(The following texts highlighted in this color of blue is taken from

The Treasury of David by Charles Haddon Spurgeon) "Excerpted text

by permission."

Psalm 74

TITLE. Maschil of Asaph. An instructive Psalm by Asaph. The history of

the suffering church is always edifying; when we see how the faithful

trusted and wrestled with their God in times of dire distress, we are thereby

taught how to behave ourselves under similar circumstances; we learn

moreover, that when fiery trial befalls us, no strange thing happened unto

us, we are following the trail of the host of God. (I Peter 4:12-13)

DIVISION. From vs.1-11 the poet pleads the sorrows of the nation, and the

despite done to the assemblies of the Lord; then he urges former displays of

divine power as a reason for present deliverance (vs.12-23). Whether it is a

prophetic Psalm, intended for use in troubles foreseen, or whether it was written

by a later Asaph, after the invasion by Sennacherib or during the Maccabean wars,

it would be very hard to determine, but we see no difficulty in the first supposition.

1 “O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?” To cast us off at all

were hard, but when thou dost for so long a time desert they people it is an

evil beyond all endurance--the very chief of woes and abyss of misery. It is

our wisdom when under chastisement to enquire, "Show me wherefore

thou contendest with me?" (Job 10:2) - and if the affliction be a protracted one,

we should more eagerly enquire the purport of it. Sin is usually at the bottom

of all the hiding of the Lord's face; let us ask the Lord to reveal the special

form of it to us, that we may repent of it, overcome it, and henceforth

forsake it. When a church is in a forsaken condition it must not sit still in

apathy, but turn to the hand which smiteth it, and humbly enquire the

reason why. At the same time, the enquiry of the text is a faulty one, for it

implies two mistakes. There are two questions, which only admit of

negative replies. "Hath God cast away His people?" (Romans 11:1); and the

other, "Will the Lord cast off for ever?" (ch.77:7). God is never weary

of His people so as to abhor them, and even when His anger is turned

against them, it is but for a small moment, and with a view to their eternal

good. Grief in its distraction asks strange questions and surmises

impossible terrors. It is a wonder of grace that the Lord has not long ago

put us away as men lay aside cast off garments, but He hateth putting away,

(Malachi 2:16) and will still be patient with His chosen. “Why doth thine

anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?” They are

thine, they are the objects of thy care, they are poor, silly, and defenseless

things: pity them, forgive them, and come to their rescue. They are but

sheep, do not continue to be wroth with them. It is a terrible thing when

the anger of God smokes, but it is an infinite mercy that it does not break

into a devouring flame. It is meet to pray the Lord to remove every sign of

hHs wrath, for it is to those who are truly the Lord's sheep a most painful

thing to be the objects of His displeasure. To vex the Holy Spirit is no mean

sin, and yet how frequently are we guilty of it; hence it is no marvel that we

are often under a cloud.

2 “Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old;” -

What a mighty plea is redemption. O God, canst thou see the blood mark

on thine own sheep, and yet allow grievous wolves to devour them? The

church is no new purchase of the Lord; from before the world's foundation

the chosen were regarded as redeemed by the Lamb slain; (Revelation 13:8) –

shall ancient love die out, and the eternal purpose become frustrated? The Lord

would have His people remember the paschal Lamb, the bloodstained lintel, and

the overthrow of Egypt; and will He forget all this Himself? Let us put Him in

remembrance, let us plead together. Can He desert His blood bought and

forsake His redeemed? Can election fail and eternal love cease to glow?

Impossible. The woes of Calvary, and the covenant of which they are the

seal, are the security of the saints - “the rod of thine inheritance, which thou

hast redeemed;” - So sweet a plea deserved to be repeated and enlarged upon.

