December 6, 2016

Tom Lowe

 

PSALM 74

 

 

Title: Lament for the Desolation of the City

(To the chief Musician; A Maschil of Asaph; A psalm to give instructions)

 

 

Theme: A cry for deliverance when the temple is defiled by the enemy

 

 

Psalm 74 (KJV)

 

1 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.

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.

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.

 

 

 

Introduction to Psalm 74

Psalm 74 is one of a group of 12 that are all titled “A Psalm of Asaph.” The other 11 appear as Psalms 73-83.  Asaph, a Levite, is known from the historical books as the chief Temple musician under David (1 Chronicles 15:17-19; 16:4-5), but he is not the Asaph who was the author of these twelve psalms (2 Chronicles 29:30), but a namesake among his descendants, which will be clear from the following paragraphs.

When this psalm was written, Jews were still suffering the humiliation of slander and abuse at the hands of their persecutors; however, the psalm, by itself, does not reveal when it was written.  There is a great difference of opinion among Bible scholars concerning this point.  Some think it was written during the Maccabean Age—those dark days when Antiochus Epiphanies was enacting the tyrannies which make him such a fitting type of Antichrist.  Others are equally convinced that this psalm should not be dated that late.

In contrast with those who uphold the Maccabean date, we have those who believe this psalm was written during the days of King Rehoboam, when the Egyptians invaded Jerusalem, spoiled the temple, and carried off the golden shields of Solomon as spoils of war.

It’s more likely; perhaps, that the psalm belongs to the period of the exile.  Probably it was written by one who had been an eyewitness to the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.  At that time the people of Judah were carried off in successive waves. 

While we cannot say with any degree of certainty which period this psalm reflects in history, we can be quite sure of the period it reflects in prophecy.  It anticipates the desecration of a future Jewish temple by the Antichrist.  Even though the prophets had warned that judgment was coming (2 Chronicles 36:15-21), the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple were catastrophic events that shook the people’s faith.  As he surveyed the situation, Asaph moved from despair to confidence and in the end affirmed that all was not lost.

This psalm teaches us how to pray when calamity strikes, when it seems as though God is blind and deaf to what is going on.  This psalm deals with a disaster of great magnitude.

 

Commentary

1 O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

The psalmist lifts up his voice in the familiar “Why? Why have you done this to us?” That is usually the first reaction when a disaster strikes.  Usually God does not tell us why.  He did not tell Job.  There are no answers to some questions.  No answer that reason will accept, only answers that faith will accept.  The faith of God’s people has been tested through the centuries by war and famine, by plague and pestilence, by all the common miseries of man.  So the psalmist wrestles with the magnitude of the problem.

“O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? . . .” The psalmist is in despair.  Either he does not know or else he has forgotten that Jeremiah had drawn a circle of seventy years around the captivity.  Seventy years is a long time in a captive’s experience.  A new generation arises that knows no life but life in Babylon, that has no personal memory of sanctuary, sacrifice, and psalm.  It is the seeming endlessness of the days and weeks, months and years that haunts the psalmist.  It seems to go on forever.  That, of course, is the normal feeling when circumstances close in and Heaven seems to be silent.

“. . . why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?  “The Lord has rejected us!” this was a logical conclusion anyone would draw from beholding what the Babylonians did to the city and the Temple (Lamentations 5:20-22).  But the Lord had promised not to abandon His people (Deuteronomy 4:29-31; 26:18-19), for they were His precious flock (77:20; 78:52; 79:13; 100:3; Numbers 27:17), and he was the Shepherd of Israel (80:1).  Israel was the Lord’s chosen people, and the future of the Messianic promise depended on their survival.

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.

“Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old . . .” He calls upon the Lord “to remember His congregation (church or people) . . . purchased and redeemed; and Mount Zion, the place where he has dwelt”; both seem to have been forgotten. The “congregation” pours out their lament to the Lord.  They feel that as His “congregation” (“flock”) they belonged to Him, since He has acquired (“purchased”) them.  He “redeemed” His people so that they became His own property.

