Psalms 74:3

3 Walk over these total ruins; our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.

Psalms 74:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 74:3

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, ( Genesis 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, ( 2 Thessalonians 2:4 ) ( Revelation 13:6 ) .

Psalms 74:3 In-Context

1 Why have you abandoned us like this, O God? Will you be angry with your own people forever?
2 Remember your people, whom you chose for yourself long ago, whom you brought out of slavery to be your own tribe. Remember Mount Zion, where once you lived.
3 Walk over these total ruins; our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.
4 Your enemies have shouted in triumph in your Temple; they have placed their flags there as signs of victory.
5 They looked like woodsmen cutting down trees with their axes.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.