Psalms 74:1–11

Psalm 74 complains of the enemy's ruin of the sanctuary, after it had been rebuilt in the land. God's enemies, as faith calls them here, roar in the assemblies. Man's banners, not God's, are the signs of power. All public Jewish worship lay in ruins. Not only this — what might have been a comfort in such a time fails. There are no signs from God to meet it, no prophets, no one who knows how long — no one taught by God when He will step in with power. Still there is faith here that God will not forsake His people. And that word, "How long?", when no answer comes, turns into a cry. It cannot be for ever.

The psalm begins with a cry to God as a people abandoned by Him. He has forsaken them — not "forever," as if they were predicting the future, but "perpetually," that is, as a matter of day-by-day experience. They ask Him, as it were, to "lift His feet": to come and look at these unending desolations. Those ruins are the terrible and clear proof that He has abandoned them, for they are the ruins of His own dwelling place among them.

The believing remnant of Israel feel as though they are cast off perpetually — not "forever," but it seems endless. So they trace this to God's anger smoking against them, though they are the sheep of His pasture. They feel their troubles to be not only the persecution of enemies, but the disciplining hand of God. That is the proper way for a believer to feel his afflictions, for it is only God who can give a proper answer.

But they are "the sheep of His pasture," whom He has forsaken! This is not meant to claim any righteousness on their part. It is not that they have been teachable, obedient, submissive to government: who could claim that for them? No, it is privilege they are thinking of — His provision for them, what He had brought them into, little as they may have responded to His care. They were His assembly, His in a relationship that He Himself had formed with them: for He had purchased them; He had redeemed them. Whatever they might be, would the One who never goes back on His word deny His own work? He had chosen Zion and lived there: could He forsake it altogether?

No wonder, then, that this is another Maskil psalm — a special "instruction" for Israel in the last days.

This Psalm came true in part in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. Its complete fulfilment waits for the time of "the great tribulation." … Asaph lived at the same time as David. It is not certain that he lived to see the Temple built, yet he writes so vividly of its destruction!

It is most needful to mark the difference between God's ways in government with His people, and His ways in grace. Under the righteous government of God, the Jews have been and still are under His chastening hand, because of their sins and their refusal to repent. But the grace and love of His heart towards them never change. Mark the terms of the covenant: "And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever." This principle matters immensely — not only for Israel and the church, but for the individual Christian.

They ask that God will remember His inheritance — as though He could ever forget! God had purchased and redeemed them, as Exodus 15 plainly records. He had brought them to Mount Zion to dwell in His presence. He did not forget His own gracious work among His inheritance. He did not forget Mount Zion, the centre of His own dealings with His people.

But they are "the sheep of His pasture," whom He has forsaken like this! Not that this is meant to claim any righteousness on their part. It is not that they have been teachable, willing, obedient to God's rule — who could claim that for them? No, it is privilege they are thinking of: His provision for them, and what He had brought them into, however little they answered to His care. They were His assembly. They were His in a relationship He Himself had formed with them, for He had purchased them; He had redeemed them. Whatever they might be, would the One who never changes His mind disown His own work? He had chosen Zion and dwelt there — could He forsake it altogether?

So we see that there is no self-righteousness in this plea made with God. It rests on that covenant name, Jehovah, though for good reason the name does not appear here. But it was in the power of that name that He redeemed them out of Egypt at the first. He will be true to it. He will act according to His own nature. He does not change His mind, or alter because men alter. And the ground taken here is grace — purchase and redemption, which implies the putting away of sin.

Israel is lifted up above the nations, as the chosen inheritance of the Most High, who owns heaven and earth. Israel is the rod of His inheritance — the One who created Jacob and formed Israel to be a people for His praise (Jer. 10:16; Deut. 32:9; Isa. 43).

Here, in Psalm 74, the psalmist appeals to the fact of redemption and purchase of old in view of the present desolations. The sanctuary lay in flames, its decorations destroyed, all God's places of assembly burned. No sign of divine power remained, and no one was left to pass on the Word. Well might they cry, How long?

