Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 74:18
Remember this, [that] the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and [that] the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
18. the foolish people ] R.V. a foolish people. The epithet denotes the moral perversity of opposition to God. Cp. Psa 14:1, note. It is applied to the heathen in Deu 32:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
18 23. Emboldened by his contemplation of the power of God in history and in nature the Psalmist returns to prayer.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached – Has used opprobrious and abusive words in regard to thee, and to thy people. The idea is, that religion – the true religion – had been reproached by the foe. They had treated that religion as if it were false; they had reproached God as if he were a false God, and as if he were unable to defend his people. Compare Isa 36:4-10, Isa 36:13-20; Isa 37:10-13, Isa 37:23. The prayer here is, that God would remember that these words of reproach were against himself, and that he would regard them as such.
And that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name – Have blasphemed thee – the name often being put for the person himself. The word foolish here may refer to them as wicked as well as foolish. Wickedness and folly are so connected – they are so commonly combined, that the word may be used to describe the enemies of God in either sense – characterising their conduct as either the one or the other. Compare the notes at Psa 14:1.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. Remember this] The heathen not only deny these things, but give the honour of them to their false gods, and thus blaspheme thy name.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Though we deserve to be forgotten and destroyed, yet remember thyself, and do not suffer thine and our enemies to reproach and blaspheme the name of that great and glorious God, the Creator and sovereign Lord of the whole world, whom they ought always to reverence and adore.
The foolish people; who, though they think themselves and are thought by others to be wise, yet in truth are fools, and herein show their stupendous folly, that they vilify and provoke that God whose powerful anger they can neither resist, nor escape, nor endure.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. (Compare Psa 74:10;Deu 32:6). The contrast isstrikingthat such a God should be thus insulted!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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 comments on Ps 74:10].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The poet, after he has thus consoled himself by the contemplation of the power of God which He has displayed for His people’s good as their Redeemer, and for the good of the whole of mankind as the Creator, rises anew to prayer, but all the more cheerfully and boldly. Since ever present facts of creation have been referred to just now, and the historical mighty deeds of God only further back, refers rather forwards to the blaspheming of the enemies which He suffers now to go on unpunished, as though He took no cognizance of it. has Pasek after it in order to separate the word, which signifies reviling, from the most holy Name. The epithet reminds one of Deu 32:21. In Psa 74:19 according to the accents is the absolute state (the primary form of , vid., on Psa 61:1): give not over, abandon not to the wild beast (beasts), the soul of Thy turtle-dove. This is probably correct, since , “to the eager wild beast,” this inversion of the well-known expression , which on the contrary yields the sense of vita animae , is an improbable and exampleless expression. If were intended to be thus understood, the poet might have written , “give not Thy turtle-dove over to the desire of the wild beast.” Hupfeld thinks that the “old, stupid reading” may be set right at one stroke, inasmuch as he reads , and renders it “give not to rage the life Thy turtle-dove;” but where is any support to be found for this , “to rage,” or rather ( Psychology, S. 202; tr. p. 239) “to eager desire?” The word cannot signify this in such an isolated position. Israel, which is also compared to a dove in Psa 68:14, is called a turtle-dove ( ). In Psa 74:19 has the same signification as in Psa 74:19, and the same sense as Psa 68:11 (cf. Ps 69:37): the creatures of Thy miserable ones, i.e., Thy poor, miserable creatures – a figurative designation of the ecclesia pressa . The church, which it is the custom of the Asaphic Psalms to designate with emblematical names taken from the animal world, finds itself now like sheep among wolves, and seems to itself as if it were forgotten by God. The cry of prayer comes forth out of circumstances such as were those of the Maccabaean age. is the covenant of circumcision (Gen. 17); the persecution of the age of the Seleucidae put faith to the severe test, that circumcision, this sign which was the pledge to Israel of God’s gracious protection, became just the sign by which the Syrians knew their victims. In the Book of Daniel, Dan 11:28, Dan 11:30, cf. Ps. 22:32, is used directly of the religion of Israel and its band of confessors. The confirmatory clause Psa 74:20 also corresponds to the Maccabaean age, when the persecuted confessors hid themselves far away in the mountains (1 Macc. 2:26ff., 2 Macc. 6:11), but were tracked by the enemy and slain, – at that time the hiding-places ( , 1 Macc. 1:53) of the land were in reality full of the habitations of violence. The combination is like , Jer 25:37, cf. Gen 6:11. From this point the Psalm draws to a close in more familiar Psalm – strains. , Psa 74:21, viz., from drawing near to Thee with their supplications. “The reproach of the foolish all the day” is that which incessantly goes forth from them. , “going up (1Sa 5:12, not: increasing, 1Ki 22:35) perpetually,” although without the article, is not a predicate, but attributive (vid., on Psa 57:3). The tone of the prayer is throughout temperate; this the ground upon which it bases itself is therefore all the more forcible.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Earnest Supplications; Pleading with God. | |
18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. 19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. 20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. 22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. 23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.
