They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground.
The Church lies waste, Israel's very name nearly erased, and the people rightly confess their own sins as the cause. Yet they appeal to God's covenant with Abraham, remembering His ancient power displayed in deliverance, and so they plead with Him to end this desperate ruin. This maskil teaches us that affliction compels us to examine ourselves and humble our hearts before God.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 74:1-23
They have cast fire into thy sanctuary. Axes and hammers were not sufficient for the purpose of the destroyers, they must needs try fire. Malice knows no bounds. Those who hate God are never sparing of the most cruel weapons.
Affliction teaches us to pray. God's people here taste desertion but do not mistake it for rejection; they expostulate boldly, as Christ Himself cried out on the cross. Cast down is not cast off. Their complaint turns our eyes upward: they dread God's abandonment more than any enemy's blow, and desire above all to be known and owned by Him.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 74:1-11