John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Psalms 73:1
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 73
A Psalm of Asaph. It seems by the title that Asaph was the penman of this psalm, as it is certain that he was a composer of psalms and hymns; see 2Ch 29:30, though it may be rendered, "a psalm for Asaph", or "unto Asaph" {a}; and might have David for its author, as some think, who, having penned it, sent it to Asaph, to be made use of by him in public service; see 1Ch 16:7, and so the Targum paraphrases it,
"a song by the hands of Asaph;''
the occasion of it was a temptation the psalmist fell into, through the prosperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the righteous, to think there was nothing in religion, that it was a vain and useless thing; under which he continued until he went into the house of God, and was taught better; when he acknowledged his stupidity and folly, and penned this psalm, to prevent others falling into the same snare, and to set forth the goodness of God to his people, with which it begins.
Ver. 1. Truly God is good to Israel,.... To Israel, literally understood; in choosing them to be his people above all people on earth; in bringing them into a good land; in favouring them with many external privileges, civil and religious; in giving them his word, statutes, and ordinances, as he did not to other nations: or, spiritually understood, the Israel whom God has chosen, redeemed, and called by his special grace; verily of a truth, God is good to these; there is abundant proof and evidence of it; See Gill on "Ps 34:8",
or "only" God is good to such; though he is good to all in a providential way, yet only to his chosen and redeemed ones in a way of special favour; the goodness others share is but a shadow of goodness, in comparison of what they do and shall partake of; they are blessed with blessings indeed, and are only blessed; so this particle is rendered in
Ps 62:2, or "but", or "notwithstanding" {b}, God is good, &c. that is, though he suffers the wicked to prosper, and his own people much afflicted, yet he is good to them; he supports them under their afflictions, and makes all to work for their good; gives them grace here, and glory hereafter;
even to such as are of a clean heart; this character excludes the carnal Israelites, who were pure in their own eyes, but not cleansed from their filthiness, and describes the true Israel of God, and explains who are meant by them, such as are pure in heart, inwardly Jews, Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile; this is not natural to men, their hearts are by nature unclean, nor is it in their power to make them clean: this is God's work, he only can create a clean heart, and renew a right spirit; which is done by the sanctifying influences of his grace, and by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, and thus purifying their heart's by faith; yet so as not to be free from all impurity of spirit, but as to have a conscience purged from the guilt of sin, and to have the heart sincere and upright towards God.
{a} Poal tw asaf Sept. "Asaph ipsi", Pagninus, Montanus; "Asapho", Gejerus; so Ainsworth. {b} Ka "attamen", Tigurine version, Piscator, Gussetius, Michaelis.
Psalms 73:2
Ver. 2. But as for me,.... Who am one of the Israel of God whose heart has been renewed and purified by the grace of God, and to whom he has been kind and good in a thousand instances; yet, ungrateful creature that I am,
my feet were almost gone; out of the good ways of God, the ways of truth and holiness just upon the turn, ready to forsake them, and give up all religion as a vain thing:
my steps had well nigh slipped, or "poured out" {c} like water; the allusion is to standing on wet and slippery ground, where a man can scarcely keep upon his feet. It may be observed, that good men are liable to slips and falls, to fall into sin, snares, and temptations, and from their steadfastness in the faith, but not totally and finally; their feet may be "almost", but not "altogether", gone: their steps may "well nigh" slip, but not "quite"; they may fall, but not be utterly cast down; at least they rise again, and are made to stand; for God is able to keep them, and does keep them, from a total and final falling away.
{c} hkpv "effusi sunt", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius; "effusi fuissent", Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis.
Psalms 73:3
Ver. 3. For I was envious at the foolish,.... The atheists, as in
Ps 14:1, who deny the creation, as Arama; the wicked, as after explained, as all wicked men are, how wise soever they may be in things natural and civil, yet in religious things, in things of a spiritual nature, they have no understanding; they are proud boasters, glory in themselves, and in their outward attainments, as the word {d} here used signifies; the external happiness of these, their riches, health, and ease, were envied by the psalmist; see Ps 37:1,
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked, or "the peace of the wicked" {e}; with an evil eye. This was the occasion of his slip and fall, this was the temptation he was left unto for a while.
{d} Myllwhb "in arrogantes", Gejerus; "stolide gloriosos", Michaelis; "at vain glorious fools", Ainsworth. {e} Mwlv "pacem", Pagninus, Musculus, Piscator.
Psalms 73:4
Ver. 4. For there are no bands in their death,.... Nothing that binds and straitens them, afflicts and distresses them; they have no pain of mind nor of body, but die at once, suddenly, in a moment, wholly at ease and quiet, without any bitterness of soul; see Job 21:13, or "there are no bands until their death" {f}; they have no straits nor difficulties all their life long, no distempers nor diseases which may be called "bonds", Lu 13:12, till they come to die: the Vulgate Latin version is, "there is no respect to their death"; they take no notice of it, they have no care or concern about it; or, as the Targum,
"they are not terrified nor troubled because of the day of their death;''
they put it away far from them, and think nothing about it: but their strength is firm; they are hale and robust, healthful and sound, to the day of their death; their strength is not weakened in the way by diseases and distempers. Some take the word rendered "strength" to signify a porch or palace, and translate it, they are strong as a palace, or in a palace, or their palace is strong {g} their houses are well built, and continue long.
{f} Mtwml "usque ad mortem eorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis. {g} Mlwa "palatium vel sicut palatium"; so some in Piscator; "porticus", Schmidt; so R. Jonah, Arama, and Jerom.
Psalms 73:5
Ver. 5. They are not in trouble, as other men,.... Either of body or of mind, as the saints are, who through many tribulations enter the kingdom; or are not in "labour" {h}, do not labour for food and raiment, or get their bread by the sweat of their brow, as poor men do; nor are weary, so Arama: "neither are they plagued like other men"; smitten of God, corrected, and chastised by him, as his children are; the rod of God is not upon them, Job 21:9.
{h} lmeb "in labore", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus.
Psalms 73:6
Ver. 6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain, &.] Which was the sin of the devils, and of our first parents, and of Sodom, and is the sin of antichrist; and which, of all sins, is most hateful to God; this arises from, at least is increased by, outward prosperity. Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked; pride and fulness of bread went together in Sodom; and, where it is predominant, it binds as a chain; such who are under the power of it are slaves unto it, they are chained and fettered by it, and it possesses them wholly; it shows itself in the several members of their bodies, in their eyes and feet, their walk and gait, and in their conduct and behaviour, and in the several actions of their lives, and is rightly called "the pride of life"; or rather they bind it about themselves as a chain, fancying it to be an ornament to them, what sets them off, and makes them look great in the eyes of others; whereas the reverse is what is of great price, and in high esteem with God and good men; namely, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit:
violence covereth them as a garment; wicked men that are prosperous and proud are generally oppressive to others; and are very often open in their acts of violence, which are as openly done and to be seen of all men, as the clothes upon their backs; and frequently the clothes they wear are got by rapine and oppression, so that they may properly be called garments of violence; see Isa 59:6.
Psalms 73:7
Ver. 7 Their eyes stand out with fatness,.... Or their face, the eyes being put for the whole face; so the Targum,
"their face is changed, because of fatness;''
see Job 15:27, otherwise through fatness the eyes are almost enclosed: or "it goes forth out of the fatness of their eyes" {i}; that is, either "pride", which shows itself in haughty looks and scornful airs, through the abundance possessed; or "violence", seen in the fierceness of the eyes, and fury of the countenance; or "their eyes go out through fatness" {k} that is, through the plenty they enjoy, their eyes go out in lust after lawful objects:
they have more than heart could wish; that they themselves could have wished for heretofore, though not now; for what is it that a worldly covetous heart cannot and does not wish for? if it had all the world, it would not satisfy it: or "the imaginations of the heart go on" {l}; that is, after more, not being content with such things as they have; or "they", i.e. their pride and violence,
exceed the imaginations of the heart {m}; they are more than can be conceived of, they overpass the deeds of the wicked, Jer 5:28 or "they transgress by the imaginations of the heart" {n}; which are evil, and that continually.
{i} wmnye blxm auy "prodit vel exit e pinguedine oculorum eorum", Michaelis. {k} "Exivit prae adipe oculus eorum", Montanus; "egreditur prae pinguedine", Gejerus. {l} bbl twykvm wrbe "pergunt cogitationes cordis eorum", Piscator. {m} "Excesserunt imaginationes cordis", Cocceius; "excedunt", Michaelis. {n} "Transgrediuntur cogitationibus cordis", Gejerus.
Psalms 73:8
Ver. 8. They are corrupt,.... In themselves, in their principles, and in their practices, being shapen and conceived in sin, and born of the flesh; and are corrupters, or "corrupt" themselves, and their ways, and also others by their corrupt speech, evil communications, and bad examples: or "they consume away"; like smoke, or into it, as Ps 37:20 or as wax melteth at the fire, Ps 68:2, where the same word is used as here: or "they cause to consume away" {o}; "they melt or dissolve others"; they consume them, and waste their estates by their oppression and violence; they make their hearts to melt with their threatening and terrifying words; or they make them dissolute in their lives by keeping them company:
and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak oppression and revolt, threaten with it, Isa 59:13, and speak in vindication of it, and in a boasting glorying manner; so Arama; which is speaking wickedly concerning it:
they speak loftily: proudly, arrogantly, in a haughty and imperious manner: or "from on high" {p}; as if they were in heaven, and above all creatures, and even God himself; and as if what they said were oracles, and to be received as such, without any scruple and hesitation. Thus Pharaoh, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar spake, Ex 5:2 and the little horn, or antichrist, Da 7:20.
{o} wqymy "dissolutos reddunt", Vatablus; "reddent se dissolutos", Montanus; "faciunt tabescere", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. {p} Mwrmm "a sublimi", Musculus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "ex alto", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.
Psalms 73:9
Ver. 9. They set their mouth against the heavens,.... Against God in heaven, see Da 4:26, against his being, saying, there is no God; against his perfections, thinking him to be such an one as themselves; against his purposes and decrees, replying against him, and charging him with insincerity, cruelty, and unrighteousness; and against his providence, either denying it, or affirming it to be unequal; and against his doctrines, ordinances, and ministers. Aben Ezra interprets it also of the angels of heaven, who are spoken against, when it is denied that there are any such beings, as were by the Sadducees; and blasphemed, when the worshipping of them is introduced. The Targum understands it of the saints of heaven, with which compare Re 13:6 it may be applied to civil magistrates, the higher powers, who represent on earth God in heaven; and there are some that despise dominion, and speak evil of such dignities:
and their tongue walketh through the earth: sparing none, high nor low, but injures all sorts of persons with their lies and calumnies. This denotes the unbridled liberty which wicked men take with their tongues; there is no restraint upon them, no stopping of them; see Ps 12:5 the universal mischief they are continually doing, and the diabolical influence of their detraction and falsehood; like Satan, their tongues walk to and fro in the earth, doing all the injury to the credit and characters of men they possibly can.
Psalms 73:10
Ver. 10. Therefore his people return hither,.... Either the true people of God, and so the Targum, the people of the Lord, and whom the psalmist owned for his people; for the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read "my people"; who seeing the prosperity of the wicked, and feeling their own afflictions, return to the same way of thinking, and fall by the same snare and temptation as the psalmist did; or such who were only the people of God by profession, but hypocrites, who observing the trouble that attends a religious life, and the prosperity of wicked men, return from the good ways of God they have outwardly walked in for some time, to the conversation of these men, and join themselves to them: or else, "his" being put for "their", the sense is, the people of these wicked men, of everyone of them, return unto them, and flock about them, and caress and flatter them, because of their prosperous circumstances, and join with them in their evil practices of oppression and slander; which sense seems best to agree with what goes before and follows after:
and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them; meaning either to the people of God, and to be understood either of the abundance of their tears, on account of their afflictions inward and outward; see Ps 6:6, so the Targum,
"and many tears flow unto them;''
or of their afflictions themselves, which are oftentimes compared to waters in Scripture; see Ps 42:7, which are given them in measure: it is a cup of them that is put into their hands, and in full measure; they have a full cup of them; many are their tribulations, through which they enter the kingdom, and they are all of God; it is he that wrings them out to them with his fatherly hand: or else, taking the people to mean the followers and companions of the wicked, the words are to be understood of the plenty of good things which such men enjoy in this life, their cup runs over; and indeed these seem to be the persons who are introduced speaking the following words.