The psalmist here, in the name of the church, most earnestly begs that God would appear fro them against their enemies, and put an end to their present troubles. To encourage his own faith, he interests God in this matter (v. 22): Arise, O God! plead thy own cause. This we may be sure he will do, for he is jealous for his own honour; whatever is his own cause he will plead it with a strong hand, will appear against those that oppose it and with and for those that cordially espouse it. He will arise and plead it, though for a time he seems to neglect it; he will stir up himself, will manifest himself, will do his own work in his own time. Note, The cause of religion is God’s own cause and he will certainly plead it. Now, to make it out that the cause is God’s, he pleads,
I. That the persecutors are God’s sworn enemies: “Lord, they have not only abused us, but they have been, and are, abusive to thee; what is done against us, for thy sake, does, by consequence, reflect upon thee. But that is not all; they have directly and immediately reproached thee, and blasphemed thy name,” v. 18. This was that which they roared in the sanctuary; they triumphed as if they had now got the mastery of the God is Israel, of whom they had heard such great things. As nothing grieves the saints more than to hear God’s name blasphemed, so nothing encourages them more to hope that God will appear against their enemies than when they have arrived at such a pitch of wickedness as to reproach God himself; this fills the measure of their sins apace and hastens their ruin. The psalmist insists much upon this: “We dare not answer their reproaches; Lord, do thou answer them. Remember that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name (v. 18) and that still the foolish man reproaches thee daily.” Observe the character of those that reproach God; they are foolish. As atheism is folly (Ps. xiv. 1), profaneness and blasphemy are no less so. Perhaps those are cried up as the wits of the age that ridicule religion and sacred things; but really they are the greatest fools, and will shortly be made to appear so before all the world. And yet see their malice–They reproach God daily, as constantly as his faithful worshippers pray to him and praise him; see their impudence–They do not hide their blasphemous thoughts in their own bosoms, but proclaim them with a loud voice (forget not the voice of thy enemies, v. 23), and this with a daring defiance of divine justice; they rise up against thee, and by their blasphemies even wage war with heaven and take up arms against the Almighty. Their noise and tumult ascend continually (so some), as the cry of Sodom came up before God, calling for vengeance, Gen. xviii. 21. It increases continually (so we read it); they grow worse and worse, and are hardened in their impieties by their successes. Now, Lord, remember this; do not forget it. God needs not to be put in remembrance by us of what he has to do, but thus we must show our concern for his honour and believe that he will vindicate us.
II. That the persecuted are his covenant-people. 1. See what distress they are in. They have fallen into the hands of the multitude of the wicked, v. 19. How are those increased that trouble them! There is no standing before an enraged multitude, especially like these, armed with power; and, as they are numerous, so they are barbarous: The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. The land of the Chaldeans, where there was none of the light of the knowledge of the true God (though otherwise it was famed for learning and arts), was indeed a dark place; the inhabitants of it were alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that was in them, and therefore they were cruel: where there was no true divinity there was scarcely to be found common humanity. They were especially cruel to the people of God; certainly those have no knowledge who eat them up, Ps. xiv. 4. They are oppressed (v. 21) because they are poor and unable to help themselves; they are oppressed, and so impoverished and made poor. 2. See what reason they had to hope that God would appear for their relief and not suffer them to be always thus trampled upon. Observe how the psalmist pleads with God for them. (1.) “It is thy turtle-dove that is ready to be swallowed up by the multitude of the wicked,” v. 19. The church is a dove for harmlessness and mildness, innocency and inoffensiveness, purity and fruitfulness, a dove for mournfulness in a day of distress, a turtle-dove for fidelity and the constancy of love: turtle-doves and pigeons were the only fowls that were offered in sacrifice to God. “Shall thy turtle-dove, that is true to thee and devoted to thy honour, be delivered, its life and soul and all, into the hand of the multitude of the wicked, to whom it will soon become an easy and acceptable prey? Lord, it will be thy honour to help the weak, especially to help thy own.” (2.) “It is the congregation of thy poor, and they are not the less thine for their being poor (for God has chosen the poor of this world, Jam. ii. 5), but they have the more reason to expect thou wilt appear for them because they are many: it is the congregation of thy poor; let them not be abandoned and forgotten for ever.” (3.) “They are in covenant with thee; and wilt thou not have respect unto the covenant? v. 20. Wilt thou not perform the promises thou hast, in thy covenant, made to them? Wilt thou not own those whom thou hast brought into the bond of the covenant?” When God delivers his people it is in remembrance of his covenant, Lev. xxvi. 42. “Lord, though we are unworthy to be respected, yet have respect to the covenant.” (4.) “They trust in thee, and boast of their relation to thee and expectations from thee. O let not them return ashamed of their hope (v. 21), as they will be if they be disappointed.” (5.) “If thou deliver them, they will praise thy name and give thee the glory of their deliverance. Appear, Lord, for those that will praise thy name, against those that blaspheme it.”
