Psalms 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? _A Psalm of Asaph_] Concerning the Babylonish captivity, saith Kimchi; which either was here foretold by David's Asaph, or bewailed by another of that name, w... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 2. _Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased_] His complaints end not in murmuring and grunting against God; but in hum... [ Continue Reading ]
Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; [even] all [that] the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Ver. 3. _Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations_] _i.e._ Make haste to help, _accurre, advola,_ as Genesis 29:1. Or, lift up thy feet, viz. to tread down thy enemies. A metapho... [ Continue Reading ]
Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns [for] signs. Ver. 4. _Thine enemies roar_] When they give the onset, or after the victory; our roaring boys are so called by a woeful prolepsis, here, for hereafter. _ They set up their ensigns for signs_] They set them... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 74:5 [A man] was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. Ver. 5. _A man was famous according as, &c._] _i.e._ Time was when the workmen got them a name, by cutting down and fitting the timber for this building the temple, renowned throughout the whole world for costly... [ Continue Reading ]
But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. Ver. 6. _But now they break down the carved work thereof_] The Chaldeans did with military violence, and afterwards the Romans under Titus, who could not preserve it from the soldiers' fury, though he desired so to have... [ Continue Reading ]
They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled [by casting down] the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. Ver. 7. _They have cast fire inlo thy sanctuary_] Heb. They have sent thy sanctuary into the fire. So the French Papists, under the conduct of the Guises, dealt by the public me... [ Continue Reading ]
They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. Ver. 8. _Let us destroy them together_] "Them," that is, the saints; let us prey upon them, as hawks do upon doves: or "them," that is, the temples and schools; these the devil ever s... [ Continue Reading ]
We see not our signs: [there is] no more any prophet: neither [is there] among us any that knoweth how long. Ver. 9. _We see not our signs_] Those testimonies of God's special favour, the public ordinances, together with the legal ceremonies, which was then Christ in figure, _q.d._ we are utterly b... [ Continue Reading ]
O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? Ver. 10. _O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?_] When they had none to tell them how long their miseries should last, they could turn them to God to inquire (such is the boldness of faith), and witha... [ Continue Reading ]
Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck [it] out of thy bosom. Ver. 11. _Why withdrawest thou thy hand_] Some by hand understand the left hand, and so both hands are withdrawn, yea, held behind (_retrovertis_), after the manner of those that have little to do, and less to care for... [ Continue Reading ]
For God [is] my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Ver. 12. _For God is my Kiny of old_] He is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. I doubt not, therefore, but he will see to the safety of his loyal subjects. _ Working salvation in the midst of the earth_] _i.e._ Openly,... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Ver. 13. _Thou didst divide the sea, &c._] "Thou" in this and the following verses is emphatic and exclusive, _q.d._ thou, and none but thou. _ Thou brakest the heads of the dragons_] Or crocodiles. So... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, [and] gavest him [to be] meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. Ver. 14. _Thou brakest the heads of leviathan_] _i.e._ Of Pharaoh himself. See Isa 26:1 Ezekiel 29:3. Egypt is situated between two seas; and a great part of it overflowed by the ri... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. Ver. 15. _Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood_] _i.e._ _Fontium et torrentium scatebras et latebras,_ thou didst set the rock abroach once and again, Exodus 17:6 Numbers 20:11, _rescissis ipsius naturae legibus._... [ Continue Reading ]
The day [is] thine, the night also [is] thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Ver. 16. _The day is thine, the night also is thine_] He had argued with God, and strengthened his own faith from God's extraordinary works; and now he doth the like from his ordinary works in nature, with the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter._ Ver. 17. _Thou hast set all the borders of the earth_] Securing it from the overflowings of the sea, and appointing to the several nations the bounds of their habitations. _ Thou hast made summer and winter_] _Plasmast... [ Continue Reading ]
Remember this, [that] the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and [that] the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. Ver. 18. _Remember this_] Forgetfulness befalleth not the Lord; nevertheless he giveth us leave to be his remembrancers, and not to keep silence when he is concerned, Isaiah 62:6 . _ Th... [ Continue Reading ]
O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude [of the wicked]: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. Ver. 19. _O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove_] _Turturillae tuae,_ that groaneth unto thee; being not more innocent, chaste, mild, simple, and sociable, than weak, sh... [ Continue Reading ]
Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. Ver. 20. _Have respect unto the covenant_] This the Church knew to be her best plea; and, therefore, she so plieth it. _ For the dark places of the earth are full of cruelty_] That is, saith Ba... [ Continue Reading ]
O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. Ver. 21. _O let not the oppressed, &c._] _Contusus non revertatur confusus,_ let him not take the repulse, be disappointed of his expected help from heaven.... [ Continue Reading ]
Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. Ver. 22. _Plead thine own cause_] For if we miscarry, thou art sure to suffer among the proud Chaldees as an impotent God. _ Remember how the foolish man, &c._] See Psalms 74:18 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. Ver. 23. _The tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth daily_] Heb. ascendeth, viz. up to heaven, as John 1:2, there is no ho with them. _Mundi laetitia est impunita nequitia,_ I... [ Continue Reading ]