Psalms 73:11
Ver. 11. And they say, how doth God know?.... Owning there is a God, but questioning his knowledge; for the words are not an inquiry about the way and manner of his knowing things; which is not by the senses, as hearing and seeing; eyes and ears are improperly ascribed to him; nor in a discursive way, by reasoning, and inferring one thing from another; for he knows things intuitively, beholding all things in his own eternal mind and will: but they are a question about his knowledge itself, as follows:
and is their knowledge in the most High? they acknowledge God to be the most High, and yet doubt whether there is knowledge in him; and indeed the higher with respect to place, and at the greater distance he was from them, the less they imagined he knew of affairs below; see
Job 22:13 for the knowledge called in question is to be understood of his providential notice of human affairs, which they thought he did not concern himself with, as being below his regard; see Eze 9:9 and therefore concluded that their acts of oppression and violence, and their insolent words against God and men, would pass unobserved, and with impunity. If these are the words of good men, of the people of God under affliction, they are to be considered as under a temptation from their affliction, and the prosperity of the wicked, to call in question the providence of God in the government of the world, and his love to them, which is sometimes expressed by his knowledge of them, Ps 1:6.
Psalms 73:12
Ver. 12. Behold, these are the ungodly,.... Who say and do as before declared; such as these must be without the knowledge of God, the fear, love, and worship of him: who prosper in the world; in worldly and temporal things, in their bodies and outward estates, but not in their souls and spiritual things: "in this world", as the Targum is; all their prosperity is here; their good things are in this life, their evil things will be in that to come; though ungodly, they prosper in the world, and as long as they are in it; or they are at peace and in case, and are quiet; they have nothing to disturb them, they are not in outward trouble, and their sins do not distress them, and they have no concern about another world:
they increase in riches; which they are in the pursuit of, and overtake and enjoy in great abundance; whereby they become mighty and powerful, as the word {o} for "riches" signifies: these words are the observation of the psalmist, and which was the occasion of the following temptation he was led into.
{o} lyx "vires", Junius & Tremellius; "potentiam", Piscator.
Psalms 73:13
Ver. 13. Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain,.... Which supposes that his heart had been unclean, as every man's is, and which appears by what is in it, and by what comes out of it; that it was now cleansed, not in an absolute and legal sense, as if it was wholly free from sin, for this no man can say; but in an evangelical sense, being purified by faith in the blood of Christ; that he had himself some concern in the cleansing of his heart, which seems to be contrary to Pr 20:9 and besides, this is the Lord's own work, Ps 51:10 wherefore this may be considered as a wrong and rash expression of his; for as he was wrong in one part of it, its being cleansed in vain, so he might be in the other, in ascribing it to himself; though it may be allowed, consistent with what is before observed, that a believer has a concern in the cleansing of his heart; for, being convinced of the impurity of it, he owns and laments it before the Lord; and, seeing the fountain of the Redeemer's blood opened, he applies to it, and to him for cleansing; and expresses a love unto, a great and studious concern for purity of heart as well as life; and, under the influence of divine grace, is enabled to keep a watch over it, whereby, through the same grace, it is preserved from much pollution; and by fresh application to the blood of Christ, is cleansed from what it daily contracts:
and washed my hands in innocency: that is, "in vain", as before; which denotes the performance of good works, a course of holy life and conversation, which when right springs from purity of heart;
See Gill on "Ps 26:6", now the psalmist under temptation concluded that all his religion and devotion were in vain, all his hearing, and reading, and attending on ordinances, all his concern for purity of heart and life; since those who showed no regard to these things prospered in the world, and increased in riches, abounded in ease and plenty, and seemed to be rather the favourites of heaven than religious men; and this temptation was strengthened by the following observation.
Psalms 73:14
Ver. 14. For all the day long have I been plagued,.... "Smitten or scourged" {p}, as in Ps 73:5, that is, afflicted of God; which is no ways inconsistent with his love, nor with his covenant, nor with an interest in him, as a covenant God and Father; see Ps 89:29,
and chastened every morning; not in wrath, but in love, and for good; not with the chastisement of a cruel one, but of a loving and tender father; and therefore not to be improved in such a manner, as if on this account there was nothing in religion; whereas the daily notices the Lord takes of his people this way show his regard unto them, and care of them.
{p} ewgn "flagellatus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "percussus", Gejerus.
Psalms 73:15
Ver. 15. If I say, I will speak thus,.... Either as the wicked do,
Ps 73:8 or rather as he had thought in his own mind,
Ps 73:13, wherefore he kept it all to himself, and did not make known to others the reasonings of his mind, and the temptations he laboured under:
behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children; of whom care should be taken, above all things, that they be not offended,
Mt 18:6, or "should condemn"; as the Targum; or as Jarchi,
"I should make them transgressors, and wicked persons;''
should represent them as if they were men hated and rejected of God, because of their afflictions: the words may be rendered, "behold the generation of thy children, I have transgressed" {q}; by giving way to the above temptation, which might have been prevented by considering the church, children, and people of God, and the care he has taken of them, the regard he has shown to them, and the preservation of them in all ages. The words are an apostrophe to God, who has children by adopting grace, and which appear so by their regeneration; and there is a generation of them in all ages; when one goes, another comes; there is always a seed, a spiritual offspring, to serve him, which is counted for a generation.
{q} ytdgb Kynb rwd hnh "ecce generatio filiorum tuorum, praevaricatus sum", Pagninus, Montanus.
Psalms 73:16
Ver. 16. When I thought to know this,.... How to reconcile the prosperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the righteous, to the perfections of God, and his wise providence in the government of the world, by the mere dint of reason, without consulting the sacred oracles, or his own and others' experience:
it was too painful for me: too laborious and toilsome, a work he was not equal to; "hic labor, hoc opus"; see Ec 8:17.
Psalms 73:17
Ver. 17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God,.... The tabernacle or house of God, where the Word of God was read and explained, prayer was made, and sacrifices offered up, and where fellowship was had with the saints, and communion with God himself; which for one hour or moment is preferable to all the prosperity of the wicked, during their whole life. This shows that though the psalmist was beset with the temptation, yet not overcome; it did not so far prevail as to cause him to neglect public worship, and relinquish the house of God, and the ordinances of it; and it is right, under temptations, doubts, and difficulties, to attend the public ministrations, which is the way and means to have relief under temptations, to have doubts resolved, and difficulties removed: some by "the sanctuary of God" understand the Scriptures, which are holy and of God, and are profitable for instruction, and are to be consulted and entered into by a serious reading of and deep meditation on them; whereby may be known the happiness that is prepared for the saints in the other world, and the misery of the wicked, and hereby judgment may be made of the present case and condition of each: others interpret it of the world of spirits, which may be entered into by contemplation; when it may be observed that the spirits of just men upon their dissolution possess unspeakable joys and glories, and the souls of the wicked are in inconceivable torments:
then understood I their end; both of the godly and of the wicked; that the end of the righteous is peace, rest, salvation, and eternal life, and the end of the wicked is ruin, destruction, and death; see
Ps 37:35.
Psalms 73:18
Ver. 18. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places,.... In which a man cannot stand long, and without danger; and the higher they are the more dangerous, being slippery, and such are places of honour and riches. The phrase denotes the uncertainty and instability of these things, and the danger men are in who are possessed of them of falling into destruction and misery. The Targum is,
"thou didst set them in darkness;''
to be in slippery places, and in the dark, is very uncomfortable, unsafe, and dangerous indeed; See Ps 35:6 and it may be observed, that all this honour, promotion, and riches, are of God; it is he that sets them in these places of honour and profit; and he that sets them up can pull them down, as he does; so it follows,
thou castest them down into destruction: into temporal destruction, by removing them from their high stations into a very low, mean, and contemptible state, as were Shebna and Nebuchadnezzar,
Isa 22:15 and into everlasting destruction, from whence there is no recovery; see Ps 55:23.
Psalms 73:19
Ver. 19. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment?.... Very suddenly, which is often the case of wicked men, who cry Peace and safety, and sudden destruction comes upon them, 1Th 5:3, so as in a moment were the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Pharaoh and his host, and of Korah and his company, La 4:6, the words are expressed with admiration, as wondering at the sudden and amazing turn of things:
they are utterly consumed with terrors: their destruction is not only sudden, but entire; it is like the breaking in pieces of a potter's vessel; a shard of which cannot be gathered up and used, or like the casting of a millstone into the sea, which will never rise more; such will be the destruction of antichrist; see Re 2:27 and this is done "with terrors"; either by terrible judgments inflicted on them from without; or with terrors inwardly seizing upon their minds and consciences; as, at the time of temporal calamities, or at death, however at judgment, when the awful sentence will be pronounced upon them; see Job 27:20.
Psalms 73:20
Ver. 20. As a dream when one awaketh,.... So will be all the temporal felicity of wicked men, all an illusion, all a dream; when they lift up their eyes in hell, and awake in the resurrection, they will find themselves destitute of all their riches and honours, and it will be as if they had only dreamed of them, and never enjoyed them; see
Job 20:6 so, "O Lord, when thou awakest"; to judgment, to take vengeance on wicked men, and vindicate his own people; and who seems sometimes to be as it were asleep, and to take no notice of things, when the judgment of the ungodly, and their damnation, seem to slumber, though it does not; see Ps 7:6 or when he awakes the dead at the time of the resurrection. Death is often compared to sleep in Scripture, and the resurrection to an awaking out of it, which is the Lord's work, Isa 26:19, and so the Targum,
"O Lord, when thou shalt raise them from their graves:''
thou shalt despise their image; the image of the earthly man, of sin and of Satan, which is upon both their souls and bodies; which will both be destroyed in hell: or their riches and honour, the vain show in which they have walked, their outward pomp and splendour; which was only a show, an outward appearance, and no solidity and substance; and which will not be esteemed in the great day of account, but despised; see Job 36:18, the wicked will awake, and arise to everlasting shame and contempt, Da 12:2.
Psalms 73:21
Ver. 21. Thus my heart was grieved,.... Not with his own sins, nor with the sins of the wicked, but at their prosperity; for this is an account of himself, while under the temptation, and before he went into the sanctuary of the Lord; or when he was "leavened" {r}, with the old leaven of wickedness, and envy, and indignation; he was in a ferment, so Plautus {s} uses the phrase for being in anger and wrath; he swelled, as what is leavened does, against God and his providence: or was "soured" {t}; he was out of humour and angry with God, or was exasperated and provoked at the favours bestowed upon the wicked. Some render it "inflamed" {u}, made hot; not with the love of God, and meditation upon it, but with wrath and indignation:
and I was pricked in my reins; disturbed and distracted in his thoughts, felt a great deal of pain in his mind, while he was considering the prosperity of the wicked; which was as a sword in his bones, and as an arrow shot into his reins; see La 3:13.
{r} Umxty "effervesceret fermenti instar", Tigurine version; "in fermento esset", Cocceius; so Ainsworth. {s} Casina, Act. 2. Sc. 5. v. 17. {t} Acescet Montanus; "quasi aceto acri perfundebatur", Vatablus. {u} "Inflammatum est", V. L.
Psalms 73:22
Ver. 22. So foolish was I,.... To envy the prosperity of the wicked, which is of so short a continuance; to arraign the providence and perfections of God, and to conclude so hastily that there was nothing in religion:
and ignorant; or, "I knew not" {w}; what he attempted to know,
Ps 73:16, nor the end of the wicked, till he went into the sanctuary of the Lord; nor the counsel and design of God, in his methods of providence towards wicked men:
I was as a beast before thee, or "with thee" {x}; in the knowledge of the ways and works of God, even those of providence; see
Ps 92:5, unteachable, untractable, kicking against God and his providential dispensations; not behaving like a man, much, less like a saint; but even as the worst of brutes, as the behemoth in
Job 40:15, for the same word is here used; he concluded that God, who saw all the wickedness of his heart, the workings and reasonings of his mind, which were so vain and foolish, could esteem him no other than as a beast; so the Targum,
"as a beast I am accounted with thee:''
the words may be rendered, "I was the veriest beast before thee"; there being no note of similitude in the text; the word for "beast" being in the plural number, may be used for a superlative; Plautus {y} uses the word "bellua", beast, for a stupid man.