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
18. Remember this. The prophet having encouraged the hearts of the godly by magnifying the divine power and goodness, now returns to the prosecution of his prayer. He first complains that the enemies of his people revile God, and yet continue unpunished. When he says, Remember this, the manner of expression is emphatic; and the occasion demanded it, for it is not a crime of small magnitude to treat with contumely the sacred name of God. For the sake of contrast, he states that it was a worthless or foolish people who thus presumed insolently to pour forth their reproaches against God. The Hebrew word נבל, nabal, denotes not only a foolish man, but also a wicked and infamous person. The prophet, therefore, justly describes the despisers of God as people who are vile and worthless.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(18) Remember this.Emphatical; the object of the enemys reproach is the Being who has done all these mighty works, and is the author of all this wonderful world.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. Remember this The issue is between thee and these idolaters. They have reproached and blasphemed thy name. O consider this!
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The prophet, here appealing for the church’s safety, makes use of an additional argument, namely, God’s own honour and glory. For who is blasphemed, but the Lord? Whose name is abused, but the Lord’s? Reader, do not fail to remark the strength of this plea. Moses and Joshua both had recourse to this, as their last and chief resource. See two or three beautiful examples; Exo 32:11-13 ; Num 14:11-21 ; Jos 7:6-9 . And what is the whole glorious design of redemption by the Lord Jesus, but for the glory of Jehovah? Eze 36:32 ; Rev 5:9 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 74:18 Remember this, [that] the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and [that] the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
Ver. 18. Remember this ] Forgetfulness befalleth not the Lord; nevertheless he giveth us leave to be his remembrancers, and not to keep silence when he is concerned, Isa 62:6 .
That the enemy
And that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 74:18-21
18Remember this, O Lord, that the enemy has reviled,
And a foolish people has spurned Your name.
19Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20Consider the covenant;
For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21Let not the oppressed return dishonored;
Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.
Psa 74:18-21 This strophe alludes to the initial prayer of Psa 74:1-11. YHWH needs to act in deliverance
1. because the enemy has reviled and spurned His name (cf. Psa 74:10)
2. because Israel is His special people (cf. Exo 19:5-6)
3. because of His promises to Abraham (cf. Gen 12:1-3)
4. because His actions will send the right message to the nations whom He desires that they know and acknowledge Him
There are four jussives and two imperatives.
1. imperatives
a. remember – BDB 269, KB 269, Qal imperative, cf. Psa 74:1; Psa 74:18; Psa 74:22
b. consider – BDB 613, KB 661, Hiphil imperative
2. jussives
a. do not deliver – BDB 678, KB 733, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense, Psa 74:19
b. do not forget – BDB 1013, KB 1489, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense, Psa 74:19 b
c. let not the oppressed return dishonored – BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal jussive , Psa 74:21 a
d. let the afflicted and needy praise Your name – BDB 237, KB 248, Piel imperfect used in a jussive sense, Psa 74:21 b
Psa 74:19 turtledove This word (BDB 1076 II) is used
1. of a sacrificial animal, cf. Gen 15:9; Lev 1:14; Lev 5:7; Lev 5:11; Lev 12:6; Lev 12:8; Lev 14:23; Lev 14:30; Lev 15:14; Lev 15:29; Num 6:10
2. of a migratory bird, cf. Son 2:12; Jer 8:7
3. as a symbol of the covenant people, cf. Psa 74:19
There is another, more common, word for dove (BDB 401) also used in the above ways (i.e., Son 2:14; Son 5:2; Son 6:9). The term in Psalms 74 could denote
1. helplessness
2. YHWH sacrificed His people in judgment
3. a love word showing His love for Israel (Hos 7:11; Hos 11:11)
Both lines of Psa 74:19 refer to the same thing, so #1 may be correct.
