King James Version
Psalms 74
23 verses with commentary
Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause
Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Maschil: or, A Psalm for Asaph to give instruction
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?</strong> This communal lament opens with two anguished questions directed at God. Unlike Psalm 73's personal crisis, Psalm 74 addresses national catastrophe—likely the destruction of the temple. The psalmist (Asaph or one writing in his tradition) does not question whether God exists but...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Why hast . . .**—Better, *why hast thou never ceased abandoning us?*
**Anger.**—Literally, *nostril, *as in Psalm 18:8, “there went a smoke from his nostril.”
**The sheep of thy pasture.**—An expression peculiar to the Asaphic psalms and Jeremiah 23:1.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-22. (Compare Psa 22:19; 35:3). All terms of frequent use. In this Psalm the language is generally susceptible of application to Christ as a sufferer, David, as such, typifying Him. This does not require us to apply the confessions of sin, but only the pains or penalties which He bore for us.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. rod: or, tribe
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalmist appeals to three covenant realities: God's congregation which He "purchased" (Hebrew <em>qanah</em>, the same verb used of God's creative ownership in Genesis 14:19), emphasizing divine initiative in redemption; the "rod of thine inheritance" (Hebrew <em>shebet nachalatecha</em>), using the tribal language that makes Israel God's personal possession; and Mount Zion where God chose to ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Purchased.**—Or, as in LXX**., ***acquired. *This word, together with the word “redeemed” in the next clause, and “right hand” in Psalm 74:11, show that Exodus 15 was in the writer’s mind. (See especially Psalm 74:12-13; Psalm 74:16 of that chapter.)
The word “congregation” here, as in the Mosaic books, presents the people in its religious aspect, as the expression “rod (or, *tribe*) of thin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
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KJV Study Commentary
The imperative "lift up thy feet" (Hebrew <em>harimah pe'ameycha</em>) is vivid language urging God to come quickly to survey the devastation. The phrase "perpetual desolations" (Hebrew <em>mashshot netsach</em>) emphasizes the totality and seeming permanence of the destruction. The enemy has "done wickedly in the sanctuary" (Hebrew <em>here'a haoyev baqqodesh</em>), violating the holy place dedic...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Lift up thy feet.**—Better, *Lift thy steps. *A poetical expression. God is invoked to hasten to view the desolation of the Temple. A somewhat similar expression will be found in Genesis 29:1 (margin).
**Perpetual desolations.**—The word rendered “desolations” occurs also in Psalm 73:18, where it is rendered “destruction.” Here, perhaps, we should render *ruins which must be ever ruins, *or ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 39 Psa 39:1-13. To Jeduthun (1Ch 16:41, 42), one of the chief singers. His name mentioned, perhaps, as a special honor. Under depressing views of his frailty and the prosperity of the wicked, the Psalmist, tempted to murmur, checks the expression of his feelings, till, led to regard his case aright, he prays for a proper view of his condition and for the divine compassion.
**1. I said--**or...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalmist describes enemy desecration: "Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs" (Hebrew <em>sha-agu tzorereycha b-qerev mo-adekha shamu ototam otot</em>). "Roar" (Hebrew <em>shaag</em>) describes beasts or warriors—barbaric conquest. "Congregations" (Hebrew <em>mo-adim</em>) are appointed meeting places with God. The enemies plant their militar...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Thine enemies . . .**—As the text stands, render, *Thine enemies have roared in the midst of thine assembly, *but many MSS. have the plural as in Psalm 74:8, where see Note for the meaning of the word.
For “roared,” see Psalm 22:1, Note, and comp. Lamentations 2:7, where a similar scene is described. Instead of the voices of priest and choir, there have been heard the brutal cries of the hea...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. even from good--**(Ge 31:24), everything.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalmist describes destruction: "A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees" (Hebrew <em>yivvada k-m-vi l-ma-lah b-svakh-etz qardummot</em>). The image depicts woodsmen hacking temple cedar—once honored craftsmen are now destructive invaders. What was built with skill is demolished with axes. The verse captures tragic irony: tools meant for construction become ins...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) The Authorised Version, with the ancient versions, has entirely mistaken the meaning of this verse, though, unlike the LXX. and Vulgate, it has the merit of being intelligible. Literally the words run, *he *(or *it*)* is known like one causing to come in on high against the thicket of trees axes, *which is generally understood, *it seems as if men were lifting up axes against a thicket of tree...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. His emotions, as a smothered flame, burst forth.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers</strong>—The Hebrew <em>pittûḥîm</em> (פִּתּוּחִים) refers to the intricate engravings and wood carvings that adorned Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:29, 32). The brutal imagery of <em>kappîsh</em> (כַּפִּישׁ, axes) and <em>kêlappôth</em> (כֵּילַפֹּת, hammers) smashing these sacred works portrays the Babylonian desec...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-7. Some take these words as those of fretting, but they are not essentially such. The tinge of discontent arises from the character of his suppressed emotions. But, addressing God, they are softened and subdued.