He pleads the covenant too, and that this cause was God's cause. This follows their mediator Moses. In his day he appealed to the fathers, to the covenant of promise, and to the honour of the name of Him who had redeemed them from Egypt (see Ex. 32:12-13).

The enemy is seen in the sanctuary. Some have applied this to the defiling of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes. But prophetically it points instead to that end time, when the enemy will defile the temple with the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15). Then the remnant who love the sanctuary tell the Lord about it, as we read in this Psalm. In a mighty prayer they plead for Him to step in.

They spread out before God the work of the enemy. They say, "Lift up your feet to the perpetual desolations." They ask God to look at the ruin the enemy has caused — a ruin that is beyond repair. The enemy has destroyed everything in the place of God's assembly. In the house of God, man has set up his own signs in place of God's signs. Instead of showing God, the house of God becomes a place to display man.

The psalm begins with a cry to God from a people who feel He has abandoned them. They do not say "forever," as if they were predicting the future. They say "perpetually" — that is, day after day they live as people He has forsaken. They beg Him, as it were, to "lift His feet," that is, to come and look at these lasting ruins. Those ruins are the terrible and plain proof that He has left them, for they are the ruins of His own dwelling place among them. But who could have done this, as long as He still owned the place in any way? How impossible for an enemy to win against God!

"Your enemies roar in the midst of your meeting place" (v. 4). Notice, they do not say "our enemies." They realize that this is much more serious. God's own enemies have found their way into what is God's property, and they set up their own business there as signs of their conquest… They have come not just to take the place over, but to destroy it. They break down and burn what was built as the dwelling of God, and they defile it.

But they are "the sheep of His pasture," and He has forsaken them like this! This is not a claim that they were righteous. It is not that they had been teachable, obedient, submissive to authority — who could claim that for them? No, they are thinking of privilege: of His provision for them, and of all He had brought them into, however little they may have responded to His care. They were His assembly, His in a relationship He Himself had formed with them, for He had bought them; He had redeemed them. Whatever they might be, would He who never changes His mind deny His own work? He had chosen Zion and lived there: could He forsake it altogether?

The apostasy of the future runs like a strong current, and it has harmful effects on people. Psalm 74 carries us on to hear of the punishment that will follow it. What Daniel foretold is now seen as having come to pass: "The place of His sanctuary was cast down." Once the image of the Beast, that abomination of desolation, has been set up in the holy place (Matt. 24:15-21), the invasion of the land must follow, and the sanctuary must be brought low.

This is clearly a prayer of believers on Jewish ground, not on Christian ground. Christians have no such earthly sanctuary. The whole company of Christians are God's House in this present age (Eph. 2:22; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 3:15), and Christians in any one place are together God's Temple there (1 Cor. 3:16)… So it is a believer within Judaism who speaks here.

They feel their troubles to be not only persecution from enemies, but the disciplining hand of God. That is the right way for a believer to feel his afflictions, because only God can give a proper answer.

Psalm 74 complains of the hostile destruction of the sanctuary, when it had been rebuilt in the land. God's enemies, as faith here calls them, roar in the congregations. Man's flags, not God's, are the signs of power. All public Jewish worship lay in ruins.

"Your enemies roar in the midst of your meeting place" (v. 4). Notice, they do not say, "our enemies." They realise this is much more serious. God's own enemies have found their way into what belongs to God, and they set up their own business as signs of their conquest. This was similar to those who were buying and selling in the temple in the Lord's time, and whom He threw out.

The enemies now roar in the middle of it. They set up their flags — human, and perhaps idolatrous, witnesses of pride — as the rallying points of power and confidence.

There is worse still. In the very place where people had seen only the marks of the worship of the true God, "they set up their signs as signs." Delitzsch says: "By 'signs' we must not understand military flags. The setting is the Temple, where other marks replaced Israel's own national marks. So the word must carry the religious sense it has when it is used of circumcision and of the Sabbath."

