Psalms 74:7

7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground. They defiled the place that bears your name.

Psalms 74:7 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 74:7

They have cast fire into thy sanctuary
Or, "thy sanctuary into the fire" ^F15; which denotes the utter destruction of it by fire, which was done both by the Chaldean and Roman armies; see ( 2 Kings 25:9 ) ( Matthew 22:7 ) ,

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" ^F16; 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, ( Matthew 24:1 Matthew 24:2 ) 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 (Kvdqm vab) "in ignem sanctuaria tua", Pagninus, Vatablus; so Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.
F16 (Kmv Nkvm wllx Ural) "ad terram usque prophanarunt tabernaculum, vel habitationem nominis tui", Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Cocceius.

Psalms 74:7 In-Context

5 They swung their axes like woodcutters in a forest.

6 With axes and picks, they smashed the carved paneling.

7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground. They defiled the place that bears your name.

8 Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!” So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.

9 We no longer see your miraculous signs. All the prophets are gone, and no one can tell us when it will end.