{w} eda al "nescivi", V. L. "non cognoscebam", Pagninus, Montanus; "nec sciebam", Piscator; "non noveram", Cocceius. {x} Kme "apud te", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c. {y} Trinum. Act. 4. Sc. 2. v. 110.
Psalms 73:23
Ver. 23. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee,.... Upon the heart of God, in his hands, under his eye, under his wings of protection and care, and not suffered to depart from him finally and totally; he could not be disunited and removed from him by the above temptation; nor was he left to cast off the fear of the Lord, and to forsake his worship and service; nor altogether to lose his love and affection for him, which still continued; see Ps 73:25, or "I shall be always with thee" {z}; not now, for though the saints are always in union with the Lord, yet they have not always communion with him; but hereafter, in heaven, to all eternity:
thou hast holden me by my right hand; as an instance of condescension, respect, and familiarity; see Ac 23:19, as a parent takes his child by the hand, and learns it to go, so the Lord takes his children by the hand, and teaches them to walk by faith in him, Ho 11:3 or in order to keep them from falling, and bear them up under temptations and exercises; as well as to lead them into more intimate communion with himself in his sanctuary, and to raise them up out of their low estate to an exalted one; see Isa 45:1, and likewise to put something into their hands, to supply their wants, and fill them with his good things; see Eze 16:49.
{z} dymt ynaw "ego jugiter futurus sum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "itaque ego in posterum semper tecum ero", Michaelis.
Psalms 73:24
Ver. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel,.... Which is wise and prudent, wholesome, suitable, and seasonable, hearty, sincere, and faithful, and which is freely given, and when taken, infallibly succeeds: or "according to thy counsel" {a}; the determinate counsels, purposes, and will of God, which were of old faithfulness and truth; who does all things after the counsel of his own will in providence and grace: or "by thy counsel" {b}; by the Scriptures of truth, the revealed word, which contains the will of God, and directions for a holy walk and conversation; by the Gospel and truths of it, called the whole counsel of God, Ac 20:27, and by his Holy Spirit, which is a spirit of counsel as well as of might; and by which the Lord guides his people in the ways of peace, truth, righteousness, and holiness, through this world, to the heavenly glory, as follows:
and afterward receive me to glory; into a glorious place, an house not made with hands, a city whose builder and maker is God, into a kingdom and glory, or a glorious kingdom; and into glorious company, the company of Father, Son, and Spirit, angels and glorified saints, where glorious things will be seen, and a glory enjoyed both in soul and body to all eternity; for this glory is eternal glory, a glory that passes not away: or "in glory" {c}; in a glorious manner: some render it, "after glory thou wilt receive me" {d}; that is, after all the glory and honour thou hast bestowed upon me here, thou wilt take me to thyself in heaven; so the Targum,
"after the glory is completed, which thou saidst thou wouldst bring upon me, thou wilt receive me:''
but rather the sense is, "after" thou hast led and guided me by thy counsel through the wilderness of this world; "after" all the afflictions and temptations of this present life are over; "after" I have passed through the valley of the shadow of death, or "after" death itself, thou wilt receive me into everlasting joy and happiness; see 1Pe 5:10.
{a} Ktueb "pro consilio tuo", Michaelis. {b} "Consilio tuo", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius. {c} dwbk "in gloria", Gejerus. {d} dwbk rxa "post gloriam", Hammond.
Psalms 73:25
Ver. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee,.... Which includes God the Father, Son, and Spirit; God the Father, as his only covenant God and Father; Christ as his only Mediator, Saviour, and Redeemer, Head, Husband, Advocate, and Intercessor; the Spirit as his only sanctifier, Comforter, earnest, and sealer; and is expressive of their being the one and only Lord God, the sole object of worship, trust, and confidence; his only helper and guide; and in whom his supreme happiness and glory lay; and it excludes the sun, moon, and stars, in the lower heavens, from being the object of worship and trust; and angels and glorified saints in the highest heavens: the words may be rendered, "who is for me in heaven?" {e} on my side, my protector and defender; see Ro 8:31
and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee; or "with thee" {f}; there are many things on earth desirable, as riches, health, friends, food, raiment, &c. but not to be compared with God and Christ, and the blessed Spirit; with the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the communion of the Holy Ghost; there are none to be loved and delighted in as they, nor anything so desirable as fellowship with them: or "with thee I desire not the earth" {g}; the whole world, and all things in it, are nothing in comparison of God; if a man was possessed of the whole of it, and had not interest in the Lord, he would be miserable; and if he has an interest in him, he has enough without it; for all things are his, God is all in all; wherefore he is willing to leave all, and be with him for ever: the Targum is,
"who is like unto thee, that is, mine in heaven but thee? and with thee I do not desire a companion on earth.''
See Ps 89:6.
{e} yl ym "quis pro me?" Gejerus. {f} Kme "tecum", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Masculus, Gejerus. {g} Urab ytupx al "nec terram totam diligo tecum", Gejerus.
Psalms 73:26
Ver. 26. My flesh and my heart faileth,.... Either through vehement desires of communion with God deferred, see Ps 84:2 or through afflictive dispensations of Providence, being smitten and chastened continually, Ps 73:14, or through inward trials and exercises, by reason of indwelling sin, temptations, and desertions: or rather the words are expressive of the body being emaciated by sickness and diseases; and the heart fainting through fear of death, or rather failing at it, being at the point of death; the heart being, as philosophers say, the first that lives, and the last that dies:
but God is the strength of my heart, or "the rock of my heart" {h}; when overwhelmed with distress through outward trouble, or in the lowest condition with respect to spiritual things; when grace is weak, corruptions strong, temptations prevail, and afflictions are many; then does the Lord support and sustain his people, and strengthens them with strength in their souls; and in the moment of death, by showing them that its sting is taken away, and its curse removed; that their souls are going to their Lord, and about to enter into his joy; and that their bodies will rise again glorious and incorruptible:
and my portion for ever; both in life and at death, and to all eternity; this is a very large portion indeed; such who have it inherit all things; yea, it is immense and inconceivable; it is a soul satisfying one, and is safe and secure; it can never be taken away, nor can it be spent; it will last always; see Ps 142:5.
{h} ybbl rww "rupes cordis mei", Montanus, Musculus, Piscator, Cocceius, "petra cordis mei", Tigurine version, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.
Psalms 73:27
Ver. 27. For, lo, they that are far from thee,.... Who are alienated from the life of God, far from the law of God, and subjection and obedience to it; and from righteousness either moral or evangelical, and from the love and fear of God, and worship of him:
shall perish; not merely at death, as even righteous men do, but be lost eternally:
thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee; that follow after other gods, and worship them; which is spiritual adultery and fornication, the Scriptures often speak of, and intend by it idolatry; see De 31:16 or who set their hearts and affections upon the creature, and have them alienated from God; and love the creature more and besides the Creator: the past tense seems to be put for the future, and so some render it, "thou shalt destroy", or "cut off" {i}; destroy them soul and body, and punish them with an everlasting destruction in hell; the Targum is,
"that wander from thy fear;''
that is, from the worship of God.
{i} htmuh "perdes", Tigurine version, Musculus, so some in Vatablus; "exscindes", Michaelis.
Psalms 73:28
Ver. 28. But it is good for me to draw near to God,.... In prayer, and other acts of religious worship; to attend the word and ordinances in the sanctuary, where the psalmist had lately been delivered out of a sore temptation, and so had a recent experience, which was fresh in his mind, of the advantages of such exercises; for it is both an honourable good, what is becoming and commendable, and a pleasant good, what yields delight and satisfaction, and a profitable good, to draw nigh to God by Christ, the new and living way, assisted by the Holy Spirit; which, when done aright, is with faith, sincerity, reverence, and a holy boldness:
I have put my trust in the Lord God; as the rock of his refuge and salvation, as his portion and inheritance:
that I may declare all thy works; of providence and grace, by proclaiming the wisdom, power, goodness, and faithfulness of God in them; by giving him the glory of them, and by expressing thankfulness for them, both by words and deeds.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Psalms 74:1
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 74
Maschil of Asaph. Some think that Asaph, the penman of this psalm, was not the same that lived in the times of David, but some other of the same name, a descendant of his {k}, that lived after the Babylonish captivity, since the psalm treats of things that were done at the time the Jews were carried captive into Babylon, or after; but this hinders not that it might be the same man; for why might he not, under a spirit of prophecy, speak of the sufferings of the church in later ages, as well as David and others testify before hand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow? The psalm is called "Maschil", because it gives knowledge of, and causes to understand what afflictions should befall the church and people of God in later times. The Targum is,
"a good understanding by the hands of Asaph.''
Some think the occasion of the psalm was the Babylonish captivity, as before observed, when indeed the city and temple were burnt; but then there were prophets, as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and after them Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; which is here denied, Ps 74:9, others think it refers to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes; but though prophecy indeed had then ceased, and the temple was profaned, yet not burnt. The Jews apply it to their present captivity, and to the profanation of the temple, by Titus {l}, and to the destruction both of the city and temple by him; so Theodoret: the title of it in the Syriac version is,
"when David saw the angel slaying the people, and he wept and said, on me and my seed, and not on these innocent sheep; and again a prediction of the siege of the city of the Jews, forty years after the ascension, by Vespasian the old man, and Titus his son, who killed multitudes of the Jews, and destroyed Jerusalem; and hence the Jews have been wandering to this day.''
But then it is not easy to account for it why a psalm of lamentation should be composed for the destruction of that people, which so righteously came upon them for their sins, and particularly for their contempt and rejection of the Messiah. It therefore seems better, with Calvin and Cocceius, to suppose that this psalm refers to the various afflictions, which at different times should come upon the church and people of God; and perhaps the superstition, wickedness, and cruelty of the Romish antichrist, may be hinted at.
Ver. 1. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?..... This the church supposed because of the prevalence, oppression, and triumph of the enemy, because of the hardships and afflictions she laboured under, and because of the hidings of the face of God from her, which unbelief interpreted of a casting off; see Ps 77:7 when in reality it was not so, only in appearance, and according to a wrong judgment made of things; for God never did nor never will cast off, nor cast away, his people whom he foreknew, Ro 11:1,
why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? the people of God are called "sheep", because subject to go astray, not only before conversion, but after; and because harmless and inoffensive in their lives and conversations; and because, though exposed to the insults and persecutions of men, and their butcheries and barbarities, and therefore called "the flock of slaughter", Zec 11:4, yet bear all patiently, as the sheep before her shearers is dumb; and because like sheep they are weak and timorous, unable to defend themselves; are clean, and so distinguished from dogs and swine; and are profitable, though not to God, yet to men, and one another; and like sheep are sociable, and love to be together: and they are called the sheep of the Lord's pasture; because he provides good pasture for them, leads them into it, and feeds them himself with Christ, the bread of life, the tree of life, and hidden manna; with covenant grace and promises, even the sure mercies of David; with discoveries of his love and grace, and with his word and ordinances; and yet these, when under afflictions and desertions, are ready to conclude that God is angry with them, yea, is very angry; that his anger burns against them, and his fierce wrath goes over them, signified by smoking; see De 19:20, alluding to men, who, when they are angry, become hot, as Kimchi observes, and their breath like smoke comes out of their nostrils.
{k} Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 29. col. 984. {l} Vid. T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 56. 2.