**make me to know mine end--**experimentally appreciate.
**how frail I am--**literally, "when I shall cease."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They have cast: Heb. They have sent thy sanctuary unto the fire
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They have cast fire into thy sanctuary</strong> (שִׁלְחוּ בָאֵשׁ מִקְדָּשֶׁךָ, <em>shilḥû vā'ēsh miqdāshekā</em>)—The verb <em>shālaḥ</em> means to send forth or hurl, suggesting violent, deliberate desecration. The <em>miqdāsh</em> (sanctuary) was not merely a building but the meeting place between holy God and sinful humanity, mediated through sacrifice and priesthood. Fire, which should...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **They have cast fire into.**—Literally, *They have cast into fire thy sanctuary. *Probably a hyperbolic expression, and purporting to express the vastness of the conflagration. Others compare with the English “set on fire,” and French *mettre à feu.*
We learn from 1 Maccabees 4:38, and Josephus, *Antt. xii.*, 7:6, that Judas Maccabæus, in coming to restore the Temple, found that the gates had...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-7. Some take these words as those of fretting, but they are not essentially such. The tinge of discontent arises from the character of his suppressed emotions. But, addressing God, they are softened and subdued.
**make me to know mine end--**experimentally appreciate.
**how frail I am--**literally, "when I shall cease."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. destroy: Heb. break
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together</strong>—The Hebrew <em>yōnêm yaḥdāw</em> (יוֹנֵם יַחְדָּו) means "let us oppress/subdue them altogether." The Babylonians' intent went beyond military conquest to cultural and religious genocide—the systematic eradication of Judah's identity as God's covenant people. <strong>In their hearts</strong> (<em>bəlibbām</em>, בְּלִבָּם) rev...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **All the synagogues of God in the land.**—This expression excludes from *moed *either of the meanings possible for it in Psalm 74:4, “the Temple” or “the assembly.” Buildings, and these places of worship, must be meant, and it is implied that they are scattered over the land, and can therefore mean nothing but synagogues. The “high places” would’ not be called God’s, nor would Bethel and Dan ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-7. Some take these words as those of fretting, but they are not essentially such. The tinge of discontent arises from the character of his suppressed emotions. But, addressing God, they are softened and subdued.
**make me to know mine end--**experimentally appreciate.
**how frail I am--**literally, "when I shall cease."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
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KJV Study Commentary
The lament continues: "We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long" (Hebrew <em>ototenu lo ra-inu eyn-od navi v-lo-ittanu yodea ad-meh</em>). Three tragic losses: "our signs" (God's confirming miracles), prophets (God's spokesmen), and knowledge of duration. The verse captures spiritual famine—no word from God, no guidance, no timeline. T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **We see not our signs . . .**—It is natural to take this statement in direct contrast to what Psalm 74:4 (see Note) says of the heathen signs. While these abominations—rallying points of savage profanity—were visibly set up, the tokens of the invisible God’s presence, His wonders wrought for Israel, are no more seen.
**There is no more any prophet.**—This was the constant lament of the Maccab...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-7. Some take these words as those of fretting, but they are not essentially such. The tinge of discontent arises from the character of his suppressed emotions. But, addressing God, they are softened and subdued.
**make me to know mine end--**experimentally appreciate.
**how frail I am--**literally, "when I shall cease."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalmist pleads: "O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?" (Hebrew <em>ad-matay Elohim y-charef tzar y-na'etz oyev shim-kha la-netzach</em>). "How long" is lament's persistent question—not doubting God's ability but seeking His timing. "Adversary" and "enemy" blaspheme not just Israel but God's name. The duration ("forever") expresses felt per...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10-15) ln the true prophetic spirit, as Moses brought the cries of distress “by reason of their bondage” from the oppressed Israelites to God (Exodus 5:22), so this poet carries to the same God the pathos of this later cry, *How long? how long? *In answer, the deliverances of old rush into his mind. He recalls the right hand once stretched out to save (now thrust in inaction into the bosom), the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8-10. Patiently submissive, he prays for the removal of his chastisement, and that he may not be a reproach.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom .
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalmist pleads urgently: "Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom" (Hebrew <em>lammah tashiv yad-kha vi-minekha mi-qerev cheyk-kha kalleh</em>). The "right hand" symbolizes power and action. God's hand "in His bosom" pictures inactivity, withholding help. "Pluck it out" urges God to act decisively. The verse voices frustration at divine inaction—not irrev...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Why withdrawest thou.**—Literally, *returnest, i.e.*, into the ample folds of the Eastern robe. The poet is thinking of Exodus 4:7.
**Pluck it out of thy bosom**.—Literally, *out of the midst of thy bosom consume. *For the same absolute use of this verb comp. Psalm 59:13. The clause is an instance of pregnant construction (comp. Psalm 74:7), and is plainly equivalent to, *Why dost thou not ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8-10. Patiently submissive, he prays for the removal of his chastisement, and that he may not be a reproach.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 74
Chapter Outline
The desolations of the sanctuary.(1-11)
Pleas for encouraging faith.(12-17)
Petitions for deliverances.(18-23)
**Verses 1-11**
This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things Go...
Read full commentary →For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.</strong> After describing the devastation (verses 3-11), the psalmist pivots to affirmation. Despite present ruin, he declares continued faith in God as King. This transition from lament to confidence is characteristic of Israel's psalms of complaint—they rarely end where they begin.<br><br>"God is my King" (<em>Elohim...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **For.**—Better, *and, *or *and yet.*
**My king.**—The poet speaks for Israel. (Comp. Psalm 44:4; Habakkuk 1:12.)
**In the midst of the earth.**—Or, as we might say, “on the great theatre of the world.” Certainly we must not render here *land *instead of *earth, *since the wonders of Egypt, &c, are the theme.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8-10. Patiently submissive, he prays for the removal of his chastisement, and that he may not be a reproach.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties. The God of Israel is the God of nature. He that is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night, will ne...
Read full commentary →Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. divide: Heb. break dragons: or, whales
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KJV Study Commentary
Yet confidence emerges: "For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth" (Hebrew <em>v-Elohim malki mi-qedem po-el y-shuot b-qerev ha-aretz</em>). After lament (vv.1-12), the psalmist recalls theology. "My King" claims personal relationship. "Of old" recalls historical faithfulness. "Working salvation" (Hebrew <em>yeshuah</em>, same root as Jesus/Yeshua) emphasizes God's sa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Thou.**—Verse after verse this emphatic pronoun recurs, as if challenging the Divine Being to contradict.
**Divide.**—Literally, *break up.*
**Dragons.**—Hebrew, *tannînîm, *not to be confounded with *tannîm *(Psalm 44:19, where see Note). It is the plural of *tannín, *which always indicates some aquatic monster. In Genesis 1:21 it is translated *whale, *so here by Symmachus. The LXX. (comp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11. From his own case, he argues to that of all, that the destruction of man's enjoyments is ascribable to sin.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties. The God of Israel is the God of nature. He that is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night, will ne...
Read full commentary →Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces</strong>—In the midst of lamenting temple destruction, Asaph recalls God's primordial victory over chaos. <em>Liwyātān</em> (לִוְיָתָן, leviathan) appears in Job 41 as the ultimate untamable creature, representing forces of chaos and evil. The Hebrew <em>rāṣaṣtā</em> (רִצַּצְתָּ, crushed/shattered) is violent and decisive—God didn't merely defe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Leviathan.**—See last note.
**And gavest** **him . . .**—The crocodile was eaten by the people of Elephantine (Herod. ii. 69), but there is no allusion here to that custom, nor to the *Ichthyophagi *mentioned by Agatharchides, nor to the Æthiopians (as in the LXX.). It is the Egyptian corpses thrown up by the Red Sea that are to be devoured (comp. Ezekiel 29:3-5) by the “wild beasts,” calle...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-13. Consonant with the tenor of the Psalm, he prays for God's compassionate regard to him as a stranger here; and that, as such was the condition of his fathers, so, like them, he may be cheered instead of being bound under wrath and chastened in displeasure.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties. The God of Israel is the God of nature. He that is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night, will ne...
Read full commentary →Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. mighty: Heb. rivers of strength
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm celebrates God's power: "Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers" (Hebrew <em>atah vaqata ma-yan va-nachal atah hovashta nahrot eytan</em>). God "cleaves" (opens) fountains and "dries up" floods—sovereign control over water. This recalls Moses striking the rock (Exodus 17:6, Numbers 20:11) and Israel crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and Jordan (Joshua ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Thou didst cleave . . .**—Another pregnant expression for “thou didst cleave the rock, and a fountain came forth.”