The Lord's portion is His people--will he lose his inheritance? (I recommend

- Deuteronomy ch. 32 v. 9 – God’s Inheritance by Arthur Pink – this web site –

CY – 2011) - His church is His kingdom, over which He stretches the rod of

sovereignty; will He allow His possessions to be torn from Him? God's property

in us is a fact full of comfort: His value of us, His dominion over us, His connection

with us are all so many lights to cheer our darkness. No man will willingly lose his

inheritance, and no prince will relinquish his dominions; therefore we believe that the

King of kings will hold His own, and maintain His rights against all comers -

“this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.” The Lord's having made Zion

the especial center of His worship, and place of His manifestation, is yet

another plea for the preservation of Jerusalem. Shall the sacred temple of

Jehovah be desecrated by heathen, and the throne of the Great King be

defiled by His enemies? Has the Spirit of God dwelt in our hearts, and will

He leave them to become a haunt for the devil? Has He sanctified us by His

indwelling, and will He, after all, vacate the throne? God forbid. It may be

well to note that this Psalm was evidently written with a view to the temple

upon Zion, and not to the tabernacle which was there in David's time, and

was a mere tent; but the destructions here bewailed were exercised upon

the carved work of a substantial structure. Those who had seen the glory

of God in Solomon's peerless temple might well mourn in bitterness, when

the Lord allowed His enemies to make an utter ruin of that matchless edifice.

3 “Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations;” - The ruin made had

already long been an eyesore to the suppliant, and there seemed no hope of

restoration. Havoc lorded it not only for a day or a year, but with perpetual

power. This is another argument with God. Would Jehovah sit still and see

His own land made a wilderness, His own palace a desolation? Until He

should arise, and draw near, the desolation would remain; only His presence

could cure the evil, therefore is He entreated to hasten with uplifted feet for

the deliverance of His people - “even all that the enemy hath done wickedly

in the sanctuary.” Every stone in the ruined temple appealed to the Lord; on all

sides were the marks of impious spoilers, the holiest places bore evidence of their

malicious wickedness; would the Lord for ever permit this? Would He not hasten

to overthrow the foe who defied Him to His face, and profaned the throne of

His glory? Faith finds pleas in the worst circumstances, she uses even the

fallen stones of her desolate palaces, and assails with them the gates of

heaven, casting them forth with the great engine of prayer.

4 “Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations;” - Where thy

people sang like angels, these barbarians roar like beasts. When thy saints

come together for worship, these cruel men attack them with all the fury of

lions. They have no respect for the most solemn gatherings, but intrude

themselves and their blasphemies into our most hallowed meetings. How

often in times of persecution or prevalent heresy has the church learned the

meaning of such language. May the Lord spare us such misery. When

hypocrites abound in the church, and pollute her worship, the case is

parallel to that before us; Lord save us from so severe a trial - “they set up their

ensigns for signs.” Idolatrous emblems used in war were set up over God's altar,

as an insulting token of victory, and of contempt for the vanquished and their God.

Papists, Arians, and the modern school of Neologians, have, in their day, set up

their ensigns for signs. Superstition, unbelief, and carnal wisdom have endeavored

to usurp the place of Christ crucified, to the grief of the church of God. The

enemies without do us small damage, but those within the church cause her serious

harm; by supplanting the truth and placing error in its stead, they deceive

the people, and lead multitudes to destruction. As a Jew felt a holy horror

when he saw an idolatrous emblem set up in the holy place, even so do we

when in a Protestant church we see the fooleries of Rome, and when from

pulpits, once occupied by men of God, we hear philosophy and vain deceit.

5 “A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the

thick trees.” - Once men were renowned for felling the cedars and preparing

them for building the temple, but now the axe finds other work, and men

are as proud of destroying as their fathers were of erecting. Thus in the

olden times our sires dealt sturdy blows against the forests of error, and

labored hard to lay the axe at the root of the trees; but, alas! their sons

appear to be quite as diligent to destroy the truth and to overthrow all

that their fathers built up. O for the good old times again! O for an hour of

Luther's hatchet, or Calvin's mighty axe!

6 “But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with

axes and hammers.” The invaders were as industrious to destroy as the

ancient builders had been to construct. Such fair carving it was barbarous

to hew in pieces, but the Vandals had no mercy and broke down all, with

any weapon which came to hand. In these days men are using axes and

sledgehammers against the gospel and the church. Glorious truths, far

more exquisite than the goodliest carving, are cavilled over and smashed by

the blows of modern criticism. (The American Civil Liberties Union for

starters – CY – 2011) Truths which have upheld the afflicted and cheered the

dying are smitten by pretentious Goths, who would be accounted learned, but

know not the first principals of the truth. With sharp ridicule, and heavy blows

of sophistry, they break the faith of some: and would, if it were possible, destroy

the confidence of the elect themselves. Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans are

but types of spiritual foes who labor to crush the truth and the people of God.