Psalms 74:2
Ver. 2. Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old,.... Alluding to the redemption of the congregation of Israel out of Egypt, when they were said to be "purchased", Ex 15:16 and as that people were typical of the people of God, they may be said to be "purchased then", even of old; though the purchase in reality was not made till the blood of Christ was shed, with which he purchased his church, Ac 20:28, indeed he was the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, in the purpose and promise of God, and in the typical sacrifices so early offered up, Re 13:8, and besides, the words may be considered as the words of the church of God groaning under antichristian oppression and cruelty, hundreds of years since the death of Christ, and so may be said to be of old purchased; and which is called a "congregation", because a select number, chosen of God, and called out of the world, and brought into one body, and into fellowship with Christ and one another; and though they may not meet together in one place, they are all of one body, and will one day make one general assembly and church of the firstborn, called "the congregation of the righteous", Ps 1:5 now it is desired of the Lord for these, that they might be remembered with his lovingkindness and tender mercies, with his covenant and promises, and be delivered and saved out of the hands of their enemies:
the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; the Targum adds, out of Egypt; but this is to be understood not of the redemption of the people of Israel, but of the redemption of the church of God from sin, Satan, the law, the world, hell, and death; who are chosen by the Lord for his inheritance, his peculiar treasure and portion; and which he highly values and esteems, and is dear unto him as such, as the redemption of them by the blood of Christ shows:
this Mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt; meaning the church of God, which often goes by this name, both in the Old and in the New Testament, comparable to the mount of Zion for its height, holiness, and immoveableness; where the Lord has promised to dwell, and where he does dwell, and will for evermore. As the reference to Sion literally understood, it is called "this Sion", because well known, and because the psalm might be composed or said in it, as Kimchi observes; and which shows that it was written before the destruction of the city and temple, and while Zion was the seat of religious worship, and therefore a prophecy of future times.
Psalms 74:3
Ver. 3. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations,.... That is, arise, hasten, move swiftly, and in the greatness of strength, and come and see the desolations made by the enemy, which look as if they would remain for ever; meaning either the desolations made in the city and temple of Jerusalem, either by Nebuchadnezzar, or by Titus; or the havocs and devastations made in the church of God by the tyranny and persecutions of antichrist; which have continued so long, that an end of them has been almost despaired of. So Jacob is said to "lift up his feet"; which we render went on his way, Ge 29:1. Some take these words in a different sense, as a prayer for the destruction of the church's enemies; so the Targum,
"lift up thy feet or goings, to make desolate the nations for ever;''
and Kimchi makes but one sentence of this and the following clause, and reads it thus,
"lift up thy feet, to make desolate for ever every enemy that does wickedly in the sanctuary:''
but the accent "athnach", which divides propositions, and is upon the word xun, forbids such a reading. The former sense is best, and most agreeable to the context;
even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary; by profaning and destroying the temple, as did Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, and Titus; or by antichrist sitting in the temple and church of God, setting up idolatrous worship in it, and blaspheming the tabernacle of God, and those that dwell therein, 2Th 2:4.
Psalms 74:4
Ver. 4. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations,.... Particular churches, gathered out of the world in Gospel order, and which meet together at particular times and places; in the midst of these, and against them their enemies, and who are the Lord's enemies, roar like lions, as Satan, and bloody persecutors, and particularly antichrist, whose mouth is the mouth of a lion, which is opened in blasphemy against God and his people, Re 13:2,
they set up their ensigns for signs; or "signs", "signs", false ones for true ones; meaning either military signs, as the Roman eagle, set as signs and trophies of victory; or idolatrous statues and images, such an one as Antiochus brought into the temple; or false miracles and antichristian marks, in the room of true miracles, and the true mark of Christ's followers; see 2Th 2:9. The Jewish writers generally interpret it of the divinations and superstitions rites used by the king of Babylon, when he was coming up against Jerusalem,
Eze 21:21.
Psalms 74:5
Ver. 5. A man was famous,.... Or, "it was", or "is known" {m}; the desolations the enemy made, the wickedness they committed, the terror they spread, and the signs they set in the sanctuary of the Lord:
according as he had lifted up, or "as one that lifts up"
axes upon the thick trees {n}; that is, the above things were as visible, and as well known, being as easy to be seen as such an action is, a man being obliged to lift his axe above his head, to cut down a thick tree: or rather the sense is, formerly a man was famous for, and it gave him some credit and esteem, to be an hewer of wood in the forest of Lebanon, where he lifted up his axe, and cut down the thick trees for the building of the temple, as the servants of Hiram king of Tyre did; and such an action was esteemed as if a man brought an offering to God; agreeably to which is Kimchi's note,
"when the temple was built, he who lifted up his axe upon a thick tree, to cut it down for the building, was known, as if he lifted it up above in heaven before the throne of glory; all so rejoiced and gloried in the building:''
and Aben Ezra interprets it of acclamations made above on that account. The words, according to the accents, should be rendered thus, "he" or "it was known, as he that lifteth up on high; even as he that lifteth up on high, axes upon the thick tree".
{m} edwy "cognitus erat", Munster; "noscitur", Cocceius; "cognoscitur, innotescit", Gejerus. {n} aybmk "velut adducens", Montanus, Gejerus; "tanquam sursum tollens et desuper inducens", Michaelis.
Psalms 74:6
Ver. 6. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. Formerly it was an honour to be employed in cutting down a tree for the building of the temple; but now so little regard was paid to it, that all its fine carved work, which Solomon made, 1Ki 6:18, was demolished at once in a rude and furious manner with axes and hammers; which was done either by the Chaldeans in Nebuchadnezzar's time, or by the Syrians in the times of Antiochus, or by the Romans in the times of Vespasian; the first seems intended; see
Jer 46:22.
Psalms 74:7
Ver. 7. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary,.... Or, "thy sanctuary into the fire" {o}; which denotes the utter destruction of it by fire, which was done both by the Chaldean and Roman armies; see
2Ki 25:9,
they have defiled, by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground, or "to the earth they have defiled the habitation of thy name" {p}; that is, to the last and lowest degree; this Antiochus did when he set up an idol in the temple, and Titus when he laid it level with the ground, not leaving one stone upon another, as our Lord predicted, Mt 24:1 the aggravation of which was, that it was the place where the Lord had put his name, where his name was called upon, and where was the symbol of his presence.
{o} Kvdqm vab "in ignem sanctuaria tua", Pagninus, Vatablus; so Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. {p} Kmv Nkvm wllx Ural "ad terram usque prophanarunt tabernaculum, vel habitationem nominis tui", Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Cocceius.
Psalms 74:8
Ver. 8. They said in their hearts, let us destroy them together,.... The Targum is,
"their children, are together;''
or "their kindred", as the Septuagint Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, taking the word to be of Nyn, which signifies a "son"; and the sense to be, that seeing they were all together, as the Jews were at the taking of Jerusalem, they might be cut off at once. Jarchi explains it of their rulers; Marinus, as Aben Ezra observes, derives it from a word which signifies to afflict and oppress, to which he agrees; see Ps 83:3,
they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land; not only in Jerusalem, where there were, the Jewish {q} writers say, four hundred and sixty, and others four hundred and eighty of them, but also in all the land of Judea; of these synagogues there is much mention made in the New Testament; they were places for public worship, in which, prayer was made, and the Scriptures were read and explained; see Mt 6:5, but it may be doubted whether they are meant here, since it does not appear that there were any until after the return of the Jews from Babylon {r}; the temple, and the parts of it, may be meant, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; or the schools of the prophets; though the psalm may refer to times after the Babylonish captivity, and so may design Jewish synagogues, and even take in places of worship among Christians.
{q} T. Hieros. Cetubot, fol. 35. 3. & Megillah, fol. 73. 4. {r} Vid. Vitringam de Synagog. Vet. l. 1. par. 2. c. 9. Reland. Antiqu. Heb. par. 1. c. 16. sect. 3. Burmannum de Synagogis disp. I. sect. 9.
Psalms 74:9
Ver. 9. We see not our signs,.... Either such miracles as were formerly wrought to support the faith of God's people in distress, and for their deliverance out of it, as when they were in Egypt, and brought forth from thence; see Ps 78:43 or rather their sabbaths and sacrifices, the passover and circumcision, and other ordinances and institutions of divine worship; which were signs of the presence of God with them, and of Christ, and blessings of grace, and good things to come by him; which ceased, or were interrupted in their captivity, and which the godly lament: or the signs of redemption, as Kimchi; and may be interpreted of the blindness and stupidity of the greater part of them, who could not discern the signs of the times, as before the destruction of the city and temple, Mt 16:3 so after it, when these being destroyed, and they in the hands of the Romans, might easily have perceived that the sceptre was departed from Judah, and therefore Shiloh must be come, or the Messiah; who also must have been in his temple, and Daniel's weeks be up; but these signs they saw not, nor do they yet: and so though the signs of the latter day are upon us, we see them not, or at least very few take notice of them, and lament them; such as a very great departure from the faith of the Gospel, a neglect of Gospel worship and ordinances, coldness and lukewarmness in matters of religion, want of love to Christ and his people, a general sleepiness and security, a form of religion without the power of it, a name to live and be dead, and iniquity abounding even among professors of religion; besides the frequent signs in heaven and in earth; see Mt 24:12,
there is no more any prophet; there were but few in the Babylonish captivity, and after Malachi there were none; there were none in the times of Antiochus; there were none till John the forerunner of Christ came; and in the latter day the two prophets that prophesy in sackcloth will be slain, and there will be no prophesying for a while,
Re 11:7. Kimchi explains it, there is no prophet yet, and interprets it thus, Elijah the prophet is not yet come:
neither is there among us any that knoweth how long; the calamity will endure, and ere deliverance will come; how long the Babylonish captivity would continue was known, that it would be seventy years, and no longer; the prophets that searched after the time of salvation and redemption by Christ knew how long it would be to it; Daniel fixed the exact time of it; but how long the present times will last we know not, or how long it is to the end of wonders; or when will end the 1260 days of the reign of antichrist, of the church's being in the wilderness, of the holy city being trodden under foot by the Gentiles, and of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth.
Psalms 74:10
Ver. 10. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?.... The name of God, as in the next clause, the divine Persons and perfections, the purposes and providence of God, his people, ways, worship, truths, and ordinances:
shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? The "adversary" and "enemy" being in the singular number, may intend some particular one, as antichrist; who is emphatically and eminently "the enemy" of God, he opposing himself to, and exalting himself above, all that is called God; and the adversary of Christ, as his name shows; not only setting himself in his room and stead, but undermining him in all his offices; changing his laws as a King, dishonouring his sacrifice and intercession as a priest, and doing injury to his word and ordinances as a Prophet; and who has a mouth speaking blasphemies against God, his name, and tabernacle, heaven, and they that dwell therein, angels and saints, Re 13:5. He reproaches and blasphemes God himself, by showing himself to be God, by suffering himself to be so called, and to be worshipped as if he was God; by taking infallibility to himself, and setting up image worship, and obliging persons to it: he reproaches and blasphemes the Son of God, in whom the name of God is, by pretending to be his vicar on earth, and head of the church; to transubstantiate the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ; and to offer him up again in the blasphemous service of the mass: he reproaches and blasphemes his Gospel, which is his name, Ac 9:15, by introducing doctrines contrary to it, as the doctrines of merit, of works of supererogation, and justification by works; and the Scriptures, which bear the name and authority of God, by making them a nose of wax, taking upon himself to be the infallible interpreter of Scripture, and sole judge of controversies; by setting up his own unwritten traditions upon an equality with them, and forbidding the use of them to the people in their mother tongue: and he reproaches and blasphemes his name and authority by assuming it to himself in civil things, deposing and setting up kings at his pleasure; in religious affairs, dispensing with the laws of God, and teaching for doctrines the commandments of men; yea, in matters of salvation, giving out pardons and indulgences, pretending to open and shut heaven at pleasure. Moreover, these terms may be understood of many enemies and adversaries, even of all the enemies of the grace of God, and person of Christ; such reproach and blaspheme the name of God the Father; by denying some of his perfections, as his sovereignty, omniscience, and punitive justice, and by charging his decrees with injustice, insincerity, and cruelty; they reproach and blaspheme the name of Christ, by denying his deity, eternal sonship, and distinct personality, and by speaking contemptuously of his righteousness, blood, and sacrifice; and they do despight unto the Spirit of grace, and speak evil of his person, and the operations of his grace on the souls of men; and such a day of rebuke and blasphemy is the present one: and these things give good men that observe them a great concern for the name of God, who are ready to fear there will be no end to these reproaches and blasphemies; but there will, the time is coming when the name of the Lord will be excellent in all the earth, and the Lord alone shall be exalted; but it is not known how long it will be to it.