**Flood.**—Better, *brook. *Heb., *nāchal.*
**Mighty rivers.**—See margin. But, perhaps, rather. *rivers of constant flow, *that did not dry up in summer like the “brooks.” The same word is used of the sea (Exodus 14:27), to express the return to the regular flow of the tide.
T...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-13. Consonant with the tenor of the Psalm, he prays for God's compassionate regard to him as a stranger here; and that, as such was the condition of his fathers, so, like them, he may be cheered instead of being bound under wrath and chastened in displeasure.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties. The God of Israel is the God of nature. He that is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night, will ne...
Read full commentary →The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm appeals to God's sovereignty over creation: "The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun" (Hebrew <em>l-kha yom af-l-kha layelah atah hakhino ma-or vashemesh</em>). The repetition "thine...thine" emphasizes God's absolute ownership of time and cosmic order. "Prepared" (Hebrew <em>kun</em>) indicates purposeful establishment. The verse argues from c...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16-18) An appeal from the God of history to the God of nature. Not only did He work wonders, but even the universe is the work of His hand.
(16) **The light and the sun.**—Evidently from Genesis 1:14; Genesis 1:16, where the same word occurs for the heavenly luminary generally, and then for the sun as chief.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties. The God of Israel is the God of nature. He that is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night, will ne...
Read full commentary →Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. made: Heb. made them
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm continues creation theology: "Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter" (Hebrew <em>atah hitzavta kol-g-vulot eretz qayitz va-choref atah y-tzartam</em>). "Set borders" indicates God's sovereign establishment of geographical and natural boundaries. "Made" (Hebrew <em>yatzar</em>) is the potter's forming—deliberate creative shaping. The seasonal cycle d...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **All the borders of the earth**—*i.e.*, earth in all directions, and to its utmost bounds; as we say, “from pole to pole.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 40 Psa 40:1-17. In this Psalm a celebration of God's deliverance is followed by a profession of devotion to His service. Then follows a prayer for relief from imminent dangers, involving the overthrow of enemies and the rejoicing of sympathizing friends. In He 10:5, &c., Paul quotes Psa 40:6-8 as the words of Christ, offering Himself as a better sacrifice. Some suppose Paul thus accommod...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties. The God of Israel is the God of nature. He that is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night, will ne...
Read full commentary →Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD</strong>—The imperative <em>zəḵōr-zō't</em> (זְכָר־זֹאת, "remember this!") is striking in its boldness. The psalmist commands God to remember, using the same verb (<em>zāḵar</em>) that appears when God "remembered" Noah (Genesis 8:1) and His covenant (Exodus 2:24). The Hebrew <em>ḥērēp̄</em> (חֵרֵף, reproached/taunted) isn't mere insult...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Remember this.**—Emphatical; the object of the enemy’s reproach is the Being who has done all these mighty works, and is the author of all this wonderful world.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 40 Psa 40:1-17. In this Psalm a celebration of God's deliverance is followed by a profession of devotion to His service. Then follows a prayer for relief from imminent dangers, involving the overthrow of enemies and the rejoicing of sympathizing friends. In He 10:5, &c., Paul quotes Psa 40:6-8 as the words of Christ, offering Himself as a better sacrifice. Some suppose Paul thus accommod...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-23**
The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of such as revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to all. Let us call upon our God to enlighten the dark nations of the earth; and to rescue his people, that the poor and needy may praise his name. Blessed Saviour, thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Make thy people...
Read full commentary →O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked</strong>—The image of Israel as God's <em>tôr</em> (תּוֹר, turtledove) is tender and vulnerable. Turtledoves were among the poorest sacrificial offerings (Leviticus 5:7), symbolizing both poverty and innocence. The <em>nep̄esh</em> (נֶפֶשׁ, soul/life) of this defenseless bird faces <strong>the multitude</strong> (<em...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **O deliver.**—To guide to the meaning of this verse, the word *chayyah *occurs in each clause, and it is presumable in the same sense (unless there is a purposed play on words). It may have one of three meanings: “life,” “animal,” “troop.” Psalm 17:9 suggests that *chayyath nephesh *go together in the sense of “greedy band,” and we get—
“Deliver not to the greedy band thy dove;
Forget not th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 40 Psa 40:1-17. In this Psalm a celebration of God's deliverance is followed by a profession of devotion to His service. Then follows a prayer for relief from imminent dangers, involving the overthrow of enemies and the rejoicing of sympathizing friends. In He 10:5, &c., Paul quotes Psa 40:6-8 as the words of Christ, offering Himself as a better sacrifice. Some suppose Paul thus accommod...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-23**
The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of such as revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to all. Let us call upon our God to enlighten the dark nations of the earth; and to rescue his people, that the poor and needy may praise his name. Blessed Saviour, thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Make thy people...
