Commentary - Psalm 74:18-23

Bird's-eye view

This portion of Psalm 74 is the heart of the psalmist's plea, a raw and desperate appeal to God in the face of national catastrophe. The sanctuary has been defiled, the land is overrun with violence, and God's people are afflicted and oppressed. The psalmist, speaking for the nation, does not ground his appeal in their own righteousness, for they have none. Instead, he appeals to God on the basis of God's own character, His name, and His covenant. The central thrust is this: God's reputation is on the line. The enemies are not just mocking Israel; they are reproaching Yahweh Himself. Therefore, the psalmist urges God to act, not primarily for Israel's sake, but for His own. This is a model of prayer in times of deep distress. It is honest about the devastation, but it fastens its hope to the one thing that cannot be shaken: the faithfulness of God to His own covenant promises and the jealousy He has for the glory of His own name.

The argument moves from the enemy's blasphemy to the vulnerability of God's people, symbolized by the turtledove. It then pivots to the foundational basis for any hope, which is the covenant. The reality on the ground is grim, "dark places... full of the haunts of violence," but the reality in the heavens is God's promise. The prayer concludes with a bold, direct summons for God to arise and take up His own cause. This is not insolence; it is faith. It is the cry of a child who knows that his father's honor is implicated in his own well-being. The continual rumbling of the adversaries is set against the hoped-for action of a God who will not ultimately allow His name to be trampled in the dust.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 74 is a communal lament, a psalm of Asaph. It is one of the most graphic descriptions of national disaster in the Psalter, likely describing the destruction of the Temple, whether by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. or some other crisis. The psalm begins by asking why God has cast off His people forever (vv. 1-2). It then moves to a detailed description of the enemy's destructive rampage in the sanctuary, chopping down woodwork and setting fire to the holy place (vv. 3-8). A key feature of the crisis is the absence of prophetic signs; God seems to be silent (v. 9). The psalmist then pivots to a rehearsal of God's mighty acts of creation and redemption in the past, recalling how He crushed Leviathan and established the order of the world (vv. 12-17). This section of praise for God's past works serves as the foundation for the urgent appeal we find in our text (vv. 18-23). Because God is the mighty King of creation, He can and should act to save His people and vindicate His name.

Key Issues

For the Sake of the Name

One of the central themes of Scripture that we modern, individualistic evangelicals often miss is the corporate and covenantal nature of God's dealings with His people. And tied up with that is the profound importance of God's name and reputation. When Israel was blessed, God's name was honored among the nations. When Israel was judged and sent into exile, God's name was profaned (Ezek 36:20). The pagan nations would look at defeated Israel and conclude that Yahweh was a weak, regional deity, unable to protect His own people.

The psalmist understands this dynamic perfectly. His prayer is not, "Lord, we are so good and wonderful, please save us." Rather, it is, "Lord, your enemies are blaspheming Your name. They are equating our defeat with Your defeat. For the sake of Your own glory, act!" This is a profoundly God-centered way to pray. It aligns our deepest desires with God's ultimate desire, which is the hallowing of His own name. When we pray in the midst of cultural collapse or personal trial, our ultimate appeal must be the same. "Father, let Your name be hallowed. Let Your kingdom come. Let Your will be done." This prayer in Psalm 74 is a desperate, passionate exposition of that very petition.

Verse by Verse Commentary

18 Remember this, O Yahweh, that the enemy has reproached, And a wickedly foolish people has spurned Your name.

The prayer begins with an urgent plea for God to remember. This is not to suggest that God is forgetful. In biblical language, for God to "remember" is for Him to act on the basis of a prior commitment, usually His covenant. The psalmist is calling God to action. And what is the basis for this action? It is the enemy's reproach. The word for reproach carries the idea of scorn, taunting, and blasphemy. These are not just political or military insults; they are theological. The enemy, in their wicked folly, has spurned, or treated with contempt, God's very name, which represents His character, His power, and His authority. To be a fool in the Bible is not an intellectual deficiency but a moral one. The fool is the one who says in his heart, "There is no God," or who lives as if there is no God to whom he must give an account. These foolish people have looked at the ruins of Jerusalem and concluded that Yahweh is a joke. The psalmist is saying, "Lord, are you going to let that stand?"

