Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name. Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORDThis phrase calls upon God to recall the derision and scorn directed towards Him by His adversaries. In biblical history, the enemies of Israel often mocked God, questioning His power and presence. This is reminiscent of the taunts from the Assyrians in 2 Kings 18:19-35, where they challenged God's ability to save Jerusalem. Theologically, this reflects the ongoing spiritual battle between God's sovereignty and the rebellion of the world. The term "enemy" can be seen as both physical adversaries of Israel and spiritual forces opposed to God's kingdom. The invocation of "O LORD" uses the covenant name Yahweh, emphasizing a personal relationship and the expectation of divine intervention. how a foolish people has spurned Your name
The "foolish people" refers to those who lack understanding and reverence for God, often characterized by idolatry and moral corruption. Biblically, foolishness is not merely intellectual deficiency but a moral and spiritual failing, as seen in Proverbs 1:7, where the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. The act of spurning God's name indicates a rejection of His authority and character. This can be connected to Romans 1:21-22, where humanity's failure to honor God leads to futile thinking. Historically, this reflects the nations surrounding Israel, who worshipped false gods and ridiculed the God of Israel. In a broader sense, it points to the ultimate rejection of Christ, who is the embodiment of God's name and presence, as seen in John 1:10-11. Persons / Places / Events 1. The EnemyRepresents those who oppose God and His people, often seen as foreign nations or groups that have attacked Israel. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal and unchanging nature. 3. Foolish PeopleRefers to those who lack wisdom and understanding, particularly in their rejection and mockery of God. 4. The PsalmistLikely Asaph or a descendant of Asaph, who is crying out to God in a time of national distress. 5. IsraelThe nation chosen by God, often facing opposition and needing divine intervention. Teaching Points God's Honor and Our ResponseWe should be deeply concerned about the honor of God's name and respond with prayer and action when it is mocked. The Nature of FoolishnessTrue foolishness is rejecting God and His wisdom. We must seek to live wisely by aligning our lives with God's Word. The Power of RemembranceLike the psalmist, we can call upon God to remember His promises and past acts of deliverance when we face trials. Trust in God's JusticeEven when it seems like the wicked prosper, we must trust that God will ultimately vindicate His name and His people. Engaging with the WorldAs believers, we are called to engage with a world that often mocks God, doing so with grace and truth, pointing others to the hope found in Christ. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the mockery of God by the "enemy" in Psalm 74:18 reflect the spiritual battles we face today? 2. In what ways can we, like the psalmist, remind God of His promises during times of distress? 3. How does understanding the biblical definition of "foolishness" help us in our daily walk with God? 4. What are some practical ways we can defend the honor of God's name in our communities? 5. How can the accounts of God's deliverance in the Bible, such as in Isaiah 37, encourage us when we face opposition? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 79Similar themes of lament and plea for God to remember His people amidst their suffering and the mockery of enemies. 1 Samuel 17The account of David and Goliath, where Goliath mocks the armies of the living God, paralleling the mockery mentioned in Psalm 74:18. Proverbs 1:7Highlights the contrast between wisdom and foolishness, emphasizing the fear of the LORD as the beginning of knowledge. Isaiah 37The account of King Hezekiah's prayer when the Assyrian king mocked God, showing God's response to such mockery. Romans 1:21-22Discusses the foolishness of those who reject God, aligning with the description of a "foolish people" in Psalm 74:18. People Asaph, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Base, Behaviour, Blasphemed, Contemned, Cruel, Despised, Enemy, Evil, Foolish, Haters, Impious, Mind, Mocked, O, Remember, Reproached, Reviled, Reviles, Scoffs, SpurnedDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 74:18 5042 name of God, significance
5800 blasphemy
5893 insults
5896 irreverence
8728 enemies, of Israel and Judah
8782 mockery Psalm 74:1-23 6115 blame Psalm 74:10-18 8817 ridicule, objects of Psalm 74:18-23 8610 prayer, asking God 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 ApocalypseThe 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 74:18 NIVPsalm 74:18 NLTPsalm 74:18 ESVPsalm 74:18 NASBPsalm 74:18 KJV
Psalm 74:18 Commentaries
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