On the outside, things look at their worst. The ravaging goes unchecked. The sanctuary lies desolate. There is roaring in the assemblies. Man's sign is the only sign in view anywhere. There is no voice even from God, no prophet, and no one who knows "how long." Yet faith owns God as "my King" from of old, and owns His mighty deliverances.

The wrath of God was "smoking over the sheep of His pasture," and the enemy had acted wickedly in the sanctuary. He roared in the middle of His congregations, set up his flags for signs, broke down the carved work at once with axes and hammers, and threw fire into the sanctuary, leaving a scene of ruin. Yet the most hopeless of all these things was this: "there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knows how long."

Matthew Henry in his commentary says, "It was to be the temple of the God of peace, so no iron tool must be heard in it. Quietness and silence both suit and help worship. God's work should be done with as much care and as little noise as possible. Men threw down the temple with axes and hammers, and those who did it roared in the middle of the congregation (Ps. 74:4, 6). But it was built up in silence. Noise and violence often hinder, but never advance the work of God."

In Psalm 74 we have a lament of Asaph about the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. He tells us that at one time a man was counted famous for going to Lebanon. There he cut down trees with an axe, and shaped them with a hammer to decorate the temple. He used destructive tools in the right way. Remember that when they built the temple, the workmen used neither tool inside the house itself. We learn from this Psalm that they used them outside the house, to get material for building it. There have been famous men in our own day who, by the gospel, cut men down from their high places in this world. In that way they helped to produce spiritual material for the house of God. But Asaph goes on to say that men were now using the axes and hammers inside the temple — not outside — and destroying the skilled work of others.

Men once famous for felling trees now spending their strength destroying the sanctuary of God. Heart-breaking to those who loved the house for the sake of the One who dwelt there.

This was much used in the Temple. "Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers." They were then overlaid with gold. 1 Kings 6:18, 29-35. In prophecy the Psalmist mourns as the enemy breaks it down with axes and hammers. Ps. 74:6.

Everything that speaks of the beauty of God's house — the carved work — they break down without pity. They care no more about it than a man cutting down trees in a wood.

Notice, they do not say, "our enemies." They realize that this is much more serious. God's own enemies have found their way into what is God's property, and they set up their own business there as signs of their conquest… Rather than using axes to cut down trees outside, they were using them to break down the carved work of the sanctuary (v. 5). For they have come, not simply to take possession, but to destroy.

In part this Psalm was fulfilled in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. Its complete fulfilment waits for "the great tribulation."… Asaph lived in David's day. It is not certain that he lived to see the Temple built, yet he writes so vividly of its destruction! The spirit of prophecy is divinely wonderful.

It is much easier to drive people out than to get them in. One has had the sad experience of seeing men stir up discord in the gatherings. As a result, people have been driven away. How much more blessed it would have been to work for the conversion of others, and to help them become material that beautifies the house of God… Destruction or construction, which is true of us?

Modernism is destructive, not constructive. It deals in subtraction and knows nothing of real helpfulness. It robs and leaves one the poorer. It takes away the fine gold and leaves the dross. In short, it is unbelief dressed up as religion — unbelief with a hypocritical veneer.

This was used a great deal in the Temple: "Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers." They were then overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:18, 29-35). The Psalmist, speaking as a prophet, laments that the enemy breaks it down with axes and hammers (Ps. 74:6). For the 'carved images' of idolatry (Judges 18:18; 2 Chron. 33:7, 22; 34:3-4) another word is used, which is elsewhere translated 'graven image.'

They break down everything that speaks of the beauty of God's house — the carved work — without pity, as casually as a man cutting down trees in a wood. God's house is defiled, and the enemy aims to destroy every meeting place of God's people throughout the land.

