Psalm 74:3
Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
Sermons
The Wail and Prayer of a True PatriotHomilistPsalm 74:1-23
Hell's CarnivalS. Conway Psalm 74:3-8














This is what is portrayed to us in these lamentations over the desecrations and destructions wreaked upon the temple at Jerusalem, probably at the time of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion (see 2 Chronicles 36:17, etc.). As the destroyer acted then, so he acts now when the like work is on hand of profaning God's sanctuary. What the ancient temple was, the Church of God is - the sanctuary of God. And it has once and again come under the destroyer's power.

I. THE TEMPLE IS LAID WASTE. (Ver. 3.)

1. That at Jerusalem was. The sacred service had come to an end; the throng of worshippers were driven away: the ministers of the temple no longer served at the altar; there was desolation everywhere. "The holy and beautiful house wherein the fathers of Israel had worshipped has been plundered and desecrated by a heathen soldiery. Instead of the psalms and hymns and sacred anthems which once echoed within those walls, has been heard the brutal shout of the fierce invaders, roaring like lions over their prey."

2. And there have been similar desecrations. Our own land, and other's, are sprinkled over with the ruins of desecrated shrines. They are beautiful even now in their decay, and suggest to us how glorious they must have been when they stood erect and complete in all their grandeur; when, instead of being given over, as now, to mouldering ruin, they were thronged with devout worshippers, and the sublime music of the praises of God reverberated through their high-roofed naves and choirs, and down the long vistas of their vaulted aisles. One can, even now, scarce keep back the bitter curse upon those brutal iconoclasts who in these once magnificent houses of God have wrought such cruel havoc and desolation, and the effects of whose blind fanaticism or wanton wickedness and greed can now never be repaired. The sacred rage which breathes in this psalm finds place yet in many hearts against those detestable destroyers of the most beautiful products of God-inspired genius and devotion that the world has ever seen or will see.

3. But the desolation of the spiritual temple is worse still, and what most concerns us all. And the wasters of that are not wicked men who assail us from without, but spiritual foes whom we have sheltered within. It is unbelief which lays waste the spiritual temple. Worse than fire, or axe, or sword, it makes havoc of the soul. And wickedness following hard on its footsteps completes the work which it has begun. Then comes -

II. THE EXULTATION OF THE ADVERSARY. (Ver. 4.) No doubt this literally occurred at Jerusalem, as it has in many another sanctuary of God which has been brought to ruin. But most assuredly that "roar" has been heard when the Church of God - his temple in the soul - has been laid waste. The adversaries of God point the finger of scorn; they scoff and jibe and mock; they never weary of holding up to contempt the loud, lofty pretensions and vast claims of the Christian Church, as they bid all men see what a wretched fraud she has at last proved to be. They contrast what she said and what she is, and the roar of execration and exultation over her is heard far and wide as that contrast is seen. Let none of us by our infidelities add to that bitter shame.

III. THEY SET UP THEIR STANDARDS AS TRUE. (Ver. 4.) In the temple at Jerusalem the invaders, no doubt, piled their military trophies, banners, and ensigns; or the "signs" spoken of may mean religious emblems, heathen rites and ceremonies (cf. 1 Macc. 1:54, 59 1 Macc. 3:48). But both meanings may be combined, as the temple may have been turned both into a barrack and heathen altar at the same time. The incident, however, suggests what is so continually seen when the spiritual temple of God is laid waste. Then men take their standards of truth for those of God; they assert their miserable theories of things for the verities which the Holy Scriptures have taught us; they bid us welcome some age of reason instead of the time-honoured truths on which the Church is founded. Their ensigns for signs, man's speculations for God's revelations.

IV. THE BEAUTY AND GRACE OF THE TEMPLE THEY BREAK DOWN. (Ver. 6.) So has it been with material sanctuaries of God, and the like has been done in those which are spiritual. For a while the unbeliever filches from the fair fabric of Christian truth those gracious and winsome doctrines which have ever commended the faith of Christ to men, and he claims them as the mere product of reason, as evolved by the processes of human thought. But when his work of destruction is complete, and the spiritual sanctuary of God is all laid waste, faith utterly gone, then it will be found that this "carved work of the sanctuary" will be broken down, and the love and care of men will depart with the love and faith of God.