(There is nothing in Scripture of that sympathy with God’s enemies which

modern traitors are so fond of parading as the finest species of benevolence)

7 “They have cast fire into thy sanctuary,” - Axes and hammers were

not sufficient for the purpose of the destroyers, they must needs try fire.

Malice knows no bounds. Those who hate God are never sparing of the

most cruel weapons. To this day the enmity of the human heart is quite as

great as ever; and, if providence did not restrain, the saints would still be as

fuel for the flames - “they have defiled by casting down the dwelling

place of thy name to the ground.” They made a heap of the temple, and

left not one stone upon another. When the Lord left Mount Zion, and the Roman

gained entrance, the military fury led the soldiers to burn out and root up the

memorial of the famous House of the Lord. Could the powers of darkness have

their way, a like fate would befall the church of Christ. "Rase it," say they, "rase

it even to the foundation thereof" (ch. 137:7). - Defilement to the church is

destruction; her foes would defile her till nothing of her purity, and consequently

of her real self, remained. Yet, even if they could wreak their will upon the cause

of Christ, they are not able to destroy it, it would survive their blows and

fires; (“upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell

shall not prevail against it” Matthew 16:18); the Lord would hold them still

like dogs on a leash, and in the end frustrate all their designs.

8 “They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together:” - It was no

idle wish, their cruelty was sincere, deep seated, a matter of their inmost

heart. Extirpation was the desire of Haman, and the aim of many another

tyrant; not a remnant of the people of God would have been left if

oppressors could have had their way. Pharaoh's policy to stamp out the

nation has been a precedent for others, yet the Jews survive, and will: the

bush though burning has not been consumed. Even thus the church of

Christ has gone through baptism of blood and fire, but it is all the brighter

for them - “They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.”

Here is no allusion to places called synagogues, but to assemblies; and as no

assemblies for worship here held in but one place, the ruin of the temple

was the destruction of all the holy gatherings, and so in effect all the

meeting places were destroyed. One object of persecutors has always been

to put an end to all conventicles, as they have called them. Keep them from

meeting and you will scatter them, so have the enemy said; but, glory be to

God, saints are independent of walls, and have met on the hill side, by the

moss, or in the catacombs, or in a boat at sea. Yet has the attempt been

almost successful, and the hunt so hot, that the faithful have wandered in

solitude, and their solemn congregations have been, under such

circumstances, few and far between. What sighs and cries have in such

times gone up to the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth. How happy are we

that we can meet for worship in any place we choose, and none dare molest us.

9 “We see not our signs:” - Alas, poor Israel! No Urim and Thummim

blazed on the High Priest's bosom, and no Shechaniah shone from between

the cherubim. The smoke of sacrifice and cloud of incense no more arose

from the holy hill; solemn feasts were suspended, and even circumcision,

the covenant sign, was forbidden by the tyrant. We, too, as believers, know

what it is to lose our evidences and grope in darkness; and too often do our

churches also miss the tokens of the Redeemer's presence, and their lamps

remain untrimmed. Sad complaint of a people under a cloud! - “there is no more

any prophet:” - Prophecy was suspended. No inspiring psalm or consoling promise

fell from bard or seer. It is ill with the people of God when the voice of the preacher

of the gospel fails, and a famine of the word of life falls on the people. God sent

ministers are as needful to the saints as their daily bread, and it is a great

sorrow when a congregation is destitute of a faithful pastor. It is to be feared, that

with all the ministers now existing, there is yet a dearth of men whose hearts and

tongues are touched with the celestial fire - “neither is there any among us that

knoweth how long.” If someone could foretell an end, the evil might be borne with

a degree of patience, but when none can see a termination, or foretell an escape,

the misery has a hopeless appearance, and is overwhelming. Blessed be God,

He has not left his church in these days to be so deplorably destitute of

cheering words; let us pray that He never may. Contempt of the word is very

common, and may well provoke the Lord to withdraw it from us; may His long

suffering endure the strain, and His mercy afford us still the word of life!