He tells us that a man was once counted famous for going to Lebanon, cutting down trees with an axe, and shaping them with a hammer to decorate the temple. He used destructive tools in the right way. Remember that when the temple was built, neither of these tools was used in the house itself. This Psalm shows us that they were used outside the house, to get material for building it. In our own day there have been famous men who used the gospel to cut people down from their high places in this world, and so helped to produce spiritual material for the house of God. But Asaph goes on to say that the axes and hammers were now being used inside the temple, not outside, and the skilled work of others was being destroyed.

No trace of human tools appeared while the temple was being built. It went up in silence. No one heard an axe or a hammer. It was the work of God, and everything was prepared beforehand.

Notice, they do not say "our enemies." They realise this is much more serious: God's own enemies have found their way into what is God's property, setting up their own affairs there as signs of their conquest… Instead of using axes to cut down trees outside, they were using them to break down the carved work of the sanctuary (v. 5). They have come not simply to take possession, but to destroy.

Nothing but malice seems to guide the hands and strengthen the arms of these invaders of the holy places. They look like men levelling trees in a thicket. But no — it is the carved work of the sanctuary that they smash without mercy, with axes and hammers.

In part this Psalm was fulfilled in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. But its full fulfilment waits for the time of "the great tribulation"… Men once famous for felling trees now spend their strength destroying the sanctuary of God. It broke the hearts of those who loved the house for the sake of the One who lived in it. Asaph lived in the days of David. It is not certain that he lived to see the Temple built, yet he describes its destruction so vividly!

Every part of Israel's sorrow is here, except that they never say they feel their sin, or confess it — though verse 1 may hint at it… Every outward mark of an ordered relationship is gone.

It is much easier to drive people out than to bring them in. I have had the sad experience of seeing men busy sowing discord in the gatherings, and as a result people were driven away. How much more blessed it would have been to work at bringing people to conversion, and to help them become material that beautifies the house of God… Destruction or construction — which is true of us?

Modernism is destructive, not constructive. It deals in subtraction and knows nothing of real helpfulness. It robs and leaves one the poorer. It takes away the fine gold and leaves the dross.

"Your enemies roar in the midst of your meeting place" (v. 4). Notice, they do not say "our enemies." Realize that this is much more serious. God's own enemies have found their way into what is God's property, and they have set up their own business there as the signs of their conquest.

They have come not just to take the place over, but to destroy it. They break it down, set it on fire and defile it — and it was built as the dwelling of God. This was not only done on the spur of the moment. They had already said in their hearts, "Let us destroy them altogether" (v. 8). It was a planned project in bitter enmity against God.

Mere malice seems to guide the hands and strengthen the arms of the invaders of the holy places. They set the sanctuary on fire and burn it to the ground, with no respect for what is holy. And this flame spreads far and wide through the land, against every place of gathering that bears the Name of the "Mighty One." Men, who are only His creatures, attack that Name with their pitiful weak arms.

In the house of God man has set up his signs in place of God's signs. Instead of showing God, the house of God becomes a place for putting man on display.

The temple built by Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonians. This was the beginning of the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). The glory had departed from the temple. The sentence passed was, "Lo-ammi, not My people."

This Psalm describes the strong current of the turning away from God that is still in the future. Here in Psalm 74 we learn of the complete ruin of the sanctuary that follows that turning away. Then we hear true saints pleading with God.

After the enemy had wrecked the sanctuary and left it in ruins, the most hopeless thing of all was this: no prophet was left, and no one could tell how long it would last. Even in the worst disaster there is some comfort while you can still see the end of it, and while someone is there who can say how long it will last.

The people of God turn away from the cruelty and blasphemy of lawless wickedness and appeal to Him who long ago had taken Israel's name as His own. He had lived at Zion. He had bought the people and redeemed the land to be His own... So His Name is the only ground of this appeal.

Christians have no such earthly sanctuary. In this present age, all Christians together are God's House (Eph. 2:22; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 3:15). And in any one place, the Christians there are together God's Temple (1 Cor. 3:16).

