Psalm 74 (73):4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Observe the agents of evil, the servants of false gods, and reflect on the condition of the nations during that time when they desecrated the sanctuary and the holy city of God with their arrogance. In the midst of Your celebration, recall my words—that Jerusalem met its ruin while that very celebration was being held, during which the Lord was crucified. In their assembly, they raged against one another and ultimately faced their demise. They erected their symbols, yet were unaware that they had to display their emblems, their banners, their eagles, their dragons—those emblems of Rome—alongside the statues they first established in the temple. Perhaps their insignias were inspired by the proclamations of the prophets of their false deities.

Those who resent You during Your feast will find joy. When they waged war against the Lord at the time of the Passover, it was simultaneously when they were handed over to their foes. For during the Passover, when all the Jews were journeying to Jerusalem in accordance with the Law, a siege occurred precisely as they crucified the Savior. He denotes their emblems, referring to the standards of battle, as they were positioned along the pathway to the city. Yet even this did not deter them; rather, they pressed on to assault the Holy Temple, oblivious to the fact that God had allowed the city to fall into their hands due to the vile actions of its people. They marveled at their own might and charged God, whom they honored in the sacred temple, with weakness. Thus, the prophet continues, ‘How long, O God, shall the enemy revile?’ (Psalm 73:10). By repeating the term ‘signs,’ he conveys his astonishment that the Holy Temple has been given over to adversaries.

Those who harbor animosity towards you during your celebration will find joy. On the Feast of Passover, when the people gathered as prescribed by the law, Titus arrived with his army and laid siege to the Jewish capital. It was during this Passover celebration that the Savior was crucified, and simultaneously, they faced consequences for their wrongdoing. They set down their standards, failing to recognize how, in the Exodus above, the spoils representing triumph were displayed over our gates, proclaiming this victory for all future generations. Pilate brought the imperial banners into the city, in violation of the law, and the Roman rulers etched the head of a pig onto the stone at the gate. Through these occurrences, the Jews understood that they had lost divine protection.

Those who oppose You were extolled during Your celebration. The adversaries of Your people prided themselves amidst the sacred observance. Since the Jewish people were forbidden to take up arms during the feast, their foes seized the opportunity and attacked on that holy day, resulting in many casualties. Athanasius states that their hostility towards the Lord during the Passover led to their being handed over to their enemies at that precise moment; as the Jewish community gathered according to the law for the Passover, it was just that they faced siege then. They lowered their standards and were unaware that the glory of the Exodus was above them. Each Roman battalion carried specific insignia on their lances, which identified their unit to others; these are what we refer to as banners.

In the Hebrew texts, these words are more clearly understood as follows: Your adversaries roared within Your holy places and displayed their banners as signs. The faithful liken these foes to lions, symbolizing their ferocity, especially evident in the very house of God. Here, the reference to sanctuaries can be interpreted in the plural, relating to the temple's divisions. The subsequent phrase, "They placed their banners in the signs," alludes to the dishonor directed toward God, as the enemies raised their standards in the temple, seemingly celebrating a victory over God Himself, verbally mocking Him with arrogance. Some scholars interpret this as alluding to magical divinations, much like the reliance of Nebuchadnezzar on his magicians, as noted by Ezekiel.

Ultimately, in Christ the Completer of all virtuous things, celebrated in hymns of gratitude and exalted for eternity. This Psalm, inspired by the Holy Spirit for David, was entrusted to Asaph, the leader of the singers, allowing him to deliver a joyful prophecy to the Jews about the impending victory over Sennacherib, the king of Assyria (4 Sam. 19:35). This victory symbolizes the triumph of the Holy Church over all her adversaries, bestowed by God through the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57).

They introduced their emblems, signifying the arrival of their pagan standards into the temple, transforming them into sacred banners. The psalm conveys a prophetic message, which found fulfillment in several instances: first, when Pilate entered the city with the Roman standards; second, when the Roman Emperor commanded that an image of a swine be affixed to the gate; and third, when idol images were installed within the holy place.