10 “O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?” Though we

know not how long yet thou dost. The times and seasons are with thee.

When God is reproached, there is hope for us, for it may be He will hearken

and avenge His dishonored name. Wickedness has great license allowed it,

and justice lingers on the road; God has His reasons for delay, and His

seasons for action, and in the end it shall be seen that He is not slack

concerning His promise as some men count slackness (II Peter 3:9).

“Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?” He will do so for ever,

unless thou dost give him his quietus. Wilt thou never defend thyself, and

stop slanderous tongues? Wilt thou always endure the jeers of the profane?

Is there to be no end to all this sacrilege and cursing? Yes, it shall all be

ended, but not by and by. There is a time for the sinner to rage, and a time

in which patience bears with him; yet it is but a time, and then, ah, then!

(“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness

and unrighteousness of men” – Romans 1:18)

11 “Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand?” - Wherefore

this inaction, this indifference for thine own honor and thy people's safety?

How bold is the suppliant! Does he err? Nay, verily, we who are so chill,

and distant, and listless in prayer are the erring ones. The kingdom of

heaven suffereth violence, and he who learns the art shall surely prevail

with God by its means. It is fit that we should enquire why the work of

grace goes on so slowly, and the enemy has so much power over men: the

inquiry may suggest practical reflections of unbounded value.

"Why dost thou from the conflict stay?

Why do thy chariot wheels delay?

Lift up thyself, hell's kingdom shake,

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake."

“Pluck it out of thy bosom.” A bold simile, but dying men must venture for

their lives. When God seems to fold His arms we must not fold ours, but

rather renew our entreaties that he would again put his hand to the work.

O for more agony in prayer among professing Christians, then should we

see miracles of grace. We have here before us a model of pleading, a very

rapture of prayer. It is humble, but very bold, eager, fervent, and effectual.

The heart of God is always moved by such entreaties. When we bring forth

our strong reasons, then will He bring forth His choice mercies.

Having spread the sad case before the Lord, the pleader now in vs. 12-23,

urges another series of arguments for divine help. He reasons from the

Lord's former wonders of grace, and his deeds of power, imploring a

repetition of the same divine works.

12 “For God is my King of old,” - How consoling is this avowal! Israel

in holy loyalty acknowledges her King, and claims to have been His

possession from of old, and thence she derives a plea for defense and

deliverance. If the Lord be indeed the sole monarch of our bosoms, He will

in His love put forth His strength on our behalf; if from eternity He has

claimed us as His own, He will preserve us from the insulting foe.

“working salvation in the midst of the earth.” From the most remote period

of Israel's history the Lord had worked out for her many salvations;

especially at the Red Sea, the very heart of the world was astonished by His

wonders of deliverance. Now, every believer may plead at this day the

ancient deeds of the Lord, the work of Calvary, the overthrow of sin,

death, and hell. He who wrought out our salvation of old will not, cannot

desert us now. Each past miracle of grace assures us that He who has

begun to deliver will continue to redeem us from all evil. His deeds of old

were public and wrought in the teeth of His foes, they were no delusions or

make believes; and, therefore, in all our perils we look for true and

manifest assistance, and we shall surely receive it.

13 “Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength:” - Infinite power split the

Red Sea in twain. Israel delighted to rehearse this famous act of the Lord.

“thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.” Monsters long

accustomed to the deep found themselves left high and dry. Huge things of

the sea cave and the coral grot were deprived of their vital element, and left

with crushed heads upon the dry channel bed. There, too, that old dragon

Pharaoh was utterly broken, and Egypt herself had the head of her power

and pomp broken with an almighty blow. Even thus is that old dragon

broken by Him who came to bruise the serpent's head, and the sea of wrath

no longer rolls before us; we pass through it dry shod. Our faith as to the

present is revived by glad memories of the past. (I recommend, once again,

arkdiscovery.com – and look at the section on the passage of the Red Sea –

CY – 2011)

14 “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces,” - It is the Lord who

has done it all. The mighty dragon of Egypt was utterly slain, and his proud

heads broken in pieces. Our Lord Jesus is the true Hercules, dragons with a

hundred heads are crushed beneath His foot: the infernal hydra He utterly

vanquishes - “and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the

wilderness.” Not only did the wild beasts feed upon the carcasses of the

Egyptians, but the dwellers along the shores stripped the bodies and enriched

themselves with the spoil. Israel, too, grew rich with the relics of her drowned

adversaries. How often do great afflictions work our lasting good. Leviathan,

who would have devoured us, is himself devoured, and out of the monster we

gather sweetness. Let us not give way to fear; hydra headed evils shall be

slain, and monstrous difficulties shall be overcome, and all things shall

work our lasting good.