V. THE WORK GOES ON UNTIL ALL IS DESTROYED. (Ver. 7.) It was so with the material temple; but, thank God, all is not lost in the spiritual There may be, however, individuals and groups of men in which the dread work is complete, and "God is not in all their thoughts."

VI. EVERY RELIC AND TRACE OF THE WORSHIP OF GOD IS GOT RID OF. (Ver. 8.) Besides the temple, there were, doubtless, synagogues, places of assembly, where religious men met for worship, though we do not meet with the actual mention of synagogues until the times of the New Testament. And when the first temple was destroyed, we may reasonably believe that such places existed, as we know they did afterwards. But there are, alas! places and human hearts where every relic and trace of God's worship have been swept utterly away, as if burned with fire. So long as any place where the soul can meet with God is left, the great enemy's triumph is not complete; he is not satisfied till what is said in ver. 8 has been done. But from this may God keep us all! - S.C.

Let the poor and needy praise Thy name.
Rev. Mark Guy Pearse relates that he was walking once beside some cliffs, when he saw a father draw near with his children; the two boys were running on in front, and every now and then the father called to them to be careful, and gave them various directions for their safety. But he was leading the little girl slowly and gently, for she was blind. Presently he sat down beside her and told her of all the beauties of the vision, cheering her by many a tender thought. He never let his healthy boys go beyond his sight and care, but the blind child he held continually by the hand. So let the weak ones be cheered and encouraged by the thought that for them there are special promises, special assurances of care: thank God, none of us can drift beyond the reach of His love, but His feeble children He is holding by the hand.

For that Thy name is near Thy wondrous works declare.
Homilist.
I. He is near as the SUSTAINER OF A DISSOLVING SYSTEM (ver. 3). The force of disintegration operates every moment, not only in organized matter, but even in what we call simple substances, if, indeed, such things exist. The mountains falling come to nought. Every plant in the great system of vegetation is dissolving; and the great world of animal life, from the tiniest insect to the hugest monster of the forest or the sea, is ever in the process of dissolution. What prevents the whole universe tumbling to pieces, flying off part from part, particle from particle as a log of wood in the flames? No force short of God. The same principle of disintegration is at work in human society. Families, societies, Churches, nations, are dissolving; kingdoms are constantly breaking into pieces. God alone keeps things together, bears up the pillars of a dissolving universe. "He upholds all things by the word of His power."

II. He is near as the REBUKER OF HUMAN WICKEDNESS (vers. 4, 5).

1. Three phases of wickedness are here indicated: —(1) Folly — "Deal not foolishly." Sin is folly. It is against the reason, the interests, the dignity and blessedness of existence. "He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul."(2) Haughtiness — "Lift not up the horn." Pride and arrogance enter into the very essence of wickedness. "God resisteth the proud," etc.(3) Recklessness — "Speak not with a stiff neck." Bold, shameless, obstinate disregard to the claims of God and all the moral proprieties.

2. God is present in the world, reproving all the wickedness with the voice of Providence, by the admonitions of conscience, by the ministry of His Word and the stricings of Ills Spirit.

III. He is near as THE SOVEREIGN DISPOSER OF ALL SOCIAL CHANGES. "For promotion cometh neither from the east," etc. "But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another" (1 Samuel 2:7). He is in the rise and in the fall, not only of empires, but individual men. "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust," etc.

IV. He is near — ADMINISTERING TO ALL MEN DISPENSATIONS FROM A COMMON SOURCE (ver. 8). What is that cup? Infinite benevolence; and from this cup "He poureth out of the same," great natural blessings. "God is good, and His tender mercies are over all the works of His hand."

1. The cup is a mixed cup. "Full of mixture." What an infinite variety of blessings are in this cup, this cup of level Something from it falls fresh upon every being every hour.

2. The contents of this cup have a different effect upon different characters. To the righteous it is a pleasant cup. Its blooming, sparkling mixture is delicious and inspiring. Not so to the wicked; what is delicious and sustaining to the good is distasteful and pernicious to the evil. Moral character changes subjectively the very nature of things.

