O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
they set up their own signs for signs.
5 They were like those who swing axes
in a forest of trees.
6 And all its carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our signs;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!
12 Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You split open springs and brooks;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have regard for the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, defend your cause;
remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually! Psalm 74 ESV
A Psalm of instruction.
O God, why do you cast us off forever - This is a good time to look for sin in the camp. God has no reason to change for He is infinitely Holy, good and just, so He must always be opposed to sin whether that of strangers or His own people. Everything appears so long to us, but we may fall upon His love and mercy, go to Him in prayer with a broken and contrite heart, for these things He will accept.
- God is never weary of his people so as to abhor them, and even when his anger is turned against them, it is but for a small moment, and with a view to their eternal good. Grief in its distraction asks strange questions and surmises impossible terrors. It is a wonder of grace that the Lord has not long ago put us away as men lay aside cast off garments, but he hateth putting away, and will still be patient with his chosen. - C. H. Spurgeon
Which You have purchased of old - We do not know of God's decree from eternity until He makes it known unto us by way of Revelation. He has no part in sin, He is again, infinitely opposed, so in order to show love to sinful creatures, to give them as an inheritance to His Son, they must then be redeemed. This is the gospel, revealed through Holy Scripture and illuminated by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all those who have received the gift of faith unto repentance.
- Can he desert his blood bought and forsake his redeemed? Can election fail and eternal love cease to glow? Impossible. The woes of Calvary, and the covenant of which they are the seal, are the security of the saints. - C. H. Spurgeon
…10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ. 11 In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.… Ephesians 1: 10-12
…19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20
Your foes have roared in the midst of Your meeting place - This use to be a church, a place where men and women take their families to worship God, to hear His word, to have sin confronted. But now there is blasphemy, the preacher has been replaced by an entertainer, the worship is of self and culture. The wolves are no longer outside, but they profane Your temple from within, indulging in their fleshly wants, and encouraging men to do the same.
…9 The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, 10 and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. 11 For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie,… 2 Thessalonians 2: 9-11
- Superstition, unbelief, and carnal wisdom have endeavored to usurp the place of Christ crucified, to the grief of the church of God. The enemies without do us small damage, but those within the church cause her serious harm; by supplanting the truth and placing error in its stead, they deceive the people, and lead multitudes to destruction. As a Jew felt a holy horror when he saw an idolatrous emblem set up in the holy place, even so do we when in a Protestant church we see the fooleries of Rome, and when from pulpits, once occupied by men of God, we hear philosophy and vain deceit. - C. H. Spurgeon
They were like those who swing axes - Some destroy buildings which is enough to scatter the tares, but the true church is not a house built with hands, and so she is set apart to carry on, and when the wicked find her still praising God, homeless in the streets, then what is left but her life. Some of what is written in Psalm 74 seems to be before its time, pointing to the destruction of Solomon's temple and the desecration that took place then and in many a place of worship all over the world after. The so called "American church" is for the most part oblivious to persecution and only somewhat conscious that it is occurring elsewhere, that Bibles are illegal and men are jailed for preaching the gospel. We have found a remedy for that here, men preach a social gospel, self esteem, and Bibles are kept solely for ornamentation.
- Glorious truths, far more exquisite than the goodliest carving, are cavilled over and smashed by the blows of modern criticism. Truths which have upheld the afflicted and cheered the dying are smitten by pretentious Goths, who would be accounted learned, but know not the first principals of the truth. With sharp ridicule, and heavy blows of sophistry, they break the faith of some: and would, if it were possible, destroy the confidence of the elect themselves. Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans are but types of spiritual foes who labour to crush the truth and the people of God. - C. H. Spurgeon
There is no longer any prophet - Who will remind men? The pulpits are filled all over the world with those who have forsaken the gospel for which the early church founders toiled to keep pure. They recognized it as the power of God unto salvation, and were therefore not ashamed. Where are men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon today? They are around, they know that their is a much more sure word of prophecy, that the Scripture is all the revelation they need, that it is Christ alone, by faith alone. They realize that God's grace is unmerited and would rather point men to the cross than to themselves. These men are those who faithfully teach the Word of God, devouring, digesting every morsel, trusting not in the power of themselves, their experiences or how they feel, but in the work of the Holy Spirit to cause men to hear and see. They marvel at the grace which allows men to take part in the work of the Lord, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. It is not their opinions, formulas or traditions, but God who shows mercy.
…18And we ourselves heard this voice from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19We also have the message of the prophets, which has been confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to this message, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation.…
21For no prophecy was ever brought about through human initiative, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1: 18-21
Is the enemy to revile Your name forever - Lord, who will take up Your honor, be jealous for Your name? All we like sheep have gone astray. They have set their picture up in Your place of worship, have bowed to the gods of culture and politics, but Lord you hold the right over all, please raise men up to speak Your truth. Let us have an answer for the hope that is in us, and let us also find compassion for those who have put their hope in things that will not be left standing.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan - God's eternal nature would have known and called what was later revealed in the garden from eternity past. In Genesis He gives revelation of this in that Satan would wound the heal of the woman's seed, but Messiah would crush his head. Leviathan means twisted one, and I can think of no one so twisted as the one who would elevate themselves to a throne where they cannot sit. This is the lie of autonomy to which all fallen creatures subscribe.
iii. “The point here is that what Baal had claimed in the realm of myth, God had done in the realm of history — and done for His people, working salvation.” (Kidner) “The psalmist chose the language of Canaanite mythology to celebrate Yahweh’s victory over the nations.” (VanGemeren)
Have regard for the covenant - The plea for every believer is not upon their own words or merit, but what was promised and spoken by God. The trust is always in the surer Word of God, the covenant He made from of old, and that what He says, He will do. His word always comes to pass.
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