3 Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Lift up thy strokes. Here the people of God, on the other hand, beseech him to inflict a deadly wound upon their enemies, corresponding to the cruelty with which they had raged against his sanctuary. They would intimate, that a moderate degree of punishment was not sufficient for such impious and sacrilegious fury; and that, therefore, those who had shown themselves such violent enemies of the temple and of the worshippers of God should be completely destroyed, their impiety being altogether desperate. As the Holy Spirit has dictated this form of prayer, we may infer from it, in the first place, the infinite love which God bears towards us, when he is pleased to punish so severely the wrongs inflicted upon us; and, in the second place, the high estimation in which he holds the worship yielded to his Divine majesty, when he pursues with such rigour those who have violated it. With respect to the words, some translate phmym, pheamim, which we have rendered strokes, by feet or steps, [1] and understand the Church as praying that the Lord would lift up his feet, and run swiftly to strike her enemies. Others translate it hammers, [2] which suits very well. I have, however, no hesitation in following the opinion of those who consider the reference to be to the act of striking, and that the strokes themselves are denoted. The last clause of the verse is explained by some as meaning that the enemy had corrupted all things in the sanctuary. [3] But as this construction is not to be found elsewhere, I would not depart from the received and approved reading.
1 - "That phmym means feet or steps is evident from Psalms 17:5 57:6; and 58:10 Lift up thy feet, advance not slowly or by stealth, but with large and stately steps, full in the view of all; come to thy sanctuary, so long suffered to lie waste; examine what has been done there, and let thy grace and aid, hitherto so much withheld, be extended to us." -- Gejer To lift up the feet is a Hebraism for "to put one's self in motion;" "to set out on a journey," as may be learned from Genesis 29:1, where of Jacob it is said, "He lifted up his feet, and went into the east country." Lifting up the feet is used for going, in the same way as opening the mouth is for speaking.
2 - "There is another notion of phm, for a mallet or hammer, Isaiah 41:7 and Kimchi would have that to be the meaning here,hvrm phm, lift up thy mallet,' in opposition to the axes and hammers,' verse 6; and thus also Abu Walid, lift up thy dashing instruments.' And the LXX., who read, eparon tas cheiras, lift up thy hands,' come near this." -- Hammond
3 - This is the sense put upon the words by some Jewish interpreters. Thus Abu Walid reads, "Lift up thy dashing instruments, because of the utter destructions which the enemy hath made, and because of all the evil that he hath done in or on the sanctuary." Aben Ezra has, "because of the perpetual desolations," that is, because of thy inheritance which is laid waste. Piscator takes the same view: "Betake thyself to Jerusalem, that thou mayest see these perpetual desolations which the Babylonians have wrought." In like manner, Gejer, who observes that this sense is preferable to that which considers the words as a prayer, that God would lift up his feet for the perpetual ruin of the enemy, because the Psalmist has been hitherto occupied with a mere description of misery, and has used nothing of the language of imprecation. But the Chaldee has, "Lift up thy goings or footsteps, to make desolate the nations for ever;" that is, Come and spread desolation among those enemies who have invaded and so cruelly reduced thy sanctuary to ruins.
Lift up thy feet - That is, Advance, or draw near. Come and look directly and personally on the desolations which now exist in the holy city.
Unto the perpetual desolations - Hebrew, "the ruins of perpetuity," or eternity; that is, such as have been long continued, and threaten to continue forever. The ruin had not suddenly come, and it did not seem likely soon to pass away, but appeared to be entire and permanent. The destruction of the city seemed to be complete and final.
Even all that the enemy hath done wickedly - That is, with wicked intent and purpose. The reference seems to be to the Chaldeans, and to the ruin which they had brought upon the temple and city.
In the sanctuary - That is, either Jerusalem, considered as a holy place; or the temple, the place of the public worship of God.
Lift up thy feet - Arise, and return to us, our desolations still continue. Thy sanctuary is profaned by thine and our enemies.
Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations,.... That is, arise, hasten, move swiftly, and in the greatness of strength, and come and see the desolations made by the enemy, which look as if they would remain for ever; meaning either the desolations made in the city and temple of Jerusalem, either by Nebuchadnezzar, or by Titus; or the havocs and devastations made in the church of God by the tyranny and persecutions of antichrist; which have continued so long, that an end of them has been almost despaired of. So Jacob is said to "lift up his feet"; which we render went on his way, Genesis 29:1. Some take these words in a different sense, as a prayer for the destruction of the church's enemies; so the Targum,
"lift up thy feet or goings, to make desolate the nations for ever;''
and Kimchi makes but one sentence of this and the following clause, and reads it thus,
"lift up thy feet, to make desolate for ever every enemy that does wickedly in the sanctuary:''
but the accent "athnach", which divides propositions, and is upon the word forbids such a reading. The former sense is best, and most agreeable to the context;
even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary; by profaning and destroying the temple, as did Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, and Titus; or by antichrist sitting in the temple and church of God, setting up idolatrous worship in it, and blaspheming the tabernacle of God, and those that dwell therein, 2-Thessalonians 2:4.
Lift . . . feet-- (Genesis 29:1) --that is, Come (to behold) the desolations (Psalm 73:19).
Lift up - Come speedily to our rescue. Because - Because otherwise our destruction is irrecoverable.
*More commentary available at chapter level.