Who is the “congregation?” The congregation consists of all the tribes, then the tribe of Judah, and lastly Mount Zion.  It is not strange that he mentions Judah in particular, because the calamity and captivity remembered here did primarily happen to this tribe and Benjamin, which was united with it and subject to it, and most of those that returned were from this tribe; for the majority of the other tribes were dispersed into other lands long before this verse was written, and that continued to be their situation in the psalmist’s day. 

Though the Israelites may have thought that God had forgotten them that is not how the word “remember” was used here, because remember in verse 2 doesn’t mean “call to mind,” and it’s impossible for God to forget anything.  It means “to go to work on behalf of someone.” Why did God permit a pagan nation to defeat the Jews and destroy their holy city and sacred temple, and why was He doing nothing about it.  The people of Judah thought that the presence of the Temple was their guarantee of security no matter how they lived, but the prophet Jeremiah refuted that lie (Jeremiah 7).

The “congregation” has been uprooted, the country lies desolate.  The Babylonians had slaughtered thousands upon thousands of Hebrew people and had left their land in ruins.  Forgotten by the psalmist are the dreadful sins, the prolonged idolatries, and the enormity of Judah’s and Israel’s apostasies. 

“. . . the rod of thine inheritance (better, “the tribe of thine inheritance”) which thou hast redeemed. . .” He can only remind the Lord that somehow His honor is at stake due to the present captivity of the people and chaos in the land. 

“. . . this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.” The stronghold on Mount Zion, the sanctuary on Mount Moriah—both have been shamed by the foe: “this Mount Zion wherein Thou hast dwelt.”  He gives us the geographic location.  The psalmist obviously is talking about the land of Palestine and the nation Israel. Mount Zion is often used for the Temple, or the hill of Moriah, on which it was built.

3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.

“Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations . . .” “Lift up thy feet,” (better, “Turn Thy steps toward”) he says. Many times in the past, God had intervened to save Israel, but now he seemed to be doing nothing.  Asaph prayed, “Lift up your feet!  Take your hand out of your garments! (11) After seeing this horrible sight, he wants the Lord to come quickly and restore the Temple to its former glory. The horror of it grips his soul. And now, the temple, God’s dwelling place, is in ruins!  The psalmist had vivid memories of Solomon’s temple, seeing that it had crowned the mountains of Jerusalem in glittering splendor. He could see in his mind’s eye the massive foundation stones which not even Babylonian axes could dislodge—stone quarried, transported for miles, and fitted together with a skill and precision that excites our wonder even today.  He could remember the gorgeous cedar wood that lined that temple, the costly fabrics which formed its hangings and veils, the priceless golden covering which glowed in the light of the candlestick and the Shekinah.

“. . . even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.” The loss of both God’s Temple and their beloved city was hard on the people of Jerusalem, even though they realized the judgment of God was well deserved.  In this case, the psalmist never claims innocence but wonders how long God’s anger will continue. The Israelites are still God’s sheep, whom He had delivered many times in the past.  God had indeed used the Babylonian army to impose His judgment on Judah, but the psalmist realizes that Judah’s enemies are still enemies of God as well.

Now all that was left were the ruins, heaps of blackened timbers and stones, overgrown with weeds.  Surely God could have punished His people some other way.  Why punish them in a way which seemed to broadcast either His impotence or His indifference?

4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.

The desecration of the Temple seems to bother the psalmist more than anything else. The Temple was holy, it was God’s dwelling.  The high priest could enter into the holy of holies only once a year, and only after the most elaborate ritual preparation, and he could remain there for only a moment.  All that Heaven could do to set that temple apart from profane eyes had been done.  Yet God had abandoned it to the foe. 

“Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations . . .” The temple courts had been filled with rejoicing, shouting heathens instead of reverent worshippers approaching God’s house with awe.  Their roaring (loud outcries) shouts break in on the holy calm of congregations gathered for solemn worship. The loud celebration was due either to them directing their rage and fury at the conquered and captive Israelites, who were now in their power; or they were celebrating their triumph, success and victory.  The Babylonians offended and insulted God; the psalmist points out their blatant disregard for God’s dwelling place and sanctuary. 