Read full commentary →Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.</strong> This verse represents one of the psalm's most theologically significant appeals. The psalmist does not argue based on Israel's merit but on God's covenant commitment. The prayer is grounded not in human worthiness but in divine faithfulness.<br><br>"Have respect unto the covena...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Habitations.**—The word thus rendered is so consistently used of the “quiet resting-places” of God’s people that it seems quite impossible that the psalmist should have used the expression, “resting- places of cruelty.” A slight change in the text gives, “Look upon the covenant, for they have filled (Thy) land with darkness, Thy quiet dwelling with violence” (Burgess, *Notes on the Hebrew P...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. Blessed--**(Psa 1:1; 2:12).
**respecteth--**literally, "turns towards," as an object of confidence.
**turn aside--**from true God and His law to falsehood in worship and conduct.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-23**
The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of such as revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to all. Let us call upon our God to enlighten the dark nations of the earth; and to rescue his people, that the poor and needy may praise his name. Blessed Saviour, thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Make thy people...
Read full commentary →O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>O let not the oppressed return ashamed</strong>—The Hebrew <em>dāḵ</em> (דָּךְ, oppressed) means crushed or beaten down, describing those ground to dust by violence and injustice. <strong>Return ashamed</strong> (<em>yāshūḇ niḵlām</em>, יָשׁוּב נִכְלָם) carries the force of being sent away humiliated, their prayers seemingly unheard. Asaph pleads that those who come to God in desperation n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Oppressed.**—Literally, *crushed. *(See Psalm 9:9; Psalm 10:18.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. be reckoned up in order--**(compare Psa 5:3; 33:14; Is 44:7), too many to be set forth regularly. This is but one instance of many. The use of the plural accords with the union of Christ and His people. In suffering and triumph, they are one with Him.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-23**
The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of such as revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to all. Let us call upon our God to enlighten the dark nations of the earth; and to rescue his people, that the poor and needy may praise his name. Blessed Saviour, thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Make thy people...
Read full commentary →Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalm concludes with an appeal to God's own honor: "Arise, O God, plead thine own cause" (Hebrew <em>qumah Elohim rivah riveka</em>). The doubling of the verb "plead" (<em>rivah riveka</em>) intensifies the petition—this is God's legal case, His covenant lawsuit against those who blaspheme Him. "Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily" connects the enemies' mockery to God's reputat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22, 23) These verses show that the psalm was actually composed amidst the dark days it describes. It ends in expostulatory prayer, with as yet no brighter gleam of hope than prayer itself implies—and that when seemingly directed to deaf ears.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-8. In Paul's view this passage has more meaning than the mere expression of grateful devotion to God's service. He represents Christ as declaring that the sacrifices, whether vegetable or animal, general or special expiatory offerings, would not avail to meet the demands of God's law, and that He had come to render the required satisfaction, which he states was effected by "the offering of the b...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-23**
The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of such as revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to all. Let us call upon our God to enlighten the dark nations of the earth; and to rescue his people, that the poor and needy may praise his name. Blessed Saviour, thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Make thy people...
Read full commentary →Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. increaseth: Heb. ascendeth
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Forget not the voice of thine enemies</strong> (אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח קוֹל צֹרְרֶיךָ, <em>al-tishkach kol tzorerekha</em>)—<em>Shakach</em> means forget, ignore; <em>kol</em> is voice, sound; <em>tzorerekha</em> means your enemies, adversaries. <strong>The tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually</strong> (שְׁאוֹן קָמֶיךָ עֹלֶה תָמִיד, <em>she'on kamekha oleh tamid</em>)—<...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-8. In Paul's view this passage has more meaning than the mere expression of grateful devotion to God's service. He represents Christ as declaring that the sacrifices, whether vegetable or animal, general or special expiatory offerings, would not avail to meet the demands of God's law, and that He had come to render the required satisfaction, which he states was effected by "the offering of the b...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-23**
The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of such as revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to all. Let us call upon our God to enlighten the dark nations of the earth; and to rescue his people, that the poor and needy may praise his name. Blessed Saviour, thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Make thy people...
Read full commentary →