Psalm 74:3

3 Lift up thine hands against their pride continually; because of all that the enemy has done wickedly in thy holy places.

Psalm 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 ) .

Psalm 74:3 In-Context

1 Wherefore hast thou rejected us, O God, for ever? wherefore is thy wrath kindled against the sheep of thy pasture?

2 Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased from the beginning; thou didst ransom the rod of thine inheritance; this mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt.

3 Lift up thine hands against their pride continually; because of all that the enemy has done wickedly in thy holy places.

4 And they that hate thee have boasted in the midst of thy feast; they have set up their standards for signs,

5 ignorantly as it were in the entrance above;

6 they cut down its doors at once with axes as in a wood of trees; they have broken it down with hatchet and stone cutter.

7 They have burnt thy sanctuary with fire to the ground; they have profaned the habitation of thy name.

8 They have said in their heart, even all their kindred together, Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth.

9 We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a prophet; and God will not know us any more.

10 How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach? shall the enemy provoke thy name forever?

11 Wherefore turnest thou away thine hand, and thy right hand from the midst of thy bosom for ever?

12 But God is our King of old; he has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.

13 Thou didst establish the sea, in thy might, thou didst break to pieces the heads of the dragons in the water.

14 Thou didst break to pieces the heads of the dragon; thou didst give him for meat to the Ethiopian nations.

15 Thou didst cleave fountains and torrents; thou driedst up mighty rivers.

16 The day is thine, and the night is thine; thou hast prepared the sun and the moon.

17 Thou hast made all the borders of the earth; thou hast made summer and spring.

18 Remember this thy creation: an enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked thy name.

19 Deliver not to the wild beasts a soul that gives praise to thee: forget not for ever the souls of thy poor.

20 Look upon thy covenant: for the dark places of the earth are filled with the habitations of iniquity.

21 let not the afflicted and shamed one be rejected: the poor and needy shall praise thy name.

22 Arise, O God, plead thy cause: remember thy reproaches that come from the foolish one all the day.

23 Forget not the voice of thy suppliants: let the pride of them that hate thee continually ascend before thee.