15 “Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood:” - Jordan was divided

by Jehovah's power; the Lord is able to repeat His miracles, what He did

with a sea, He can do with a river; lesser difficulties shall be removed as

well as greater ones. Perhaps the fountain refers to the smitten rock, which

from its cleft poured forth a perpetual stream; so the Lord opens to us

springs of water in the wilderness - “thou driedst up mighty rivers.” - rivers

which were permanent, and not like the transient torrents of the land, were dried

up for awhile; the Jordan itself, being such, was laid dry for a season. Observe

the repetition of the pronoun "thou;" the song is all for God, and the prayer is all

directed to Him. The argument is that He who wrought such wonders would be

pleased to do the like now that an emergency had arisen.

16 “The day is thine, the night also is thine:” - Thou art not restricted by

times and seasons. Our prosperity comes from thee, and our adversity is

ordained by thee. Thou rulest in the darkness, and one glance of thine eye

kindles it into day. Lord, be not slack to keep thy word, but rise for the

help of thy people - “thou hast prepared the light and the sun.” Both

light and the light bearer are of thee. Our help, and the instrument of it, are both

in thy hand. There is no limit to thy power; be pleased to display it and make thy

people glad. Let thy sacred preparations of mercy ripen; say, "Let there be light,"

(Genesis 1:3) - and light shall at once dispel our gloom.

17 “Thou hast set all the borders of the earth:” - Land and sea receive

their boundaries from thee. Continents and islands are mapped by thy hand.

Observe, again, how everything is ascribed to the divine agency by the use

of the pronoun "thou;” - not a word about natural laws, and original forces,

but the Lord is seen as working all. It will be well when all our "ologies"

are tinctured with "theology," (so much for theoretical “separation of church

and state” – CY – 2011) and the Creator is seen at work amid His

universe. The argument of our text is, that He who bounds the sea can

restrain His foes; and He who guards the borders of the dry land can also

protect His chosen - “thou hast made summer and winter.” Return, then,

good Lord, to us the bright summer days of joy. We know that all our changes

come of thee, we have already felt the rigors of thy winter, grant us now the

genial glow of thy summer smile. (since this day is March 3, with great

anticipation, we await the summer of God! CY – 2011) THE GOD OF

NATURE IS THE GOD OF GRACE and we may argue from the revolving

seasons that sorrow is not meant to rule the year, the flowers of hope will blossom,

and ruddy fruits of joy will ripen yet.

18 “Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord,” - Against

thee, the ever glorious Maker of all things, have they spoken, thine honor

have they assailed, and defied even thee. This is forcible pleading indeed,

and reminds us of Joshua and Hezekiah in their intercessions: "What wilt

thou do unto thy great name?" "It may be that the Lord thy God will hear

the words of Rabshakeh, who hath reproached the living God." (Joshua

7:9; II Kings 19:4) - Jehovah is a jealous God, and will surely glorify His own

name; here our hope finds foothold - “and that the foolish people have

blasphemed thy name.” The meanness of the enemy is here pleaded. Sinners

are fools, and shall fools be allowed to insult the Lord and oppress His people;

shall the abjects curse the Lord and defy Him to His face. When error grows too

bold its day is near, and its fall certain. Arrogance foreshadows ripeness of evil,

and the next step is rottenness. Instead of being alarmed when bad men grow

worse and more audacious, we may reasonably take heart, for the hour of their

judgment is evidently near.

19 “O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the

wicked:” - Thy poor church is weak and defenseless as a dove, but yet her

adversaries cannot touch her without thy permission; do not give them

leave to devour her, consign her not to the merciless fangs of her foes. She

is thy dove, thy turtle, thy favored one, do not cast her to her enemies. Be

merciful, and preserve the weak. Thus may we each plead, and with good

hope of prevailing, for the Lord is very pitiful and full of compassion.

