Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 74
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 74
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 74
"O God, why hast thou cast [us] off for ever? Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, Which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thine inheritance; [And] mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins, All the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary. Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly; They have set up their ensigns for signs. They seemed as men that lifted up Axes upon a thicket of trees. And now all the carved work thereof They break down with hatchet and hammers. They have set thy sanctuary on fire; They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name [by casting it] to the ground. They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether: They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. We see not our signs: There is no more any prophet; Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? Why drawest thou back thy hand, even thy right hand? [Pluck it] out of thy bosom [and] consume [them]." — Psalms 74:1-11 (ASV)
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 spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things God had done for them.
If the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt was encouragement to hope that he would not cast them off, much more reason have we to believe, that God will not cast off any whom Christ has redeemed with his own blood. Infidels and persecutors may silence faithful ministers, and shut up places of worship, and say they will destroy the people of God and their religion together.
For a long time they may prosper in these attempts, and God's oppressed servants may see no prospect of deliverance; but there is a remnant of believers, the seed of a future harvest, and the despised church has survived those who once triumphed over her. When the power of enemies is most threatening, it is comfortable to flee to the power of God by earnest prayer.
"Yet God is my King of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: Thou brakest the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces; Thou gavest him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness. Thou didst cleave fountain and flood: Thou driedst up mighty rivers. The day is thine, the night also is thine: Thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: Thou hast made summer and winter." — Psalms 74:12-17 (ASV)
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 doing; no one else could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties.
The God of Israel is the God of nature. He who is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night will never cast off those whom he has chosen. We have as much reason to expect affliction as to expect night and winter. But we have no more reason to despair of the return of comfort than to despair of day and summer. And in the world above, we will have no more changes.
"Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Jehovah, And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name. Oh deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast: Forget not the life of thy poor for ever. Have respect unto the covenant; For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence. Oh let not the oppressed return ashamed: Let the poor and needy praise thy name. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the day. Forget not the voice of thine adversaries: The tumult of those that rise up against thee ascendeth continually. " — Psalms 74:18-23 (ASV)
The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of those who revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to all. Let us call upon our God to enlighten the dark nations of the earth; and to rescue his people, that the poor and needy may praise his name. Blessed Saviour, you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. Make your people more than conquerors. Be, Lord, all in all to them in every situation and circumstance; for then your poor and needy people will praise your name.
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