Psalm 74 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 74 Short Summary:

Jerusalem was in despair. Psalm 74 begins with the psalmist mourning over the ruins of God’s sanctuary and holy places. The enemies of Israel had ransacked their sacred spaces and Israel had no recourse. The psalmist pleads with God to help them and to vindicate His name against those who were mocking it. Israel was helpless, but their God had the power to save them.

Psalm 74 Summary

AUTHOR:

• Asaph is the author Psalm 74.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No Known New Testament References.

THEMES:

• There are times when we must wait patiently for God to act according to His timing.

• Although we lack strength to overcome our enemies, God is full of strength.

DEFINITIONS:

• Maskil (74:1) - The exact meaning of this term remains unknown. It may have been a musical indicator, telling the musician or performer how the psalm was to be presented. Other people think the term indicates a psalm that was written to impart wisdom.

• Leviathan (74:14) - The leviathan was a mighty creature, likely now extinct, described in detail in Job 41. It was a powerful scaled creature that was untamable by men and unkillable with human weapons. Some “scholars” have suggested leviathan is the crocodile, but the description in Job 41 rules that out. More likely, the leviathan was an animal we would classify as a dinosaur.

OUTLINE:

• *CONTEXT: Psalm 74 appears to speak of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 B.C.). If this is the case, either Asaph was writing prophetically about the future, this is another Asaph other than the one living during the time of David, or it is a psalmist writing under Asaph’s name, which is possible because the singers became known as the “sons of Asaph” (Ezr 2:41; Neh 11:22).

• THE SANCTUARY IN RUINS (74:1-11):

  • The psalmist starts Psalm 74 in mourning.

  • The people of God and their holy places were in ruins.

  • The enemies of Israel had destroyed all the places dedicated to God and burned the sanctuary (probably referring to the Temple in Jerusalem).

  • They were like men with hatchets, axes, and fire intent on destroying a forest.  

  • They had set up their banners of victory in the land once belonging to God’s people.

  • They gloated in their victory, and they scoffed at God.

  • The psalmist was asking God how long he would allow this to continue. How long until God restored His people and their land?

  • “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?” (74:10).

  • “Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!” (74:23).

• GOD IS NOT LACKING IN POWER (74:12-17):

  • The psalmist knew it wasn’t for lack of power that God permitted His people to be conquered.

  • God was an ancient king. A king so great He had led His people out of Egypt by dividing the Red Sea (Exo 14).

  • He was superior to the greatest animals that lived on earth, the giant sea creatures and Leviathan.

  • He made the earth and was in control of the day and night and the changing seasons.

• A PLEA FOR GOD TO USE HIS POWER (74:18-23):

  • While the psalmist was praising God’s power, the oppressors of Israel were mocking Him.

  • “Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name” (74:18).

  • The writer called on God to remember the covenant (promises) He made with Israel.

  • He recognized their complete helplessness and asked God to save them.

APPLICATION:

• If Psalm 74 is indeed about the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians, then Israel (more specifically the people of Judah) got themselves into this terrible predicament through their own actions.

• The history of Judah (2 Kings and 2 Chronicles) records how God allowed the Babylonians to punish His people because of His people’s sins.

• The people of Judah rebelled against God and found themselves conquered by Babylon.

• They were helpless against a force greater than themselves, which is why the psalmist prayed for God to be their savior.

• The situation of the people of Judah was not altogether different than our own situation.

• Hopefully, at some point in our lives we reach a point when we mourn over our situation and realize we are helpless to save ourselves.

• Our sad situation is due to our own sins, and we are powerless to escape the guilt of those sins.

• Like the psalmist, we need to call out to God to be our savior. By His grace, He has already provided us with One.

• This was the Savior Ananias told Paul to cry out to when Paul was convicted of his sins.

• He said in Acts 22:16, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name.”

• Like the psalmist and like Paul, we have problems we can’t fix on our own, and we need to follow their examples in reaching out to God for help.

• Until we recognize our helplessness we can never be saved. Until we accept the Savior’s help, we will remain under the oppression of the enemy.