Psalms 74:11
Ver. 11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even that right hand?.... By which is meant the power of God; by which he made the heavens and the earth, and all things therein, and supports them in their beings; by which the work of his grace is wrought in the hearts of his people, and they are upheld; and by which he conquers their enemies, and saves them: this may be said to be withdrawn when he denies his people the help and succour they have had from him; when he seems to have forsaken the work of his hands; when there is not that success in the ministry of the word there formerly was, his arm being not revealed and made bare; and when the enemies of religion prosper and get ground; and when the Lord seems to be altogether inactive and unconcerned, like a man that folds up his arms under his arm holes, or hides his hands in his bosom, see Ps 44:23 wherefore it follows:
pluck it out of thy bosom; as he will one day, and strike with a home blow, antichrist and his followers, and destroy them with his rod of iron, with which he will break them in shivers as a potter's vessel; and all his enemies shall feel the lighting down of his arm with the indignation of his anger; and then this request will be fulfilled: the word used signifies to "consume" {a}; and Kimchi interprets it, consume the enemy out of thy bosom, which is the house of the sanctuary; his secret place, as the bosom is to man; but both senses of the word maybe retained, and the meaning be, pluck it out of thy bosom to consume them {b}: also it signifies to restrain {c}; and the sense may be, as the above writer observes, restrain it, that it may not return to thy bosom, till thou hast executed judgment on the wicked.
{a} hlk "consume", Montanus, Gejerus. {b} So some in Vatablus. {c} "Cohibe", Junius & Tremellius.
Psalms 74:12
Ver. 12. For God is my King of old,.... Or "but God", or "verily God", &c. {d}; for these words contain the church's consolation under all the above melancholy circumstances, taken from what God was, and had been to her, even Christ, who is God over all; he was her King by the constitution and designation of his Father, and so he had been of old, even from everlasting; for so early was he set up as King; and he had in all ages been exercising his kingly office for the good of his church, and continued to do so; and this was her comfort, and is the comfort of saints in the worst of times, that Zion's King reigneth, see
Ps 46:1
working salvation in the midst of the earth; it is "salvations" {e} in the plural number, and means both spiritual and eternal salvation, which the Lord has wrought out; and is continually applying to his people; and temporal salvation, which the Lord has been and is daily working out; he continually protecting his people, and saving them from their enemies, and delivering them out of their afflictions and temptations; and which the church considers and improves into an argument to encourage her faith, and expect the time when her walls would be salvation, and her gates praise; and she should have reason to say, now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ; and give him all the glory of it; see
Isa 60:18, which salvation, as it has been, so will be wrought
in the midst of the earth; meaning not in the midst of the land of Judea, or in Judea, the middle of the world, but openly and publicly in all the earth; though Cyril of Jerusalem says {f} Golgotha is the midst of the earth, where Christ suffered and wrought out salvation; and that it is here referred to.
{d} Myhlaw "atqui Deus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "at Deus" Vatablus, Cocceius; "equidem", Tigurine version; "certe", Schmidt. {e} twewvy "salutes", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Cocceius, Gejerus. {f} Cateches. 13. sect. 13. p. 180. Vid. Amamae Antibarb. Bibl. l. 3. p. 798, &c.
Psalms 74:13
Ver. 13. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength,.... This and the following instances from hence to Ps 74:18 are proofs of God's working salvation in the midst of the earth; some of them seem peculiar to the people of Israel, and others are benefits common to mankind in general; which the church makes use of to encourage her faith and hope, in expectation of salvation, and deliverance out of her present distressed and melancholy circumstances. This seems to refer to the Lord's dividing of the Red sea into parts by a strong east wind, while Moses lifted up his rod and stretched out his hand as he was ordered, as a token of the divine power, and so the children of Israel passed through it as on dry land, Ex 14:21, and he that did this can make way for his redeemed ones to return to Zion with everlasting joy, Isa 51:10. Some render the words, "thou hast broken the sea by thy strength" {g}; subdued and conquered it, and so hast the dominion over it, rulest the raging of it, settest bounds to it, and hast ordered its proud waves to go so far and no farther; and thus the Arabic version, "thou hast made it to stand"; and the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "thou hast confirmed it": but our version is best, which refers it to the work of God at the Red sea, and with which the Targum agrees; and Aben Ezra observes, that some refer it to the dividing of the Red sea:
thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters: or great whales, as the word is rendered in Ge 1:21, by which are meant Pharaoh and his generals, his captains and chief men, who were destroyed in the waters of the Red sea; comparable to dragons for their strength, for their cruelty to the children of Israel, and for their wrath and malice against them; and so, for the same reason, another Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in later times, is called the great dragon, that lies in the midst of his rivers, Eze 29:3 and the king of Babylon or of Egypt, Isa 27:1. So the Targum paraphrases it:
"thou hast broken the heads of dragons, and hast suffocated the Egyptians in the sea.''
Rome Pagan is compared to a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, which have been broken and destroyed, Re 12:3, and Rome Papal has the power, seat, and great authority of the dragon; and though the Romish antichrist has two horns like a lamb, he speaks as a dragon, who also has seven heads and ten horns, and which ere long will be broke in pieces, see Re 13:1, in the faith of which the church might be strengthened, by considering what God had done to the heads of the dragon in the Red sea; to which may be added that Satan is called a dragon, Ps 91:13, whose head was bruised, and his principalities and powers spoiled, by Christ at his death, and will be utterly destroyed at his second coming.
{g} trrwp "contrivisti", Pagninus, Montanus; "disrupisti", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis; "rupisti", Cocceius.
Psalms 74:14
Ver. 14. Thou breakest the heads of leviathan in pieces,.... A large fish, generally thought to be the whale, by some the crocodile, described in Job 41:1 to which the king of Egypt or Babylon is compared, Isa 27:1 and so the Romish antichrist in one of his characters is represented as a sea beast with many heads, which will all be broken in pieces in due time, Re 13:1, as here is one "leviathan" with heads in the plural number. Aben Ezra thinks the word
lk is wanting, and may be supplied thus, "thou hast broken the heads of every leviathan"; it may be interpreted as before of Pharaoh and his chief men; so the Targum,
"thou hast broken the heads of the mighty men of Pharaoh:''
and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness; either to the wild beasts, called "tziim", the word here used,
Isa 13:21 and may be called a people, as the ants and coneys are,
Pr 30:25, to whom the dead bodies of Pharaoh and his host, drowned in the Red sea, were given for food, when they were cast upon the shore, where the Israelites saw them dead, Ex 14:28, or to the "Ichthyophagy", a sort of people that dwelt by the Red sea, and lived on fishes; and so the Egyptians became their food, they living upon the fish which devoured their bodies, at least some of them: the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "to the people", the Ethiopians; who, it seems, living upon the borders of Egypt, took this opportunity, when Pharaoh and his host were drowned, and seized upon their country; but others refer it to the people of Israel themselves, as the Targum,
"thou hast given them for destruction to the people of the house of Israel, and their bodies to the dragons;''
and so Jarchi,
"thou hast given his mammon or riches to the people of Israel, to feed their companies and armies;''
and Kimchi interprets it of the spoil of the sea which the Israelites took from them; and they may be truly called the people inhabiting the wilderness, since they were in one forty years; so the Romish "leviathan", or antichristian whore, will be given to the Christian kings, who will hate her, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; and to the Christian church, which now is in the wilderness, where it is nourished for a time and times, and half a time.
Psalms 74:15
Ver. 15. Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood,.... That is, the rocks at Horeb and at Kadesh, from whence water flowed as out of a fountain, and became a flood, whereby the people of Israel were supplied with water in the wilderness, and also their beasts; and from this instance it may be concluded that God will not leave his people, nor suffer them to want, but will supply all their need while they are in the wilderness, and will open fountains and rivers for them,
Isa 41:17 he himself is a fountain of living water; Christ is the fountain of gardens, and the Spirit and his grace a well of living water springing up unto everlasting life:
thou driedst up mighty rivers; the river of Jordan, called "mighty", as Kimchi says, because by its strength it overflowed all its banks and "rivers", and because other rivers flowed into it; this was dried up, or way was made through it, as on dry land, for the people of Israel to pass into Canaan, Jos 3:14, the Targum is,
"thou hast dried up the fords and brooks of Hermon, and the fords of Jabbok and Jordan;''
see Nu 21:14, and the Lord, that did this, is able to dry up, and will dry up, the river Euphrates, as is foretold, Re 16:12, that is, destroy the Turkish empire, and make way for the spread of the Gospel in the eastern parts of the world; to which reference is had in
Isa 11:15.
Psalms 74:16
Ver. 16. The day is thine, and the night also is thine,.... He made the one and the other, and divided the one from the other; and can make them longer or shorter, clear or cloudy, as he pleases: and the day of prosperity and night of adversity are at his disposal; all the times of his people and of his church are in his hands; sometimes it is a night of darkness, deadness, sleepiness, and security, as it now is; ere long there will be no more night, but bright day; the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven fold as the light of seven days; and this is to be expected from him whose is the day and the night also, Re 21:25. Jarchi interprets the day, of the redemption of Israel; and the night, of distresses and afflictions:
thou hast prepared the light and the sun; first the light, and then the sun; for the light was before the sun; or the luminary, even the sun. Aben Ezra interprets the "light" of the moon, and so the Targum; and Kimchi, both of the moon and of the stars; Jarchi takes the light figuratively to be meant of the light of the law; but it is much better to understand it of the light of the Gospel, which God has prepared, and will send forth more largely in the latter day, whereby the whole earth shall be lightened; and when Christ the "sun" of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings, and who gives both the light of grace and glory to his people.
Psalms 74:17
Ver. 17. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth,.... Of the whole world, and each of the nations, as of the land of Canaan, so of others, De 32:8, and even has fixed and settled the bounds of every man's habitation, Ac 17:26,
thou hast made summer and winter; see Ge 8:22, which, taken literally, are great benefits to the world; and, figuratively understood, may represent the two dispensations of the law and Gospel; see So 2:11, and the different frames of God's people when under temptations, and clouds, and darkness, and when they enjoy peace and comfort; and the different state of the church, when affected with affliction, persecution, false doctrine, deadness, and formality, which is now greatly the case; but there is a summer coming, when it will be otherwise; see Lu 21:30.
Psalms 74:18
Ver. 18. Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord,.... Or "hath reproached the Lord", as the Septuagint version and others render it, and very rightly; though not so well the former part of the clause, which it renders, or rather paraphrases, thus: "remember this thy creation", or "creature"; as if it referred to what goes before, as day and night, light and sun, the borders of the earth, summer and winter; whereas it is to be connected with what follows, the reproach of the Lord by the enemy; and it is a prayer of the church, that God would remember the enemy and his reproaches, which seemed to be forgotten, and inflict deserved punishments on him, which will be done in due time, Re 16:19, and that
the foolish people have blasphemed thy name; the "foolish people" are not such as want common sense, or are idiots; the blasphemers of God and Christ, and the blessed Spirit, are generally the wise and prudent of this world, from whom the things of the Gospel are hidden; but wicked and profane men: scoffers at religion, and blasphemers of Christ, his truths and ordinances, are commonly such who walk after their own ungodly lusts, who, though wise to do evil, are foolish in matters of religion: perhaps the Gentiles, which know not God, are here meant, and are so called, De 32:21, and it is observable, that the Papists bear the name of Gentiles in Re 11:2, and may be the foolish people here chiefly designed, who worship images of gold, silver, brass, and wood, and are notorious for their blasphemies;
See Gill on "Ps 74:10".
Psalms 74:19
Ver. 19. O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove,.... By which is meant the church, see So 2:14, which is comparable to this creature for its cleanness and purity, for its amiableness and beauty, for its harmlessness and innocence, for its modesty and meekness, for its affection and chastity to its mate, for its mournful and bemoaning voice for the loss of it, for its being a timorous and fearful creature, a weak one, and exposed to the prey of others; all which is true of the church, and may be applied to it: the Targum is,
"do not deliver the souls of them that teach thy law;''
the word having some affinity with "torah", the law; but Jarchi says, that Jonathan, in his Targum (which is not now extant) interprets it a turtle; the Syriac version, by the change of a letter, renders it, "the soul that confesseth thee": and the Arabic version, by a like change, and the addition of a letter, "the soul that knows thee"; all which, indeed, is applicable to the church of God; but our version expresses the true sense of the word, with which agree Jarchi, Kimchi, Ben Melech, and others: and it is a prayer of the church for herself; that the life of her members, their corporeal life (for not the soul, the better part, and its eternal concerns, are meant, which are safe in Christ's hands), might not be delivered
unto the multitude of the wicked, or "to the beast" {g}; to persecutors comparable to lions and bears, and particularly the Romish antichrist, often called the beast in Re 11:8, do not deliver
"to the people, who are like to the beasts of the field, the souls of, &c.:''
forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever; the church of God is a congregation of men gathered out of the world by effectual grace, and consists chiefly of such who are literally poor, and all of them are spiritually so, and are sensible of it; for the most part they are a poor and "afflicted" {h} people, as the word may be also rendered, which the church is made up of; and may seem by themselves and others to be forgotten of God, when under divine desertions, or under afflictions, and immediate help is not given; but they are not forgotten, and still less for ever; see Isa 49:14.
