O God, why hast thou cast us off forever? It could only have been in the extremity of distress that a devout Israelite believed, even for a time, that Israel was "cast off forever" (comp. Psalms 79:5, which must have been written nearly at the same period as this).
Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? God's anger "smokes" when it is hot and furious (see Psalms 18:8; Psalms 104:32; Psalms 44:5). It is now smoking "against the sheep of his pasture"—his own flock (Psalms 78:53), his peculiar people (comp.