This is prophetic of that terrible invasion by the forces of Antiochus Epiphanes.  (He was a Syrian, in the family of one of the four generals who divided up the empire of Alexander the Great after his death).  In 175 B.C. he plundered Jerusalem, profaned the Temple by pouring the broth of a sow all over the holy vessels, and placed an image of Jupiter in the holy place. In a.d. 70 the destruction by Titus the Roman who profaned the Temple and leveled it to the ground was also a fulfillment.  However there will be further fulfillment of Asaph’s prophesy after the temple is rebuilt.  During the Tribulation the final abomination of desolation will be revealed, which will profane the holy place.  You will notice that in spite of all of this persecution and discouragement a godly remnant will say, “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth” (12).

“. . . they set up their ensigns for signs.” Now they had triumphed over Jehovah.  The enemy’s ensigns (military banners) fluttered in the breeze on top of the Temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem.  Inside the Temple, “their ensigns” had been placed on the interior walls as a visible token of their contempt both for the Temple and the God over whom they thought they had triumphed; there, where the signs of God’s presence used to be, thereby, defiling the sacred places.  This daring defiance of God and His power humiliated and upset the people and wounded their faith.

Some have related this to “the abomination that maketh desolate” of Daniel 11:31 and 12:11. And God was silent.  His congregation was reduced to speechless impotence before the evident might of the foe.

5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.

The psalmist contrasts the prowess of those who planned the Temple with the prowess of those who plundered the Temple.  The Temple of Solomon made lavish use of the great trees of Lebanon.  It was no small feat to hew down one of those giant cedars and saw it into boards.  That called for skill.  But now vandals were chopping down the sumptuous carved woodwork in the Temple and hauling it away in triumph; later it would be made into souvenirs of their prowess in destruction.

6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.

War is the most wasteful and destructive exercise of man.  That the beloved Temple should be thus hacked and hewn to pieces was more than the devout psalmist could bear to recall.  There they were, the hated foe, wantonly smashing to pieces the pride and joy of a people.  The sights and sounds of that desecration we’re too much for the psalmist.  Aren’t they clever!  Aren’t they craftsmen!  How capably they wreak destruction upon the heritage of the people of Israel!  Sarcasm mingles with his sobs.

Their violent actions are bad enough, but their arrogance toward God is far worse, so the silence of God is mystifying.  When Egypt had opposed God’s people, God had responded with many miraculous signs to free His people.  This time, however, there are no signs and God’s prophets appear to be absent (9).

7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.

“They have cast fire into thy sanctuary . . .” This was the final horror.  Flames had engulfed the temple where David had stored his wealth and where Solomon had lavished all his skill.  First, the Babylonians had plundered the temple and hauled away its golden treasures to Babylon; then they had removed all the rich woodwork as well and carried away everything of value. Finally they had set fire to the temple to melt down the fabulous wealth in gold which lined its inner walls. The burning of the Temple is mentioned only on the occasion of Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. (2 Kings 25:9).

“. . . they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.”  First they polluted it, and then they burnt it, and broke it in pieces. And God had stood silently by and permitted them to do it.  The psalmist could not understand it.  That is one reason why Ezra, the scribe, when he led back a small remnant of the Jews to the Promised Land, found it so necessary to write the books of Chronicles.  The Jews, even the devout Jews, had learned so little from their history.  It needed to be spelled out for them, line by line, that the destruction of the Temple was a just and fair repayment for their idolatries, apostasies, and immoralities.

8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

“They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together . . .”, not only the Temple, but all the places of religious worship and the worshippers with them. The real plan was to bring an absolute end to the worship of the living God.  The enemy had determined among themselves to drive them, God’s followers, out of the land.  But, for some unknown reason they changed their minds, since afterwards, it seems, they carried off some captives and left others to work the land. 

Note: as early as Samuel’s time there were meetings on fixed days for worship (1 Samuel 9:12; 10:5).  And these were probably retained by the prophets (2 Kings 4:23), and anticipated the synagogues of later times.