{g} tyxl "ferae", Montanus, Piscator; "bestiae", Musculus, Vatablus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; "bestiis", V. L. {h} Kyyne "afflictorum tuorum", Montanus, Vatablus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c.
Psalms 74:20
Ver. 20. Have respect unto the covenant,.... The Targum adds,
"which thou hast made with our fathers;''
meaning not the covenant of works, which being broken, no good thing was to be expected from it, not liberty, life, nor eternal salvation, but all the reverse; but the covenant of grace, made with Christ before the world was, and made manifest to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to David, and others: this God has a respect unto, and does look unto it; he looks to the surety and Mediator of it, which is Christ, for the fulfilment of all conditions in it; to the promises of it, that they may be made good; to the blessings of it, that they be bestowed upon the persons to whom they belong; to the blood of it, for the delivering of the church's prisoners, and the salvation of them from wrath to come; and to the persons interested in it, that they be all called and brought safe to glory; and particularly to the things in it, respecting the glory of the church in the latter day, and increase of its members, and of its light, which seem chiefly designed here; and therefore it follows:
for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty; many places of the earth are in gross darkness as to the knowledge of spiritual and divine things; even all those places which are inhabited by Pagans, Mahometans, and Papists, which make a great part of the globe; and in these dark places cruelty reigns, and especially in the antichristian states; wherefore the church pleads the covenant of God and his promises, that he would send forth his light and his truth, and cover the earth with the knowledge of the Lord, which is now covered with gross darkness, and under the tyranny and oppression of the man of sin.
Psalms 74:21
Ver. 21. O let not the oppressed return ashamed,.... From the throne of grace, not having an answer of their prayer, but still continuing under the oppressions of their enemies:
let the poor and needy praise thy name; let them have occasion for it, by the destruction of their enemies, and their deliverance from them, as they will have ere long; see Re 19:1.
Psalms 74:22
Ver. 22. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause,.... The church's cause being the cause of God; and therefore she desires that he would arise and exert himself, and take vengeance on his and her enemies: this is an interesting argument, and a forcible one:
remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily; this being so frequently repeated, as in Ps 74:10, shows how much the name and glory of God lay near her heart; the Targum is,
"remember the reproach of thy people by a foolish king all the day;''
perhaps the man of sin is meant, the king of the locusts, and angel of the bottomless pit.
Psalms 74:23
Ver. 23. Forget not the voice of thine enemies,.... Their roaring in the midst of the sanctuary and the congregation, Ps 74:4, their reproaching and blaspheming voice, Ps 74:10,
the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually, or "ascendeth" {i}; goes up to God, and is taken notice of by him; the cry of their sins, like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of the city of Nineveh, Ge 18:20, was continually going up to God; wherefore it might be hoped and expected that vengeance in a little time would come down; see Re 18:5, the Septuagint, and the versions that follow that, render it, "the pride of those", &c. all these petitions are prayers of faith, and are, or will be, heard and answered; upon which will follow thanksgivings, with which the next psalm begins.
{i} dymt hlwe "ascendens semper", Montanus; "ascendit semper", V. L. Musculus, Gejerus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Psalms 75:1
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 75
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, A Psalm [or] Song of Asaph. Of the word "altaschith", See Gill on "Ps 57:1", it signifies "do not destroy", or "do not corrupt"; the Targum renders it,
"do not destroy thy people;''
so Jarchi,
"do not destroy Israel;''
perhaps it may be considered as a petition, that God would not suffer the man of sin to go on to destroy the earth, and corrupt the inhabitants of it with his false doctrine, idolatry, and superstition,
Re 11:18, for the psalm respects the times of the Gospel dispensation, and includes both the first coming of Christ in the flesh, and his second coming to judgment; the argument of it with the Syriac version is,
"the divinity of Christ, and a remembrance of the judgment;''
it is said to be a psalm or song of Asaph, but is thought to be written by David, and delivered to Asaph; for it may be rendered "for Asaph" {k}; and so the Targum,
"by the hands of Asaph;''
though some think it was written after the Babylonish captivity; perhaps by some person whose name was Asaph, or was of the family of him that lived in David's time. Theodoret supposes it was written in the person of the captives in Babylon.
Ver. 1. Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks,.... Either David and his men, when he was delivered from Saul, and raised to the kingdom, or the Jews upon their return from the Babylonish captivity; or rather the churches of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, for the coming of Christ and the blessings of grace through him, and in the view of the sure and certain destruction of antichrist and all the wicked of the earth; yea, Christ himself may be considered as at the head of his people, joining with them in thanksgiving, to whom this action is sometimes ascribed, Mt 11:25 and the rather since he is continued all along speaking to the end of the psalm:
unto thee do we give thanks; which is repeated to show the constancy, fervency, and sincerity with which this was performed: it may be rendered, "unto thee do we confess" {l}; sins committed against God, unworthiness to receive favours from him, and his grace and goodness in bestowing them:
for that thy name is near; or rather, "for thy name is near" {m}; and so the words are a reason of the above thanksgiving; for they belong not so much to what follows after as to what goes before, since the accent "athnach" is upon Kmv, "thy name"; and are to be understood of God himself, for his name is himself; who is near to his people, both in relation, being their Father, and as to presence, communion, and fellowship, which are matter of praise and thanksgiving; or his works and word, by which he is known and made manifest; his works which are throughout the earth, and so near at hand, and his word which is nigh, being in the mouths and in the hearts of his people; or rather his Son, in whom his name is, his nature and divine perfections: he was at a distance in promise and prophecy, and only seen afar off; after the Babylonish captivity, at which time some think this psalm was written, he was near; the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, speak of him as just coming; and when he was made flesh, and dwelt among men, he was near indeed, so as to be found of them, seen, heard, and handled by them; on which account there was and is reason to give thanks to God:
thy wondrous works declare; meaning either the miracles of Christ, which were proofs and evidences of his being come, and of his being the true Messiah; see Mt 11:3 or the wonderful works done by him, which to do were the principal end of his coming; as the work of righteousness, the business of reconciliation, and in general the affair of redemption and salvation; all which were amazing instances of his power, grace, and goodness, and which are declared in the everlasting Gospel by the ministers of it; for the words, I think, may be better rendered, "they declare thy wondrous works" {n}, or impersonally, "thy wondrous works are declared".
{k} Poal "ipsi Asaph", Pagninus, Montanus; "Asapho", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {l} wnydwh "confessi sumus", Montanus; "confitemur", Cocceius, Michaelis. {m} bwrqw "nam propiuquum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {n} Kytwalpn wrpo "narrant mirabilia tua", Montanus; "enarrant", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Psalms 75:2
Ver. 2. When I shall receive the congregation,.... Some render it, from the Arabic signification of the word, "the promise" {o}; the Spirit promised, the gifts of the Spirit, which Christ received for men, and gave to men, whereby he executes the judgment or government of the church committed to him: others the time, so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Arabic versions, to which agrees the Targum, the word signifying a set appointed time, Ps 102:14, and so may respect the time appointed for the judgment of the world, which when come, Christ will execute in a most righteous manner, as follows; see Ac 17:31, but whereas the people of Israel met at the door of the tabernacle, which from thence was called "Ohel Moed", the tabernacle of the congregation; hence the word is used for a congregation, and here designs the general assembly and church of the firstborn written in heaven, even all the elect of God; these were received by Christ of his Father in eternity, when he espoused them to himself, and undertook the care of them; and they are received by him, one by one, in effectual calling; and in like manner are they received by him into glory at death; but when they are all gathered in, and are prepared for him as a bride for her husband, then will he receive them all in a body, and present them to himself a glorious church during the thousand years' reign; upon which will proceed the judgment of the wicked; see
Re 20:5,
I will judge uprightly; in equity, in strict justice, in the most righteous manner, rendering to every man according to his works; hence the future judgment is called a righteous one, and so is the Judge; no injustice will be done to men, but the strictest integrity, uprightness, and impartiality, will be observed in pronouncing the several sentences on the righteous and on the wicked, and in adjudging them to their several places and states.
{o} dewm "promissa", Schultens animadv. p. 174. "festi dona", Gusset. p. 334.
Psalms 75:3
Ver. 3. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved,.... Or "melted" {p}; the inhabitants, through fear and dread of the righteous Judge, appearing in the clouds of heaven, and of the wrath that is coming on they are deserving of; and the earth, through fire, when the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth and the works therein shall be burnt up, 2Pe 3:10.
I bear up the pillars of it.: so that it shall not utterly perish; for though by the fire, at the general conflagration, the heavens and the earth will be so melted and dissolved as to lose their present form, and shall be purged and purified from all noxious qualities, the effects of sin; yet the substance will remain, out of which will be formed new heavens and a new earth, and this through the power of Christ sustaining it, and preserving it from entire destruction or annihilation. R. Obadiah by "pillars" understands in a figurative sense the righteous, for whose sake the world is continued in its being; these at the general conflagration will be bore up and preserved by Christ, whom they shall meet in the air, even the church, who is the pillar and ground of truth; and not only the ministers of the Gospel, who are pillars in Christ's house, but also every believer, which is a pillar there, that shall never go out, 1Ti 3:15. Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret the pillars of the mountains.
Selah. See Gill on "Ps 3:2".
{p} Mygmn "liquefacti", Montanus; "liquefiet", Musculus.
Psalms 75:4
Ver. 4. I said unto the fools,.... To the vain gloriosos, proud boasters, mockers, and scoffers at the day of judgment, and burning of the world:
deal not foolishly; by glorying in themselves, boasting of their riches, and trusting in them; singing a requiem to themselves on account of their abundance, and by putting away the evil day far from them:
and to the wicked, lift not up the horn; of power, grandeur, and wealth, and use it to the injury of others; or be so elated with it as to look with disdain on others; or imagine they shall always continue in this exalted state, as antichrist the horned beast does, Re 18:7, the allusion is to horned beasts, particularly harts, which lift up their heads and horns in great pride {p}: the phrase signifies to behave proudly and haughtily.
{p} Vid. "Suidam in voce" ekepoutiav.
Psalms 75:5
Ver. 5. Lift not up your horn on high,.... Or "against the most High" {q}; as the little horn, or the beast with ten horns, antichrist, does, whose look is more stout than his fellows, and opens his mouth in blasphemy against God, his name, his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven, Da 7:8,
speak [not with] a stiff neck; arrogantly, proudly, and haughtily: or "hard things with a neck" {r}; hard speeches against Christ and his people with an outstretched neck, in an imperious and insolent manner; for the righteous Judge will convince such of their hard speeches, and condemn them for them; Jude 1:14.
{q} Mwrml "contra excelsum", Junius & Tremellius. {r} qte rawub "collo durum", Michaelis.
