Psalm 74:1 ¶ «Maschil of
Asaph.» O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine
anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 2
Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the
rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion,
wherein thou hast dwelt. 3 Lift up thy
feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath
done wickedly in the sanctuary. 4 Thine
enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for
signs. 5 A man was famous according
as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. 6 But now they break down the carved work
thereof at once with axes and hammers. 7
They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting
down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. 8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy
them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
9 We see not our signs: there is
no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how
long. 10 O God, how long shall the adversary
reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? 11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right
hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
This Psalm has been said by various commentators to have been
written not by the Maschil of David’s time but someone writing at different
times like the future Babylonian captivity or even another time. Others have
noted how this will apply to the end times and we can see events in the time in
which he live now that parallel some of these thoughts.
It seems that they should know why God was angry with His people
due to their disobedience and idolatry so I am more inclined to believe that
this was written during David’s struggles against his son’s rebellion or some
like catastrophe such as the census that was taken out of God’s will that
resulted in such disaster.
In a time of civil war where the kingdom appears to being in
danger of being destroyed it is a likely prayer. We are your people, God, so why are you
destroying us?
Psalm 60:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with
Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the
valley of salt twelve thousand.» O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast
scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
The Psalmist eloquently reminds God that these are His people,
purchased and redeemed, and this is where He has dwelt with His people.
Psalm 106:40 Therefore was
the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his
own inheritance.
It seems to indicate that there are internal enemies who oppose
God, perhaps idolaters, who participate with the true God’s people in the very
sanctuary, the congregation of God.
This could easily be a prayer in time of rebellion, in the chaos
of civil war, so many of which the details have been left out in the Bible
narrative. The Psalmist laments the
enemies of God, the destruction of the local places of assembly, and what
appears to be God just standing by and doing nothing about it.
Psalm 10:1 ¶ Why standest
thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
Whatever the occasion for which this was written we can understand
this lamentation in places like Western Europe where churches are taken over as
mosques, where priests and preachers are murdered, men are beheaded, where
women are raped, and children are slaughtered, wondering why God appears to be
doing nothing about it. We can see this in places like the Sudan where
Christians are enslaved, tortured, and murdered for their faith. The Psalmist,
like Christians in those places, laments the destruction of God’s people and
the appearance of inaction on the part of God Himself. We hear the battle cry
of a fierce religion on our computers, phones, and televisions and wonder when
God will act as we see the events foretold in Revelation begin to come about,
or so it appears, right in front of us.
Psalm 74:12 ¶ For God is
my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength:
thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in
pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the
wilderness. 15 Thou didst cleave the
fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. 16 The day is thine, the night also is
thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth:
thou hast made summer and winter.
This salvation is not, in context, referring to eternal salvation
as presented by Christ. This, like 95% of the times the word salvation is used
in the Bible refers to something temporal. God here provided salvation for the
Hebrews in the wilderness. This is a very interesting passage in what it
suggests regarding verse 14.
Exodus 16:13
¶ And it came to pass, that at even the
quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round
about the host. 14 And when the dew that
lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small
round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they
said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said
unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the LORD hath
commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every
man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which
are in his tents. 17 And the children of
Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he
that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack;
they gathered every man according to his eating. 19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till
the morning. 20 Notwithstanding they
hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it
bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 21 And they gathered it every morning, every man
according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
The small, round piece of food that is
left after the dew is called Manna, which Strong’s says means, “What is it?”
which is also evident from the passage.
It is later called angel’s food.
Psalm
78:24 And had rained down manna upon
them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. 25 Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat
to the full.
But it is also a reference to some event
in the realm of the invisible world that we can hardly understand here in verse
14.
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in
pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Some
commentators say that dragons and leviathan are symbolic references to the Pharaoh, his army, and the Egyptian
gods. There is a veiled reference to God’s Red Sea miracle here as well or
perhaps the Jordan River crossing.
Finally, there
is the acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty over every process of our universe
from the sun to the seasons.
Notice how the Psalmist makes his complaint and plea and then
acknowledges what God has done as well as His sovereign power.
The important thing I want to impress is that these may be
references in this passage to spiritual events that accompany physical events.
This suggests to us that in everything we experience in our reality there is
something going on behind the scenes, so to speak, in the unseen spiritual
world.
Psalm 74:18 ¶ Remember
this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the
foolish people have blasphemed thy name. 19
O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the
wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. 20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark
places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let
the poor and needy praise thy name. 22
Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man
reproacheth thee daily. 23 Forget not
the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth
continually.
The Psalmist now returns to the enemy’s wicked works. He continues His plea for God to deliver His
people. I am reminding of the Tribulation here, the Jews who flee to the
wilderness chased by Satan.
Revelation 12:15 And the
serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might
cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Wicked and profane men and women, scoffers of faith, blasphemers
of God, walk after their own ungodly lusts and oppress God’s people. The
Psalmist pleas for action by God.
The turtledove, from a prophetic viewpoint, can be the
church. See Song of Solomon 2:14.
We can see the persecution
that takes place around the world in countries where a cruel and hateful god
rules, in places where mankind is his own god, and even in places where a church
rules with the government. It was difficult for Jews in history to live in
countries where a state church dominated and since they had their own faith
distinct from that church they were considered not even as citizens but as sojourners
who could be run out of town for any reason or no reason at all.
Christians are treated that way, as well, now in many countries.
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