (Acts 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, (Revelation 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", (Psalms 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 your inheritance, which you have 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 you have 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.

Lift up your 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, (Genesis 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 your 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 your 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 (xun) , forbids such a reading. The former sense is best, and most agreeable to the context;

even all that the enemy has 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, (2 Thessalonians 2:4) (Revelation 13:6) .

Your enemies roar in the midst of your 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, (Revelation 13:2Revelation 13:5Revelation 13:6) ,

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 (2 Thessalonians 2:9) (Revelation 13:14Revelation 13:16) (14:1) . 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, (Ezekiel 21:21) .

A man was famous
Or, "it was", or "is known" ^F13 ; 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
^F14 ; that is, the above things were as visible, and as well known, being as easy to be seen assuch an action is, a man being obliged to lift his axe above his head, to cut down a thick tree: or ratherthe sense is, formerly a man was famous for, and it gave him some credit and esteem, to be an hewer of woodin the forest of Lebanon, where he lifted up his axe, and cut down the thick trees for the building of thetemple, as the servants of Hiram king of Tyre did; and such an action was esteemed as if a man brought anoffering to God.

Agreeably to which is Kimchi's note,``when the temple was built, he who lifted up hisaxe upon a thick tree, to cut it down for the building, was known, as if he lifted it up above in heavenbefore the throne of glory; all so rejoiced and gloried in the building:'' and Aben Ezra interprets it ofacclamations made above on that account. The words, according to the accents, should be rendered thus, "he"or "it was known, as he that lifts up on high; even as he that lifts up on high, axes upon the thicktree".

FOOTNOTES:

• F13: (edwy) "cognitus erat", Munster; "noscitur",Cocceius; "cognoscitur, innotescit", Gejerus.
• F14: (aybmk) "velut adducens", Montanus, Gejerus;"tanquam sursum tollens et desuper inducens", Michaelis.