Psalms 75:6
Ver. 6. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. It is not from men, from themselves, or others, or from any quarter under the heavens, but from God; it is he that raises men to high places, and sets them there, which are often slippery ones: by him kings reign; they have their crowns and sceptres, thrones and kingdoms from him; there is no power but what is of God; riches and honour come of him, and he can take them away when he pleases; and therefore men should not be proud, haughty, and arrogant: some take these words to be the words of the fools and wicked, when they speak with a stiff neck, either as triumphing over the Messiah, his ministers, cause, and interest, reading the words thus, "neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, shall there be a lifting up" {s}, or an exaltation; that is, of Christ and his people, they are low, and shall never rise more; but in this they are mistaken; though now the Son of God is trampled under foot in his person and offices, there is a day coming when the Lord, and he alone, shall be exalted; though his ministers and witnesses prophesy in sackcloth, and shall be slain and lie unburied, yet they will arise again and ascend to heaven, to the great terror and astonishment of those their enemies; though Jacob is small, and it is said, by whom shall he arise? yet he shall become, great and numerous; the mountain of the Lord's house, the church, shall be established upon the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills; and this enlargement of Christ's kingdom and interest shall be east, west, north, and south; or else as flattering themselves that no evil shall come to them from any quarter: "neither from the east, nor from the west, nor, from the desert of the mountains" {t}, cometh evil; meaning to themselves, looking upon themselves as secure, and putting the evil day far from them: but there will be an awful and righteous judgment; there is a Judge ordained, a day appointed, in which the world will be judged in righteousness, and destruction and ruin will come upon the ungodly, and at a time when they are crying Peace, peace; nor shall they escape; and so the Syriac version renders the words, "for there is no escape from the west, nor from the desert of the mountains"; taking the word Myrh, not to signify "promotion, elevation", or "a lifting up", as Kimchi and others, whom we follow: but Moatanus and R. Aba observe that the word always signifies "mountains" but in this place: the Targum is,
"for there is none besides me from the east to the west, nor from the north of the wildernesses, and from the south, the place of the mountains;''
no Messiah to be expected from any quarter; see Mt 24:23, no God besides him, nor any other Saviour, Isa 44:6 nor any other Judge, as follows.
{s} Myrh "exaltatio", Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {t} "Neque a desertis montibus", V. L. "neque a deserto montium", Cocceius; "neque a deserto Australi montium", Michaelis.
Psalms 75:7
Ver. 7. But God is the Judge,.... Or "because God is the Judge" {u}; and so this is another reason why fools should not deal foolishly, nor wicked men lift up the horn, and speak with a stiff neck, because there is a Judge to whom they are accountable for their words and actions; and this Judge is God omniscient, knows all persons and things, searches the heart and tries the reins, will bring every secret thing into judgment, bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart; omnipotent, able to do all things, raise the dead, call to judgment, bring all before him, pass the sentences, and execute them; omnipresent, there is no fleeing from him, nor escaping his righteous judgment; holy, just, and true, who will render to every man according to his works:
he putteth down one, and setteth up another; he humbles or brings one low, such as are proud, haughty, and arrogant; and he exalts another, such as are lowly and humble: this he does in providence, he removes kings, and sets up kings; puts down the mighty from their seats, and exalts them of low degree, Da 2:21, he has many ways to mortify the proud, by inflicting diseases on their bodies, by stripping them of their honour and wealth, and by bringing them into disgrace among men: and this he does in grace; such as are stout hearted and far from righteousness, and will not submit to the righteousness of Christ, he brings them to it; and those whom he makes humble by his grace, he raises to a high estate, to be kings and priests, and to sit among princes, and to inherit a throne of glory. This might be exemplified in Jews and Gentiles; he has stripped the one of their privileges, and put them down from their civil and church state, and raised up the other to be his church and people; and also in antichrist and the true church of Christ; he will ere long put down the one, that sits as a queen, and exalt the other, when she shall be as a bride adorned for her husband, having the glory of God upon her.
{u} yk "quoniam", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus; "siquidem", Tigurine version; "quia", Gejerus; so some in Michaelis.
Psalms 75:8
Ver. 8. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,.... Another reason why men should not act haughtily and arrogantly; for by the cup are meant afflictions, calamities, and judgments, which are measured out in proportion to men's sins, and are of God's appointing, and in his hands, and at his disposal
and the wine is red; an emblem of the wrath of God this cup is full of, as it is explained, Re 14:10, where there is a reference to this passage; for it is a cup of fury, of trembling, and of indignation:
Isa 51:17,
it is full of mixture; has many ingredients in it, dreadful and shocking ones, though it is sometimes said to be without mixture,
Re 14:10, without any allay, alluding to the mixing of wine with water in the eastern countries; see Pr 9:2,
and he poureth out of the same; his judgments upon men in this world, in all ages; on some more, others less, as their sins call for, or his infinite wisdom judges meet and proper:
but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them; the whole cup that God has measured out and filled up shall be poured out at last, and all be drank up; the very dregs of it by the wicked of the world, when they shall be punished with everlasting destruction in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: this will be the portion of their cup, Ps 11:6.
Psalms 75:9
Ver. 9. But I will declare for ever,.... These are not the words of the psalmist, but of Christ, who is all along speaking in the psalm; what he would declare is not expressed, and is to be supplied in sense thus; either that he would declare the wonderful works of God,
Ps 75:1, so the Targum, his thoughts, mercies, and kindnesses to his people, as in Ps 55:5, or his judgments on his enemies, whom he shall pass sentence on, which will be for ever; or the name of the Lord, his purposes and decrees, his counsel and covenant, his mind and will, his Gospel and the truth of it: see Ps 22:22,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob; the covenant God of his people, Christ's God, and their God; of his singing praise to him, see
Ps 22:22.
Psalms 75:10
Ver. 10. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off,.... Therefore let them not lift up the horn on high: "horns" denote the power and authority of wicked men, their kingdoms and states; both Rome Pagan and Rome Papal are said to have ten horns, which are interpreted of ten kings or kingdoms; and which will be cut off when the vials of God's wrath are poured out on the antichristian states; which vials will be filled from the cup which is in the hand of the Lord,
Re 12:1, the Jews {b} interpret this of the ten horns of the nations of the world, that shall be cut off in future time; and Jarchi particularly of the horns of Esau, by whom he means Rome, or the Roman empire:
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted; either of the righteous one Christ, for the word is in the singular number; he who is the Lord our righteousness, whose power and authority, kingdom and government, shall be enlarged and increased, signified by the budding of the horn of David, and the exaltation of the horn of his Messiah, 1Sa 2:10 or of everyone of the righteous, which will be when the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, and they shall reign with Christ on earth a thousand years, Da 7:27. Kimchi says this will be in the war of Gog and Magog, which is expected by the Jews.
{b} Vid. Yalkut in loc.
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Psalms 76:1
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 76
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song of Asaph. The Targum is,
"by the hand of Asaph:''
concerning "neginoth", see the title of Ps 4:1, this psalm is generally thought to be written on account of some great appearance of God for the Jews, or victory obtained by them over their enemies, either the Ammonites in the times of David; so the first part of the Syriac inscription is,
"when Rabbah of the children of Ammon was destroyed;''
see 2Sa 12:26 or in the time of Jehoshaphat, when they came up against him, and were in a wonderful manner defeated, which occasioned great joy and thankfulness, 2Ch 20:1. The Septuagint version entitles the psalm "an ode against the Assyrian", in which it is followed by the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions: and it is the opinion of many that it was written on account of the defeat of Sennacherib, and his army, which came up against Jerusalem in the times of Hezekiah, and was destroyed by an angel in one night, and so slept their sleep, and a dead one, with which agree Ps 76:5, so Arama and Theodoret; Jarchi gives this reason for such an interpretation, because we do not find that any enemy fell at or near Jerusalem but he, as is said Ps 76:3, "there brake he the arrows of the bow", &c. nor was one arrow suffered to be thrown into the city, 2Ki 19:32. Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of the war of Gog and Magog, yet to come; and the latter part of the Syriac inscription is,
"moreover it shows the vengeance of the judgment of Christ against the ungodly;''
and indeed it seems to point out the latter day, when Christ shalt destroy the antichristian kings and states, and save his own people, and shall be feared and praised; as the former part of it may respect his incarnation, appearance, and dwelling in the land of Judea, and so the whole is of the same argument with the preceding psalm.
Ver. 1. In Judah is God known,.... God is to be known, and is made known, by his works of creation, and by his providences, and particularly by his judgments in the whole world, even among the Gentiles; and he was made known by his word and ordinances, his statutes and his judgments, among the Jews, to whom these were specially given; and he is made known by his Spirit, and in his Son in a spiritual and saving manner to such who are Jews inwardly, or the true circumcision: moreover this may be understood of Christ, God manifest in the flesh, and regard his appearance in human nature in the land of Judea; he was, according to prophecy, of the tribe of Judah as man, and was born in Bethlehem, a city in that tribe, where David was, and of the family of David, that formerly lived there: and he was made known by John the Baptist, who came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and by his being baptized of him in Jordan; by his own ministry and miracles in that land, and by the preaching of his apostles in the several cities of it, he was known in person to many; and by the fame of his doctrine and miracles to more, though seemingly but to few:
his name is great in Israel; he himself is great, for his name is himself, being the great God, and possessed of all divine perfections; his offices and titles are great, he is a great Saviour, a great High Priest, a great Prophet risen up in Israel, a great King, add the great Shepherd of the sheep; his works which make him known are great, his works of creation and providence, in which he is jointly concerned with his Father; the mighty works he did on earth, and especially the great work of our redemption; and his Gospel, which is called his name, Ac 9:15, brings glad tidings of great and good things; by means of which, and the wonderful things he did in the land of Israel, his fame was spread about in it, for he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; here his marvellous works were done, and his Gospel first preached, which afterwards went into all the earth.
Psalms 76:2
Ver. 2. In Salem also is his tabernacle,.... That is, in Jerusalem, as the Targum expresses it, where the tabernacle of Moses and the ark of the covenant were, and afterwards the temple of Solomon, which the Targum here calls the house of the sanctuary; and may be interpreted of the human nature of Christ, the true tabernacle which God pitched, and not man, in which the divine word when he was made flesh dwelt or tabernacled among the Jews at Jerusalem, and in other parts of Judea, Heb 8:2. Salem or Jerusalem often signifies the church of God in Gospel times, in the midst of which Christ resides, and where he grants his gracious presence, Heb 12:22 and in the New Jerusalem the tabernacle of God will be with men, and he will dwell among them,
Re 21:2. The Septuagint translate the word, and render it, "in peace", as in Heb 7:2, the God of peace dwells among those that live in peace, 2Co 13:11,
and his dwelling place in Zion; where the ark was brought by David, and the temple was built by Solomon, into which, as rebuilt by Zerubbabel, Christ came, and here he preached; a figure of the church, which is his habitation.
Psalms 76:3
Ver. 3. There brake he the arrows of the bow.... The Targum is,
"there brake he the arrows and the bows of the people that make war;''
the word ypvr, translated "arrows", signifies "sparks or coals of fire"; see Job 5:7 and is used of arrows, because they fly swiftly, as sparks do, or because of their brightness, or because fiery; so we read of "the fiery darts of Satan", Eph 6:16, and perhaps they may be meant here: when Christ our Lord suffered near Jerusalem, he spoiled principalities and powers, and broke their strength and might, and made peace by the blood of his cross, in which he triumphed over them; for the destroying of these instruments of war with what follow:
the shield, and the sword, and the battle, is expressive of making wars to cease, and causing peace; and may include the peace which was all the world over at the birth of Christ, and was foretold and expressed in much such language as here, Zec 9:9, and also that which was made by his sufferings and death, and which was published in his Gospel by his apostles, whom he sent forth unarmed, whose weapons were not carnal, but spiritual; and likewise the spiritual peace he gives to his people, quenching the fiery darts of Satan, and delivering them from the archers that shoot at them, and sorely grieve them; as well as that peace which shall be in the world and churches in the latter day; see
Ps 46:11,
Selah. See Gill on "Ps 3:2".
Psalms 76:4
Ver. 4. Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. Which is to be understood not of Zion, as some interpret it; though it is true that the mountain of Zion, or the church of Christ, his kingdom and interest, shall in the latter day be more glorious and excellent than all other mountains, kingdoms, and interests; see Isa 2:2, but of God or Christ before spoken of; and so the Targum,
"bright, to be feared, art thou, O God, to be praised from the house of thy sanctuary.''
Christ, who is God over all, is "bright" {z}, splendid, and glorious, in his divine nature, being the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person: and "excellent" in his office as Mediator, and in all his works as such; and in human nature, at he is exalted at his Father's right hand, far above all principality, power, might, and dominion, signified here by "mountains of prey": the kingdoms of this world, because of their eminence and strength, are compared to mountains: see Isa 41:15 and may be called "mountains of prey", in allusion to mountains inhabited by beasts of prey, as lions and leopards; see So 4:8 because obtained and possessed by tyranny and oppression. Christ is more glorious and excellent than the kings of the earth; he is higher than they, and is King of kings; he is richer than they, the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein; he is wiser than they, by him kings reign, and princes decree justice; he is more powerful than they, and all must submit to him, and all will serve him hereafter; and his kingdom will be greater than theirs, more large and more lasting; it will be an everlasting one, and reach from sea to sea, and even to the ends of the earth.