V. He is near to DESTROY THE POWER OF THE WICKED AND TO AUGMENT THE POWER OF THE RIGHTEOUS (ver. 10). Matthew Arnold has somewhere described God "as a stream of tendency that maketh for righteousness." His meaning, I presume, is that the whole procedure of God in the moral world tends to put down the wrong and to raise and glorify the right.

(Homilist.)

: — God is near —

I. TO OBSERVE OUR SINS (Job 24:14, 15; Psalm 139:2-4; Genesis 3:9-24; Genesis 19:24-28; Joshua 7:24-26; Acts 5:1-10).

II. TO NOTICE OUR DESIRES AFTER HIM (Jeremiah 31:18-20; Luke 15:20).

III. TO PARDON, SANCTIFY, AND JUSTIFY (Isaiah 50:7-9).

IV. TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS (Psalm 145:18, 19; Isaiah 65:24).

V. TO RELIEVE OUR WANTS (Psalm 34:10; Psalm 84:11; Habakkuk 3:17, 18).

VI. TO SUCCOUR US IN DISTRESS (Psalm 34:19; Isaiah 49:10). VII. TO SAVE US FROM DANGER (Daniel 3:27). Job; Peter. From this subject we may derive warning to sinners, an encouragement to the penitent; comfort to believers.

(R. Simpson, M. A.)

When that great artist, Dore, was once travelling in Southern Europe, he lost his passport. When he came to the boundary line where he needed to produce it, the official challenged him. Said he, "I have lost my passport; but it is all right — I am Dore the artist. Please let me go on." "Oh, no," said the officer; "we have plenty of people representing themselves as this or that great one." After some conversation the man said, "Well, I want you to prove it. Hero is a pencil and some paper. Now, if you are the artist, draw me a picture." Dore took the pencil, and with a few master strokes sketched some of the features of the neighbourhood. Said the man, "Now I am perfectly sure of it. You are Dore; no other man could do that." Thus all the works of creation their great Original proclaim, "that Thy name is near Thy wondrous works declare."

A legend has it that a prophet appealed to God for a sign such as had been granted to other prophets. In response a tuft of moss opened before the man, and from the rock beneath rose a lovely violet. As he looked admiringly on the opening leaves he had no need to ask for signs and wonders, for as he was leaving home his little daughter had given him a violet precisely like the one created before his eyes. We need not ask to see a new star flashing gorgeous lights on the darkness of a wintry night, or oaks to spring in a moment from acorns, as demonstrations of a Divine presence. God is as truly revealed in a little flower as in the most stupendous miracle that could amaze and overwhelm the mind; Archdeacon Farrar tells about a boy who took a flower with him to his work every morning. He put the flower on his desk in the schoolroom, and when asked why he did this, replied that the flower was to remind him of God and keep him from evil thoughts.

(The Signal.)

People
Asaph, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Damaged, Desolations, Destroyed, Destruction, Direct, Enemy, Everlasting, Evil, Footsteps, Haters, Holy, Lift, Perpetual, Ruins, Sanctuary, Steps, Turn, Unending, Wickedly, Within
Outline
1. The prophet complains of the desolation of the sanctuary
10. He moves God to help in consideration of his power
18. Of his reproachful enemies, or his children and of his covenant.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 74:3

     5508   ruins
     8728   enemies, of Israel and Judah

Psalm 74:1-23

     6115   blame

Psalm 74:3-6

     5211   art

Library
The Meaning
Of the Red Dragon with Seven Heads fighting with Michael about the new-born Child. The first vision of the little book, of which we treated in the eleventh chapter, ran through the whole Apocalyptical course, from the beginning to the end, and that, as we elsewhere observed, to point out its connexion with the seals and trumpets. Now to that vision the remaining prophecies of the same interval, and of the affairs of the Church are to be accommodated, in order to complete the system of the little
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