(James 5:11) – “forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.” They

look to thee for everything, for they are very poor, and they are thy poor, and

there is a company of them, collected by thyself; do not turn thy back on them for

long, do not appear strange unto them, but let their poverty plead with thee; turn

thou unto them, and visit thine afflicted. In such pleas we also can personally join

when at any time we are sorely tried, and the Lord's presence is hidden from us.

20 “Have respect unto the covenant:” - Here is the master key, --

heaven's gate must open to this. God is not a man that He should lie; His

covenant He will not break, nor alter the thing that hath gone forth out of

his lips. (ch. 89:34) The Lord had promised to bless the seed of Abraham,

and make them a blessing; here they plead that ancient word, even as we also

may plead the covenant made with the Lord Jesus for all believers. What a

grand word it is! Reader, do you know how to cry "Have respect unto thy

covenant"? - “For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations

of cruelty.” Darkness is the fit hour for beasts of prey, and ignorance the natural

dwelling place of cruelty. All the world is in a measure dark, and hence everywhere

there are cruel enemies of the Lord's people; but in some places a sevenfold night of

superstition and unbelief has settled down, and there rage against the saints reaches

to madness. Has not the Lord declared that the whole earth shall be filled with His

glory? (ch. 72:19; Numbers 14:21; Habakkuk 2:14) How can this be if He always

permits cruelty to riot in dark places? Surely, He must arise, and end the days of

wrong, the era of oppression. This verse is a most telling missionary prayer.

21 “O let not the oppressed return ashamed:” - Though broken and

crushed they come to thee with confidence; suffer them not to be

disappointed, for then they will be ashamed of their hope - “let the poor and

needy praise thy name.” By thy speedy answer to their cries make their hearts

glad, and they will render to thee their gladdest songs. It is not the way of the

Lord to allow any of those who trust in Him to be put to shame; for His word is,

"He shall call upon me, and I will deliver him, and he shall glorify me."

(ch. 50:15)

22 “Arise, O God, plead thine own cause:” - Answer thou the taunts of

the profane by arguments which shall annihilate both the blasphemy and the

blasphemer. God's judgments are awful replies to the defiance of His foes.

When He makes empires crumble, and smites persecutors to the heart, His

cause is pleaded by Himself as none other could have advocated it. O that

the Lord Himself would come into the battle field. Long has the fight been

trembling in the balance; one glance of His eyes, one word from His lip, and

the banners of victory shall be borne on the breeze - “remember how the

foolish man reproacheth thee daily.” The Lord is begged to remember

that He is Himself reproached, and that by a mere man- that man a fool, and

He is also reminded that these foul reproaches are incessant and repeated with

every revolving day. It is bravely done when faith can pluck pleas out of the

dragon's mouth and out of the blasphemies of fools find arguments with God.

23 “Forget not the voice of thine enemies:” - Great warrior let the

enemy's taunt provoke thee to the fray. They challenge thee; accept thou

the gage of battle, and smite them with thy terrible hand. If the cries of thy

children are too feeble to be heard, be pleased to note the loud voices of

thy foes and silence their profanities for ever - “the tumult of those that

rise up against thee increaseth continually.” The ungodly clamor against

thee and thy people, their blasphemies are loud and incessant, they defy thee,

even thee, and because thou repliest not they laugh thee to scorn. They go from

bad to worse, from worse to worst; their fury swells like the thunders of an

advancing tempest. What will it come too? What infamy will next be hurled at

thee and thine? O God, wilt thou for ever bear this? Hast thou no regard for thine

honor, no respect for thy glory? Much of this Psalm has passed over our mind while

beholding the idolatries of Rome, (the author visited Rome in November and

December, 1871, while this portion of the Treasury of David was in progress) and

remembering her bloody persecution of the saints. O Lord, how long shall it be ere

thou wilt ease thyself of those profane wretches, the priests, and cast the harlot of

Babylon into the ditch of corruption? May the church never cease to plead with

thee till judgment shall be executed, and the Lord avenged upon Antichrist.

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