Psalms 74:1

for ever God's rejection of His people seems to have become permanent. The same thought recurs in Psalms 74:3; Psalms 74:10; Psalms 74:19, Psalms 79:5. Cp. Lamentations 5:20; Psalms 44:23; Lamentations 3:31.

smoke A metaphor for the outward signs of the fire of wrath. Cp. Psalms 18:8; Psalms 80:4; Lamentations 2:3-4.

the sheep of thy pasture The exact phrase recurs only in Psalms 79:13; Psalms 100:3; Jeremiah 23:1; Ezekiel 34:31; but cp. Psalms 95:7. The title implies that Israel has a right to claim God's loving care in virtue of His relation to it: a relation which Psalms 74:2 points out was initiated by God Himself. The representation of God as Israel's shepherd is common. See Psalms 80:1; Psalms 77:20; Psalms 78:52; Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:11 ff.