It is always Satan’s strategy to get into the sanctuary if he can. He worked, down through the long ages of the Hebrew monarchy, until at last he was able to bring down that stately Temple, built as a tribute to the living God. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?” demanded Paul in his letter to the Corinthian saints. “If any man defile the temple of God him will God destroy.” Twice, during His time on earth, Jesus cleansed the Temple which once again graced Moriah’s hill in His day. Each time the money changers, the merchants, the Sanhedrin with its vested interests brushed aside His cleansing work. Satan used them to foul the sanctuary. So God pulled it down as Jesus foretold. He beckoned to the legions of Rome, commissioned them to work His sovereign will and pull the temple down. The Christian’s body is the Holy Spirit’s temple; Satan would like that temple defiled as well. He gloats when he sees the end result of his work in a wrecked and ruined temple. He delights to find God’s home, the dwelling place of the eternal Holy Spirit, defiled and then destroyed.

“. . . they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.” “The synagogues of God” in the Hebrew means “meeting places” or “holy places.” If synagogues are a proper translation, the psalm could only have been written after the Exile, since synagogues came into common use only after the Exile, and are not mentioned anywhere else in the Old Testament.  The synagogues (also called “schools of the prophets”) is where God’s Word was read and expounded, and His name praised and called upon, without altars or sacrifice. This is corroborated not only from repeated reference to them in the Old Testament itself but also from the use of the title ‘El when mentioning them.  The temple is called “Elohim’s meeting place.” They burned all of them in the land!  

There was only one Temple and only one alter for sacrifices, but there must have been many places where the people met to be taught the Scriptures and to pray—the synagogues.

9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.

“We see not our signs . . .” That, too, was part of the problem—they had the Scriptures; therefore they needed no sign. They do not see the evidences of God’s blessing, only signs of their enemies’ triumph.  But when calamities come they immediately begin to ask God for signs, and normally He returns them to the Scriptures as He did those Jewish captives in Babylon.  He has done so through the ages.  He does so today. 

“. . . there is no more any prophet . . .” No prophets—Jeremiah was a prisoner in Egypt or he was dead. Ezekiel’s voice was stilled. Daniel was presumably in retirement; the time had not yet come for him to speak out again and for the last time. That was part of the problem—ignorance of the Scripture! A thorough knowledge of the Book would have spoken so loudly to faith in that disastrous situation, that intellectual unbelief would never be able to raise such a voice as this.

“. . . neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.” “No prophets” meant that there was no one to speak with authority for the true God, and no one that could discern how long the Temple will be impaired. The prophets would have told this psalmist “how long” if he had searched his Bible. This psalmist was in a strange land and had evidently not taken to heart Jeremiah’s prediction which told precisely how long.

The most aggravating thing about all these calamities was that they had no prospect at all of relief, nor could they foresee an end to them.

10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?

“O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? . . .” It is an old story; the silence of God in the face of the boasts and blasphemies of the foe.  Think of modern Russia.  Since Lenin led the Bolsheviks to power in 1917, the Soviet people have been subjected to a ceaseless barrage of atheism.  God has been dared and defied in every possible way.  Every publicly spoken or printed word, every avenue of instruction and information, every lecture platform, every school and club, every theater production or movie is a propaganda instrument for spreading atheism at home and abroad.  Soviet communism is the forerunner of Antichrist:The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place” (Daniel 11:36).   The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. The Bolsheviks actually declared Satan to be “the first revolutionist whose blessed work delivered men from the slavery of God.” And God remains strangely silent in the face of it all.  It has gone on year after year.  It grows and thrives, prospers and spreads until now more than one billion people are held in the grip of communism.

God’s messengers had already warned the leaders and the people that Judgment was coming, but they refused to listen. Therefore, the Lord didn’t raise up any new prophets (Lamentations 2:9). As far as the captivity was concerned, the question “How long?” was answered by Jeremiah (25; 29:10). As far as Babylon’s destroying and disgracing Israel’s capital city and Temple, there was no answer. The people felt that they were cast off forever (1), desolate forever (3), humiliated forever (10) and forgotten forever (19). If we had been there, perhaps we might have felt the same way. 