19 Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

The imagery here is poignant and powerful. God's people are likened to a turtledove. This bird was known for its gentleness, its mournful coo, and its vulnerability. It was also an acceptable sacrifice for the poor (Lev 5:7). The people of God are helpless, defenseless, and afflicted, like a single dove surrounded by a pack of predatory wild beasts. The plea is raw: "Don't throw us to the wolves." This is a picture of the church in any age when it is under severe persecution. We have no strength in ourselves. If God does not protect His dove, it will be torn to pieces. The second line repeats the plea not to be forgotten, emphasizing the suffering of the afflicted. It is a cry from the depths, a recognition of complete dependency on God for sheer survival.

20 Look to the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.

Here is the theological anchor of the entire psalm. If the plea were based on Israel's performance, it would have no hope. But the plea is, "Look to the covenant." The psalmist is pointing God back to His own sworn promises, particularly the great covenant made with Abraham (Gen 17:7-8). This is the bedrock. God's character is a covenant-keeping character. His faithfulness is the only ground of our security. The reason this appeal to the covenant is so urgent is given in the second half of the verse. The social order has completely collapsed. The "dark places of the land," whether literal hiding places for criminals or a metaphor for a society without the light of God's law, are filled with violence. Anarchy and brutality reign. When men forget God's covenant, the inevitable result is that the land becomes a hunting ground where the strong prey on the weak. A breakdown of theological faithfulness always leads to a breakdown of social order.

21 Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

This verse lays out the two possible outcomes. The first is that the oppressed, those who have been crushed and downtrodden, will "return dishonored." This means they will come to God for help and be turned away, their hope shamed and their faith proven to be in vain. This would be a catastrophic dishonor not just to them, but to the God in whom they trusted. The second, alternative outcome is that the afflicted and needy will have cause to praise God's name. The only way this can happen is if God intervenes, saves them, and vindicates them. True praise is born out of deliverance. The psalmist is essentially saying, "Lord, which will it be? Will your people be shamed, or will your name be praised? You cannot have both." He is leveraging God's own desire for praise as a reason for God to act.

22 Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause; Remember how the wicked fool reproaches You all day long.

The prayer now reaches its crescendo. The call for God to arise is common in the Psalms (e.g., Ps 68:1). It is the cry for a warrior king to rise from his throne and go out to battle. And notice the cause He is to plead: it is His own cause. The psalmist has successfully merged the cause of the afflicted people with the cause of God Himself. The insults against Israel are insults against their God. Therefore, when God defends Israel, He is defending His own honor. The verse ends by circling back to the theme of verse 18: the constant, unending, all-day-long reproach of the wicked fool. The blasphemy is not a one-time event; it is a relentless assault on the character of God. This persistence is meant to provoke a righteous and jealous God to action.

23 Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The rumbling of those who rise against You which ascends continually.

The final verse echoes the previous pleas. God is asked not to forget the voice of His adversaries. Their threats, their taunts, their blasphemies are all heard in the heavenly court. The word for "rumbling" or "tumult" suggests the proud, chaotic noise of a rebellious mob. It is the sound of chaos rising up against divine order. And this noise "ascends continually." It is always going up before God's throne. The psalm ends not with a neat resolution, but with this lingering, troubling noise hanging in the air. It leaves the petition before God, awaiting His answer. It is a cliffhanger of faith, trusting that the God who hears this continual roar of rebellion will not remain silent forever.

Application

We live in a time when the name of God is reproached all day long. In the halls of academia, in the studios of Hollywood, in the chambers of government, and on the vast, chaotic sea of the internet, the name of Jesus Christ is spurned, mocked, and blasphemed. The church in the West, for the most part, is weak, afflicted, and compromised, looking very much like a defenseless turtledove. The dark places of our own land are increasingly filled with the haunts of violence, both literal and ideological. How, then, should we pray?

Psalm 74 gives us our script. We do not pray on the basis of our own righteousness, because a quick look around at the state of the church will cure us of that notion. We do not despair, because our hope is not in the strength of the church. Our plea is to God, and it is grounded in two things: His covenant and His name. We must be a people who say to God, "Look to the covenant!" He has made a new covenant with us in the blood of His Son. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. We hold Him to His word.

And we must pray, "Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause." The fight for truth, for justice, for righteousness in our day is not finally our cause; it is His. The sexual revolution is not just an assault on the family; it is a reproach against the Creator's design. The denial of truth is not just a philosophical error; it is a spurning of the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We must learn to see the cultural battles of our day in these theological terms. And when we do, we can pray with boldness, even with desperation, knowing that we are not just asking God to rescue our own little project, but asking Him to vindicate the glory of His own great name. And we can be confident that, in His time and in His way, He will most certainly answer.