They have come not simply to take what is there, but to destroy. They break down what was built as God's dwelling, they set it on fire, and they defile it. This was not done on the spur of the moment. They had already said in their hearts, "We will utterly subdue them" (v. 8). It was a planned project in bitter hostility toward God, and the fire had destroyed "all the meeting places of God in the land."

In the Old Testament of the King James Version this word appears only once, in Psalm 74:8. But the same Hebrew word (moed) is translated 'congregation' many times. Darby, and the margin of the Revised Version, translate it in Psalm 74:8 as "places of assembly." … The main thought is 'congregation' or 'gathering.' As far as anyone knows, there were no buildings called synagogues in Old Testament times.

Then they set it on fire and burn it to the ground, treating what is holy as common. And this flame spreads far and wide through the land against every place of gathering that owns the Name of the "Mighty One." So the weak, pitiful arms of men attack that Name — and those men are His own creatures.

Only those serving God were meant to walk in the sacred courts, but pagan invaders have defiled them with their feet. They have also tried to wipe out every trace of true worship in the land (v. 8).

This is clearly a prayer of saints on Jewish ground, not on Christian ground. Christians have no such earthly sanctuary. In this present age the whole company of Christians is God's House (Eph. 2:22; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 3:15), and in any one place the Christians there are together God's Temple (1 Cor. 3:16).

They burn all the meeting places of God (verse 8). For in that day there will be a man who wants to take the place of God. He will not allow anyone's requests to be made to anyone but himself. Darius is a picture of this (Dan. 6). But the king he pictures will do as he pleases, and not follow the advice of others. He will exalt himself above every god, and speak astonishing things against the God of gods (Dan. 11:36; 2 Thess. 2:4).

This Psalm was fulfilled in part in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. Its full fulfilment still waits for the time of "the great tribulation." The King of the North will come down with overwhelming armies. Because of the evil of the mass of the Jewish people, he will be allowed to take out his vengeance on the land and the sanctuary (Dan. 11:40; Joel 2).

And who knows the limit? There is no prophet any more: there is none who knows how long. But here evil at its worst stirs up the appeal to God again — and He does know.

Psalm 74 complains of the hostile desolation of the sanctuary, when rebuilt in the land. God's enemies, as faith here calls them, roar in the congregations. Man's ensigns, not God's, are the signs of power. All public Jewish worship was laid low. Not only this — what might have been a comfort in such a time fails. There are no signs from God to meet it, no prophets, none who know how long — that is, none taught by God when He will step in with power.

Sadly, the godly add, "We do not see our signs." In the past these signs had encouraged their faith in the living God. Now they were missing, because of the people's own lack of faith. Nor could they consult a prophet of God, for God had not raised up such a man. Also, among the people, no one had knowledge of how long this state of affairs might continue.

Among God's people there are no signs of God's work. There is no prophet to recall the people to God, or any who can give hope of any limit to the evil. There are none who can say "how long" the trial will continue.

When the wrath of God was "smoking over the sheep of His pasture," and the enemy had done wickedly in the sanctuary... the most hopeless of all these circumstances after all was this: "there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long." Even in the greatest calamity there remains some comfort as long as the end can be foreseen, and somebody is at hand who can tell how long it will last.

Psalm 74 may be taken as an expression of the very lowest extremity to which their own sin... had brought them... Yet there is faith that God will not utterly forsake His people, and the word "how long?" turns into a cry (v. 10). It cannot be "for ever."

And who knows the limit? There is no prophet any more: there is none who knows how long. But here the extremity of evil rouses afresh the appeal to God, who does know.

We have clearly a prayer of saints on Jewish, not on Christian, ground. Christians have no such earthly sanctuary... The faithful have to say, "We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long." These are dark days indeed. But this throws them upon God, as verses 10, 11 show.

He cannot cease to guide us, or where should we be? But He may not, and does not, show His action with a fallen church as with a fresh and new one. He never does. "We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long." Yet Haggai says, "My Spirit remains among you," as when they came out of Egypt. I believe faithfulness, in such a time, is a special privilege.

