Psalm 74:16-17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 74:12-17

The lamenting church fastens upon something here which she calls to mind, and therefore hath she hope (as Lam. 3:21), with which she encourages herself and silences her own complaints. Two things quiet the minds of those that are here sorrowing for the solemn assembly:? I. That God is the God of Israel, a God in covenant with his people (Ps. 74:12): God is my King of old. This comes in both as a plea in prayer to God (Ps. 44:4; thou art my King, O God!) and as a prop to their own faith and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 74:16

The day is thine, and the night also is thine ,.... He made the one and the other, and divided the one from the other; and can make them longer or shorter, clear or cloudy, as he pleases: and the day of prosperity and night of adversity are at his disposal; all the times of his people and of his church are in his hands; sometimes it is a night of darkness, deadness, sleepiness, and security, as it now is; ere long there will be no more night, but bright day; the light of the moon will be as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 74:17

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth ,.... Of the whole world, and each of the nations, as of the land of Canaan, so of others, Deuteronomy 32:8 , and even has fixed and settled the bounds of every man's habitation, Acts 17:26 , thou hast made summer and winter ; see Genesis 8:22 , which, taken literally, are great benefits to the world; and, figuratively understood, may represent the two dispensations of the law and Gospel; see Song of Solomon 2:11 , and the different... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 74:16

The day is thine, the night also is thine - Thou art the Author of light, and of the sun, which is the means of dispensing it. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 74:17

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth - Thou alone art the Author of all its grand geographical divisions. Thou hast made summer and winter - Thou hast appointed that peculiarity in the poise and rotation of the earth, by which the seasons are produced. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 74:16

Verse 16 16.The day is thine, the night also is thine. The prophet now descends to the consideration of the divine benefits which are extended in common to all mankind. Having commenced with the special blessings by which God manifested himself to be the Father of his chosen people, he now aptly declares that God exercises his beneficence towards the whole human family. He teaches us, that it is not by chance that the days and nights succeed each other in regular succession, but that this order... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 74:17

Verse 17 17.Thou hast fixed (241) all the boundaries of the earth. What is here stated concerning the boundaries or limits assigned to the earth, and concerning the regular and successive recurrence of summer and winter every year, is to the same effect as the preceding verse. It is doubtful whether the prophet means the uttermost ends of the world, or whether he speaks of the particular boundaries by which countries are separate from each other. Although the latter are often disturbed by the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 74:1-23

In favour of the first is the ascription of the psalm in the "title" to Asaph. But all other considerations are against it. There is no evidence that Shishak ever entered Jerusalem. He certainly did not break down the carved work of the temple, or set the temple on fire, much less "cast it down to the ground." His invasion was a mere raid, and Rehoboam seems to have bought his retreat by the sacrifice of the temple treasury ( 2 Kings 14:25-28 ; 2 Chronicles 12:2-12 ). The circumstances... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 74:12-17

Comfort springs from the thought of God's previous deliverances of his people, and of his other great mercies. The deliverance from Egypt has the foremost place ( Psalms 74:13 , Psalms 74:14 ), as the most striking. Then the deliverance from the wilderness, and the passage of Jordan ( Psalms 74:15 ). From these the poet passes to God's mercies in nature—day and night, light and sun, set bounds of earth and sea, alternations of the seasons—all formed and arranged by the Almighty ( Psalms... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 74:16

The day is thine, the night also is thine; thou hast prepared the light and the sun (see Genesis 1:5 , Genesis 1:15 , Genesis 1:16 ); rather, thou hast prepared him light and sun. "Luminary" ( מָאוֹר ) is probably a class name for the heavenly lights generally. The sun is then particularized, as so much the most important of the luminaries. But the result is "an imperfect parallelism" (Cheyne). read more

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