The psalmist was perplexed by the seeming delay of God.

“. . . shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?” They address their question directly to God, asking how long the adversary will be permitted to “blaspheme” His name, and why His hand is restrained (11). It was for them a very difficult question—how long will God allow “little men” to blaspheme His name—forever?  One possible answer to this question is that God is unable to help and powerless to defeat their adversaries.  The psalmist does not however consider this a realistic option.

11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.

Why doesn’t God reduce his foes to an army of weaklings?  That was the problem with which faith wrestled.  God seemed so very far away.  The psalmist boldly suggests that God, instead of striking down His adversaries with his powerful right hand, He seems to “withdraw” it into His bosom and hold it there, restraining Himself from action.  The age of miracles was past.  The God, whose right hand humbled Pharaoh and Egypt in the dust, seemed to have retired from active participation in the affairs of men.  The darkness of the times wracked the psalmist.  Then he turned his thoughts to higher ground.

12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

Verse 12 is the central verse of the psalm and the turning point in Asaph’s experience. He lifted his eyes by faith from the burning ruins to the holy throne of God in the heavens and received a new perspective on the situation, and said . . .

“For God is my King of old . . .” The earlier part of this psalm is completely occupied with desolation and disaster.  The temple lay in ruins, the people were exiles in a foreign land, and the Babylonian power seemed permanently enthroned upon the empire of the world.  Israel was belittled by the heathen.  There appeared to be no recovery from the humiliation.The one ray of light in the darkness is the memory of what the Lord had done in the past. “God my King is from old” recalls the God of the fathers, whose saving power was substantiated in the history of His people.

“. . . working salvation in the midst of the earth.” In spite of the outward appearance, God was God; He was still King, working out salvation.  All Israel’s national history attested to that.  In weighing any situation it is madness to leave out the greatest fact of all—God.  The man of faith does not shut his eyes to the disasters which overtake men and nations, but he sees more than the incontrovertible facts of wretchedness and misery.  He sees God.  Therefore, his last word is never desolation, but salvation.  The psalmist certainly does not doubt the power of God who is Israel’s only source of salvation.

13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.

“Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength . . .” In His power He divided the sea (Genesis 1:6).  He had divided the sea before them when they came out of Egypt, not by the strength of Moses or his rod, but by His own strength; and he that could do that could do anything.

 “. . . thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.”In His power He broke the heads of the great sea monsters (dragons).  He crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him to the sharks for food.  The references to the sea monsters and Leviathan describe God’s action in subduing the mythological creatures of the deep when he brought the order of creation out of chaos.  “Dragons in the waters” (“Dragons” stands for the Egyptian army) (13)—“Leviathan in pieces” (“Leviathan” stands here for Pharaoh) (14)—these monsters stand here for the Egyptian hosts, who were like these beasts in their strength and cruelty.  He destroyed Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

In verses 13-17, we are given a magnificent catalog of God’s achievements in creation, one which leaves no doubt that whatever else the problem may be, it is not God’s weakness or inability which is at the root of Israel’s present trouble.

The answer can only lie elsewhere, and the poet’s next direction poses, without suggesting an answer, two reasons why Yahweh should return to His people and intervene in their plight. The first reason has been dramatically framed by the razing of the Temple and the repeated emphatic “you” of the hymn. It is God whose Temple has been destroyed and desecrated, whose Presence has been scorned, and it is God, certainly, who is able to do something about this.  The second reason has been anticipated in the opening lament: they are His people, and their cry to Him is their only recourse.

14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

“Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces . . .” “Leviathan” and“the heads of the dragons in the waters” (13) represent Pharaoh and the forces of Egypt—they are biblical symbolism, and neither can match the power of the Lord. 

“. . . and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.” The spoil of the Egyptians enriched them; they stripped their slain, and got their weapons, as they had done before when they got their jewels.

15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.

“Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood . . .” He had dissolved rock into water.  The rock became a fountain from which a flood or stream flowed to provide refreshment for His people as they passed through dry desert.  God can create springs of water where none existed before

“. . . thou driedst up mighty rivers.” God can stop mighty rivers in their tracks (Joshua 3:15-16). He can dry up the mighty rapid rivers, particularly the Jordan at the time it overflowed all its banks. Certainly, He who did these things could now deliver His oppressed people, and break the yoke of the oppressors, as He had done before. He would do it, because His justice and goodness, His wisdom and truth, and His power, are still the same.

16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.

 “The day is thine, the night also is thine . . .” Then he created the luminaries making day and night. This is true both figuratively and literally. God is Lord of the deepest night as well as of the brightest day.

17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.

Creation itself is under God’s control, including seasons and heavenly bodies (16). God is not only the God of history; He is also the God of creation and the God of nature.  The psalmist looks at the seas, the storms, the stars, and the seasons.  God controls the waters of the mighty deep, and He rides upon the storm.  The powers of darkness are as much under His control as are the sunny hours of the day. He marked out the zones of the earth, regions where it is hot and areas where it is cold.  Where is the enemy who can win the final victory?  We have the God of omnipresent wisdom, a God of omnipotent power.  Let us bring our distressing circumstances into the light of that truth.  If God does not always answer in the thunder and the storm, it is not because He cannot.  It is because it is to His glory to act in gentler, but equally effective ways. Certainly, with such awesome power He can help His brokenhearted people.

Think of the time when Israel was faced with extermination at the hands of Ahaseurus.  Every Jew in the Persian Empire was to be massacred.  But God put a stop to it.  How?  Did he organize protest marches?  Did he summon armies from distant lands to invade Persia?  Was there a revolution in the palace?  No!  God just gave the king a dose of insomnia and then drew his attention to salvation procured for him through the services of Mordecai, a Jew.  God can achieve great objectives by very ordinary means.

18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.

“Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached . . .”He reminded the Lord of His foes, and their fears.  Surely God would neither forsake nor forget His own. The persecutors were not only Israel’s enemy, but were the Lord’s enemy as well, for they had rebuked Him and blasphemed His name. This is what they roared in the sanctuary; they celebrated as if they had now got the best of God, of whom they had heard such great things.

“. . . and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.” In other words, Israel is saying to God, “The enemy has taken us, and many of the people of our nation have been foolish—they have not turned to You.” But there is a faithful remnant. In the Old Testament, “fools” and the “foolish,” are not the silly or the thoughtless, but the evil and Godless. Nothing grieves the saints more than to hear God’s name blasphemed.

Did you notice the character of those that reproach God?—they are “foolish.” Atheism is just as foolish as profaneness and blaspheme.

19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.

O deliver not the soul (life) of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked . . .” Asaph saw the nation as a defenseless dove that had no way of escape.  Had the kings and leaders listened to their prophets and led the nation back to the Lord, all this carnage and destruction would have been averted.  But the Lord was paying attention to His covenant!  That was why he was chastening His people. The turtledove was a fitting symbol of a defenseless people.  And what a striking similitude it would be today for the Church in its simplicity, weakness, and defenselessness! Turtledoves and pigeons were the only fouls to be offered in sacrifice to God

The psalmist cries out, “O God, save us in the midst of our trouble.” He looks forward to that day of God’s deliverance.  No matter how bad your trouble is, my friend, He will also deliver you.  He has delivered His people out of much worse situations than we have been in, and He will do even greater things in the future. 

God’s people in this world are a feeble folk.  They do not normally wield much power in high places, and they have no need to resort to politics.  They have access to the supreme court of the universe and there, where all power ultimately comes to rest, they can plead their case in terms of God’s own honor, promises, interest, and plans.

“. . . forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.” “The congregation of thy poor” is better translated “the life of Thy afflicted ones.”  Israel’s only hope is that God will keep His side of the covenant” (20) although the nation had broken its side shamelessly by disobedience and idolatry.

20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.