This leads to a fresh appeal to God. It is not now "how long" will God's people suffer, but "how long" will God allow the adversary to reproach and blaspheme His Name. If it is a question of God and the enemy, can God remain inactive? Will not God show His hand and act?

So the godly have pleaded that the enemy is attacking God's people (vv. 1-2); God's sanctuary (vv. 3-9); and God's name (v. 10).

Not only this — what might have been a comfort in such a time fails. There are no signs from God to meet it, no prophets, no one who knows how long — no one taught by God Himself when He will come in power. Still there is faith here that God will not forsake His people, and that word, How long? turns into a cry when no answer comes. It cannot be for ever. Faith rests on God's faithfulness.

And who knows the limit? But here the extremity of evil rouses a fresh appeal to God, who does know.

The heart calls on God to remember the enemy's attacks and reproaches instead of taking fright at them, for the reproach is on His name. And this is true. When the world is against His people, it is really against the Lord. If they were not His people, the world would not trouble itself much about them. God's people have to remember the same thing, and in their own weakness to remember what is at stake.

Deeply troubled, Asaph cries, "O God, how long?" In this affliction, what matters most is the question of God's glory. Will the enemy never be stopped from blaspheming His name? (v. 10). Why has God withdrawn His hand as though He were not concerned? They plead with Him (unnecessarily) to take His hand out of His bosom to destroy the enemy. God will do this in His own time and in His own way, for He cares for His own glory more rightly than we do.

Blasphemy must reach its full measure in the land and in the city where the Lord was crucified. God will be dishonoured, as He has often been before, in His sanctuary with a final provocation.

He must appear; He must vindicate Himself, for His name is openly reproached. The fool scoffs at it; and though he shows himself by this a "fool," yet how can God allow it? "Why do You withdraw Your hand?" yes, "Your right hand?" Why is the blow, which so often seems about to fall, so constantly delayed? "Get it ready from inside Your bosom!"

This leads to a fresh appeal to God. It is not now "how long" will God's people suffer, but "how long" will God allow the adversary to reproach and blaspheme His Name. If it is a question of God and the enemy, can God remain inactive? Will not God show His hand and act?

Thus the godly have pleaded that the enemy is attacking God's people (vv. 1-2); God's sanctuary (vv. 3-9); and God's name (v. 10).

Why has God withdrawn His hand as though He were not concerned? They plead with Him (unnecessarily) to take His hand out of His bosom to destroy the enemy. God will do this in His own time and in His own way, for He cares for His own glory more rightly than we do.

All the elements of Israel's sorrow are on the scene, except that they never express or confess their sense of sin — though perhaps verse 1 implies it. Every outward mark of an ordered relationship is gone. So the name Jehovah is only mentioned; but faith calls on God as Elohim, bound for His own sake to step in.

It is not that they have been teachable, obedient to government: who could claim this for them? No, it is privilege that they are thinking of — of His provision for them, of what He had brought them into, little as they may have responded to His care. They were His assembly, His in a relationship which He Himself had formed with them: for He had purchased them; He had redeemed them. Whatever they were, would the One who never changes His mind disown His own work? He had chosen Zion and lived there: could He forsake it completely?

Still there is faith here that God will not forsake His people. That word, How long?, if there is no answer to it, turns into a cry. It cannot be for ever. Faith trusts God's faithfulness. In the past He had struck Egypt and delivered His people through a divided sea. All power in creation was His.

To no event before the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans can reference here have been made. Twice has the Temple been destroyed — first by the Chaldeans, centuries before Christ; and the second time by the Romans. Between those two events the house was desecrated but never burned. In the days of Antiochus Epiphanes only the temple doors were burned, and not the house itself.

This has been applied to the defilement of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes. But prophetically it points instead to the end time, when the enemy will defile the temple with the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15).