The NEB, following the LXX, suggests an emendation of of your dove, , to which praise you, . The UBS Text Project (p. 325) gives option #1 a C rating (considerable doubt).
Psa 74:20 This is a difficult verse to interpret. Does it refer to
1. the violence of the invaders
2. the place of exile of God’s people
3. a veiled reference to Sheol, the nether realm (i.e., as in Sheol, so on the earth, even the Promised Land)
It seems best to me to view Psa 74:20-21 together as the oppression being suffered by the covenant people. If the historical setting is Babylon, then exile; if Edom, then in the land of Canaan.
Psa 74:21 the afflicted and needy This does not refer specifically to the poor but to the suffering, covenant people (i.e., the faithful remnant, cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 459).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
Thy name = Thee. See note on Psa 20:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 74:18-19
Psa 74:18-19
“Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Jehovah,
And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name.
Oh deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast:
Forget not the life of thy poor forever.”
“Remember” (Psa 74:18). Did God indeed remember to avenge himself upon Babylon? Indeed yes; but in the meanwhile, which included the days of the psalmist, God was using Babylon to discipline and correct his rebellious children of Israel.
“A foolish people” (Psa 74:18). “The word `foolish,’ both here and in Psa 74:22 is the very same word that is rendered `fool’ in Psa 14:1 and Psa 53:1.
“Deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove to the wild beast” (Psa 74:19). “This is the only place in the Bible where this metaphor is used of Israel.”[22] Did God indeed deliver Israel? Yes, indeed. No, God did not deliver the rebellious Israel, but the true Israel, at that time, the captive remnant of the apostate nation who were captives in Babylon.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 74:18. Again David was worried about the activities of the enemy. The thing that concerned him especially was their attitude toward God. He put his personal interests secondary to those of the Lord.
Psa 74:19. Turtledove was a sort of “pet name” for the Israelite nation. David was pleading in behalf of the people of God, especially of that portion of them who were poor. It was that condition that encouraged the enemies to oppress them.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Remember: Psa 74:22, Psa 89:50, Psa 89:51, Psa 137:7, Isa 62:6, Isa 62:7, *marg. Rev 16:19
the foolish: Psa 41:1, Psa 39:8, Psa 94:2-8, Deu 32:27, Isa 37:23, Isa 37:24, Eze 20:14
Reciprocal: Exo 32:12 – should Lev 24:11 – blasphemed Lev 24:16 – blasphemeth Num 15:30 – reproacheth Deu 32:6 – O foolish Jdg 16:28 – remember me 1Sa 17:26 – reproach 2Ki 19:4 – reprove 2Ki 19:6 – the servants Job 7:7 – remember Psa 10:13 – contemn Psa 13:2 – enemy Psa 44:16 – For the Psa 79:12 – wherewith Psa 79:13 – we will Psa 139:20 – for they speak Isa 52:5 – my name Isa 64:12 – General Jer 14:21 – remember Jer 51:51 – are confounded Lam 3:61 – General Eze 7:22 – face Eze 36:6 – General Eze 36:21 – General Joe 2:17 – and give
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 74:18. Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached thee Though we deserve to be forgotten and destroyed, yet remember thyself, and do not suffer thine and our enemies to reproach and blaspheme the name of that great and glorious Being, the Creator and sovereign Lord of the whole world, whom they ought always to reverence and adore; and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name Who, though they think themselves, and are thought by others, to be wise, yet in truth are fools, and herein show their stupendous folly, that they vilify and provoke that God whose powerful anger they can neither resist, nor escape, nor endure.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4. An appeal to the covenant 74:18-23
The writer also appealed for action because of God’s reputation ("Thy name," Psa 74:18). He compared Israel to a harmless dove and the enemy to a raging wild beast (Psa 74:19). God had promised to hear His people’s cries for help and had done so in the past (cf. Judges), but now He was silent. Consequently Asaph asked God to remember His covenant promises to Israel (Psa 74:20). This may be a reference to the promises to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3) or to the blessings and curses of the Mosaic Covenant (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). Deliverance would lead God’s people to praise Him (Psa 74:21). The foolish man (Psa 74:22) is the enemy who does not regard God’s revelation of the fate of those who oppose His people. Israel’s adversaries evidently mocked Yahweh as they devastated His sanctuary (Psa 74:23).
"The acts of God are primarily a vindication of his name and secondarily of his people." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 490.]
This psalm is a good example of prayer based on the person and promises of God. When God’s people suffer for their sins, they can call out to Him for help, but He may continue the discipline even when they base their petitions on His character and covenant.