The Prophet of the Highest.
(LUKE I.) "Ye hermits blest, ye holy maids, The nearest heaven on earth, Who talk with God in shadowy glades, Free from rude care and mirth; To whom some viewless Teacher brings The secret love of rural things, The moral of each fleeting cloud and gale, The whispers from above, that haunt the twilight vale." KEBLE. Formative Influences--A Historical Parallel--The Burning of the Vanities--"Sent from God" "Thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Most High"--thus Zacharias addressed his infant
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

How those are to be Admonished who Abstain not from the Sins which they Bewail, and those Who, Abstaining from Them, Bewail them Not.
(Admonition 31.) Differently to be admonished are those who lament their transgressions, and yet forsake them not, and those who forsake them, and yet lament them not. For those who lament their transgressions and yet forsake them not are to be admonished to learn to consider anxiously that they cleanse themselves in vain by their weeping, if they wickedly defile themselves in their living, seeing that the end for which they wash themselves in tears is that, when clean, they may return to filth.
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Wisdom of God
The next attribute is God's wisdom, which is one of the brightest beams of the Godhead. He is wise in heart.' Job 9:9. The heart is the seat of wisdom. Cor in Hebraeo sumitur pro judicio. Pineda. Among the Hebrews, the heart is put for wisdom.' Let men of understanding tell me:' Job 34:44: in the Hebrew, Let men of heart tell me.' God is wise in heart, that is, he is most wise. God only is wise; he solely and wholly possesses all wisdom; therefore he is called, the only wise God.' I Tim 1:17. All
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Balaam's Prophecy. (Numb. xxiv. 17-19. )
Carried by the Spirit into the far distant future, Balaam sees here how a star goeth out of Jacob and a sceptre riseth out of Israel, and how this sceptre smiteth Moab, by whose enmity the Seer had been brought from a distant region for the destruction of Israel. And not Moab only shall be smitten, but its southern neighbour, Edom, too shall be subdued, whose hatred against Israel had already been prefigured in its ancestor, and had now begun to display Itself; and In general, all the enemies of
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Synagogues: their Origin, Structure and Outward Arrangements
It was a beautiful saying of Rabbi Jochanan (Jer. Ber. v. 1), that he who prays in his house surrounds and fortifies it, so to speak, with a wall of iron. Nevertheless, it seems immediately contradicted by what follows. For it is explained that this only holds good where a man is alone, but that where there is a community prayer should be offered in the synagogue. We can readily understand how, after the destruction of the Temple, and the cessation of its symbolical worship, the excessive value attached
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Jesus Makes a Preaching Tour through Galilee.
^A Matt. IV. 23-25; ^B Mark I. 35-39; ^C Luke IV. 42-44. ^b 35 And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up went out [i. e., from the house of Simon Peter], and departed into a desert place, and there prayed. [Though Palestine was densely populated, its people were all gathered into towns, so that it was usually easy to find solitude outside the city limits. A ravine near Capernaum, called the Vale of Doves, would afford such solitude. Jesus taught (Matt. vi. 6) and practiced solitary
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Sun Rising Upon a Dark World
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon then hath the light shined. C ontrasts are suited to illustrate and strengthen the impression of each other. The happiness of those, who by faith in MESSIAH, are brought into a state of peace, liberty, and comfort, is greatly enhanced and heightened by the consideration of that previous state of misery in which they once lived, and of the greater misery to which they were justly exposed.
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Justice of God
The next attribute is God's justice. All God's attributes are identical, and are the same with his essence. Though he has several attributes whereby he is made known to us, yet he has but one essence. A cedar tree may have several branches, yet it is but one cedar. So there are several attributes of God whereby we conceive of him, but only one entire essence. Well, then, concerning God's justice. Deut 32:4. Just and right is he.' Job 37:23. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Psalm 74:3 NIV
Psalm 74:3 NLT
Psalm 74:3 ESV
Psalm 74:3 NASB
Psalm 74:3 KJV

Psalm 74:3 Bible Apps
Psalm 74:3 Parallel
Psalm 74:3 Biblia Paralela
Psalm 74:3 Chinese Bible
Psalm 74:3 French Bible
Psalm 74:3 German Bible

Psalm 74:3 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Psalm 74:2
Top of Page
Top of Page