{z} rwan "illustris", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "illustrior", Tigurine, version; "splendidus", Vatablus, Gejerus, Michaelis; "bright", Ainsworth.
Psalms 76:5
Ver. 5. The stout hearted are spoiled,.... The Assyrian army, its officers and generals, that came up against Jerusalem, with great resolution and courage, and with daring impiety and blasphemy against the God of heaven, as Rabshakeh and others; these were spoiled, and their armour and riches became a prey to those they thought to have made a prey of. So principalities and powers were spoiled by Christ upon the cross, and Satan, the strong man armed, has in the conversion of a sinner his armour taken from him, and his spoils divided by him that is stronger than he; and such as are stouthearted, and far from true righteousness, are stripped of their own, and made willing, in the day of Christ's power upon them, to submit to his; and as for antichrist, whose look is more stout than his fellows, that exalts himself above all that is called God, and opens his mouth in blasphemy against him and his followers, he shall be destroyed with the breath of Christ's mouth, and the brightness of his coming: or "the stout hearted have spoiled themselves" {a}; as the Midianites did, or gave themselves for a prey; so the Targum,
"the stouthearted have cast off from them the weapons of war;''
threw away their armour, and ran away, such of them as were not destroyed by the angel. It is observable, that the Hebrew word, translated "spoiled", is in the Syriac form:
they have slept their sleep: the sleep of death, as did the Assyrians when smitten by the angel, which was done in the night, when probably they were fast asleep, and so never awoke more, as the Babylonians,
Jer 51:57. So Jezebel, or the Romish antichrist, shall be cast into a bed, and her children killed with death, Re 2:22. Death is often in Scripture signified by a sleep, both the death of the righteous and of the wicked; but there is a difference between the one and the other; wherefore the death of the wicked here is called "their sleep"; the one sleep in Jesus, in his arms, and under his guardianship, the other not; to the one death is a true and proper rest from toil and labour, to the other only a cessation from doing mischief, Job 3:17, the one rests in hopes of a glorious resurrection, the other not; the one will awake in Christ's likeness, and to everlasting life; the other in the image of Satan, and to everlasting shame and contempt:
and none of the men of might have found their hands; none of the valiant soldiers in the Assyrian army could find their hands to fight their enemies, or defend themselves; as men in a deep sleep cannot find their hands to do anything, and are as if they had none, and still less in a dead sleep. The Targum is,
"they were not able to lay hold on their armour with their hands.''
This was the case of them that were killed; and as for those that remained alive, they were struck with such a panic, that their hearts could not endure, nor their hands be strong when God thus dealt with them; and so it will be with the antichristian army at the battle of Armageddon; and so it is with the wicked at death, they cannot find their hands so as to prevent it; and when it has seized upon them, they cannot find their hands to do any more mischief.
{a} wllwtva "praedae se exposnerunt", Tigurine version, Gejerus; "dediderunt se in praedam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Psalms 76:6
Ver. 6. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob,.... The God of Jacob personally, and of his posterity, the children of Israel, and of the church, often so called who rebukes his people in love, but his enemies with furious rebukes, with rebukes in flames of fire; with such he rebukes the Heathen, destroys the wicked, and puts out their name for ever:
both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep; that is, the riders in chariots and on horses; such there were doubtless in the Assyrian army, it being usual to have such in great armies. Kimchi observes, that the word Mdrn, translated "cast into a dead sleep", is in the singular number, and interprets it of the king, the head of the men of might: but Sennacherib, king of Assyria, was not slain, he departed to his own country; wherefore he applies it to Gog and Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, Eze 39:1 and may very well be understood of the head of the apostasy, the king of the bottomless pit, the beast or false prophet, who being destroyed, the flesh of his captains and horsemen shall be the food of the fowls of the air, at the supper of the great God, Re 19:17.
Psalms 76:7
Ver. 7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared,.... By his own people with reverence and godly fear, because of his greatness and goodness; and to be dreaded by his enemies; which seems to be the sense here, as appears by what follows:
and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? or "from the moment thou art angry" {b}; so the Targum, from the "time", and Jarchi, from the "hour": that is, as soon as ever his anger begins, when it is kindled but a little, and how much less when it burns in its full strength? there is no standing before his justice, and at his judgment seat, with boldness and confidence, and so as to succeed, or come off acquitted, without having on his righteousness; and much less is there any standing before his wrath and fury, when his hand takes hold on judgment to execute it; see Na 1:6.
{b} Kpa zam "ex quo irasceris", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "a momento, vel tempore irae tuae", Michaelis.
Psalms 76:8
Ver. 8. Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven,.... When an angel was sent down from heaven, and destroyed the Assyrian army, a judgment of God upon them; at which time some think there was a violent clap of thunder, which is the voice of God: and it may refer to the judgments which God has decreed to execute on the antichristian states, the seven vials of his wrath he will pour upon them; for all decrees, as Aben Ezra on the place observes, come from heaven; or to the last judgment, when Christ the Judge shall descend from heaven, the voice of the archangel shall be heard, the last trumpet shall sound, the dead in their graves shall hear it, and rise and stand before the judgment seat, and hear the sentence pronounced:
the earth feared, and was still: or "trembled, and was quiet" {c}; that is, again: some think there was an earthquake when the angel smote the Assyrian camp, but was quickly over. It may regard the panic the other nations were in when they heard of it, and therefore were still and quiet, and never offered to give the Israelites any disturbance. Some understand this of the remainder of the army that escaped with Sennacherib; these were seized with fear, and quickly withdrew, and silently departed into their own land. Aben Ezra observes it as the sense of some, "the earth feared", these are the wicked; "and was still", they are the righteous; so the Targum,
"the land of the people feared, the land of Israel was still;''
reference may be had to the consternation, fear, and dread, that will fall on them that escape the judgments inflicted on the antichristian party, Re 11:13 and the fear and silence that will attend the last and awful judgment; see Zec 2:13.
{c} hjqvw hady Ura "terra tremuit, et quievit", V. L.
Psalms 76:9
Ver. 9. When God arose to judgment,.... He may sometimes seem to be asleep, and to defer judgment, but he will arise and hasten it in his own time, and will take vengeance on all his and his people's enemies, as he did upon the army of the Assyrians, and will upon the antichristian powers, and upon all the wicked, and at the same time will save his own people, as follows:
to save all the meek of the earth; the quiet in the land, who are afflicted in this world, despised by the men of it, are lowly and humble, and mean in their own eyes; these the Lord takes notice of and cares for them, he will beautify them with salvation; these, all of them, even everyone of them, shall be saved in him with an everlasting salvation; this verse is by some connected with the preceding; so Kimchi, "the earth feared, and was still, when God arose to judgment", &c. and by others, as R. Moses and Aben Ezra, with the following.
Selah. See Gill on "Ps 3:2".
Psalms 76:10
Ver. 10. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee,.... Either the wrath which comes from God, and has man for its object; and that either as it regards the people of God; so the Targum,
"when thou art angry with thy people, thou hast mercy on them, and they shall confess unto thy name;''
or praise thee; see Isa 12:1, they are deserving of the wrath of God, but are not appointed to it, and are delivered from it by Christ, who bore it for them as their representative; by which as the justice of God is glorified, it is matter of praise to them; when the law enters into their consciences, it works wrath there, which being removed by the application of pardoning grace, is an occasion of praise to God; and whereas, under afflictive dispensations, they apprehend and deprecate the wrath of God, when they are delivered from them their mouths are filled with songs of praise: or, as it regards wicked men, so it came forth upon the old world, and drowned it; upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and reduced them to ashes; upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, in the plagues inflicted on them; all which turned to the praise and glory of God; of the last instance, see Ro 9:17, it came upon the wicked Jews to the uttermost in the destruction of their nation, city, and temple; and upon Rome Pagan, in the entire demolition of it as such; and so it will come upon Rome Papal, which will be attended with great joy, praise, and thanksgiving in the saints; see Re 11:17 or else this is to be understood of the wrath which is in man, and comes forth from him, and has him for its subject; which though it does not work the righteousness of God, yet the righteousness of God is glorified both in checking and punishing it; and the more it rages and burns against the people of God, the greater reason have they to praise the Lord when delivered from it; see
Ps 124:1, so the wrath of the Assyrian monarch, and of railing and blaspheming Rabshakeh, gave the people of the Jews a greater occasion to praise the Lord for their wonderful deliverance; so the wrath of men against Christ, his church and people, his ministers, Gospel, and ordinances, will all turn to the glory of his name, when in the issue it will be seen that these are established, overcoming all the rage and malice of men:
the remainder of wrath shall thou restrain: that which remains in a man's breast, he has not yet vented, God can and does keep in, that it may not break forth; this very likely was verified in Sennacherib, who might breathe revenge, and threaten the Jews with a second visit; but was prevented by a sudden and violent death. Some read the words, "the remainder of wraths thou wilt gird" {d}; that is, those that remain, and are not destroyed through the rage and fury of men, God will gird with strength to defend themselves, and resist their enemies that may rise up against them, or with gladness, because of deliverance from them; see Ps 18:32. Some understand this of the wrath of God, which he has in reserve and store for wicked men, and render the words thus, with the remainder of wrath wilt thou gird thyself {e}; and so come forth like an armed man, clad with zeal, and arrayed with the garments of wrath and vengeance; see Isa 49:17.
{d} rgxt tmx tyrav "res duum irarum accinges", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator, Gejerus. {e} "Reliquo indignationum accinges te", so some in Vatablus; "residuo irarum accinges te", Michaelis.
Psalms 76:11
Ver. 11. Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God,.... Not monastic vows, which the Papists would infer from these and such like words; nor ceremonial ones, but spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, such as men sometimes make in times of distress, or when delivered,
Ps 66:13 and which when vowed ought to be paid, Ec 5:4, not to creatures, angels, or saints, but to God, from whom the mercy desired must be expected, and from whence it comes,
Ps 50:14, these words are an address to such who were delivered from wrath, either of God or man:
let all that be round about him; who surround the throne of his grace, gather together in his house to attend his word and ordinances, who are his servants, and constantly and faithfully adhere to him; among whom he grants his presence, they are near to him, and he to them. It is a periphrasis of the assembly of the saints; see Ps 89:7. The Targum is,
"all ye that dwell round about his sanctuary;''
the allusion is to the situation of the camp of Israel, and the tabernacle in the wilderness, Nu 2:1 compare with this Re 4:4,
bring presents unto him that ought to be feared, or "to the fear" {f}, which is one of the names of God; see Ge 31:42 and who is and ought to be the object of the fear and reverence of men; the "presents", to be brought to him are the sacrifices of prayer and praise, yea, the whole persons, the souls and bodies, of men; see Ps 72:10, compare with this 2Ch 32:22. The Targum is,
"let them bring offerings into the house of the sanctuary of the terrible One;''
of him that is to be feared, with a godly fear by good men, and to be dreaded by evil men, as follows.
{f} arwml "ad verb terrori, timori", Vatsblus; "numini", De Dieu, "venerando et timendo huic numini", Michaelis; so Ainsworth.
Psalms 76:12
Ver. 12. He shall cut off the spirit of princes,.... The pride of their spirits, as the Targum, humble their proud spirits, and bring them down; or dispirit them, take away their courage from them, upon which they flee apace to rocks and mountains to cover them; or confound them, blast their schemes, and carry their counsel headlong, and even take away their breath, or life; which he can as easily do as a man can cut off a bunch of grapes from the vine, as the word {g} here used signifies; the destruction of the wicked is expressed by cutting down the vine of the earth, and casting it into the winepress of God's wrath, Re 14:17,
he is terrible to the kings of the earth; as he was to the king of Assyria, when he sent his angel, and destroyed his army; and as he has been to others in all ages; so he will be to the kings of the earth that have committed fornication with the whore of Rome, who will be in the utmost panic at the time of her destruction, Re 18:9, and who will themselves be overcome by the Lamb, Re 16:14. The Targum is, he is to be feared above all the kings of the earth.
{g} ruby "qui vindemiat", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "succidet nempe, ut vindemiator racemos", Vatablus, so Ainsworth.
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