“Have respect unto the covenant . . .” Adding to his confidence is the fact that God had established a covenant with Israel, which he made with Abraham.  In it He gave the land of Canaan to him, and to his seed forever; and He did further promise that if the people were carried away captive to strange lands, and when there they would humble themselves, and pray and turn unto Him, that He would mercifully restore them (1 Kings 8:46-50). For now, their enemies have the upper hand and demonstrate a continual uproar, but their clamor will not last forever.  God will surely silence them as He protects and delivers Israel, His dove (19).

In contrast with the savage laws and customs of pagan lands, the psalmist thought of the lofty, just, and spiritual laws of Israel—all founded on God’s marvelous covenant with the patriarchs and the people. Asaph knew the terms of the covenant: if Israel obeyed the Lord, He would bless them; if they disobeyed them, He would chasten them; if they would confess their sins, He would forgive them. If the Babylonians were mocking the Lord as they destroyed the city and Temple, the Jews had mocked the prophets God sent to them to turn them from their idolatry (2 Chronicles 36:16). Israel had not honored God’s name but had turned His temple into a den of thieves (Jeremiah 7:11). 

Asaph asked the Lord to respect His promise.  God’s pledge to Abraham had been unconditional!  No faults, no failing, no flaws in Israel could annul God’s character and eternal purpose as pledged in that covenant.

“. . . for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.” The psalmist was in such a place.  He was in Babylon, where civilization had reached its zenith but where God was not known, where demons were disguised as gods, where men could be fed to the Lions or tossed into the flames at the whim of a tyrannical ruler.  The land of the Chaldeans, where there was none of the light of the knowledge of the true God was truly a dark and dismal land, and the people were cruel, and there is nothing but ignorance and confusion, injustice and tyranny, and all the works men like to do in the dark. Where there is no true divinity there is scarcely much common humanity to be found. They were especially cruel to the people of God

Verse 20 suggests that even “the dark places” (caves) had not been a refuge from the violence and cruelty of the invader. 

21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.

“O let not the oppressed return ashamed . . .” means, “Let them not be turned away from the presence of the Lord with their petitions denied.” The land is full of danger and violence hiding in every dark place (20).  And thus they pray that they may not be permitted to remain oppressed and in shame.  Though oppressed and miserable, they are indeed the ones who praise and confess His name.

“. . . let the poor and needy praise thy name.”He wanted Israel’s sobs and sighs to be turned back into songs.  Nothing would accomplish that swifter than the overthrow of the oppressor.  Thus with wavering note and faltering voice the psalmist has already, himself, begun to tune up his harp and try a stumbling note or two.  It was a good start!  When we can start praising God, no matter what the present circumstances might be, it means we have already begun to rise above them.

22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.

“Arise, O God, plead Thine own cause . . .” They do not pray for themselves alone, for their vindication is God’s own vindication, just as there enemies are His.

All of a sudden it seemed to dawn upon this psalmist that he was being ludicrous.  “Plead Thine own cause!” he cried.  Lord, You can hear what they are saying, and You can see what they are doing.  Why do I have to defend Your cause and interest in this world?  Lord, defend Yourself.” Nobody, after all, has to defend a lion.  Just turn him loose and he’ll defend himself!  “Lord!” says this writer of psalms.  “I’ll be quiet!  I’ll be still.  Just look and listen for Yourself!”

“. . . remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.” See comment on 18.  The voice of His enemies (“the foolish man”) in their boasting and blasphemy should arouse the Lord to judgment.  The answer had to wait a long time, but it came in God’s appointed time, not a day to early and not a moment to late (Ezra 1:1-6). 

23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

He reminded the Lord of the incessant and increasing opposition of the ungodly: Forget not the voice of Thine enemies; the tumult of those that rise up against Thee increaseth continually.” So the sense is they grow worse and worse, encouraging and hardening themselves in their wicked ways by their continual success and prosperity, and by Thy patience extended to them.  This is a call to God to move in victory; it is a prayer that recognizes God’s ability to do it. 

The nation had been ravaged, the city of Jerusalem had been wrecked, and the Temple had been destroyed and burned—but the essentials had not been touched by the enemy!  If the nation still had Jehovah God as their God, His Word and His covenant had not been changed, and Jehovah was at work in the world!