Ps. 78.61 (they are only their own)

And he gave up / to captivity / his power
and his glory / to the hand / of the foe.  

 Reversal. These lines are, in context of the psalm, staggering. The entire force of story from the plagues to the Land, has been one of God’s delivering hand from Israel’s enemies. Indeed, while the focus of the first portion of the psalm was on the prodigal blessing bestowed on Israel in the wilderness (an ‘internal’ focus, we might say), the second section has focused on God’s external protection of Israel in regard to her enemies. And it has been one not only of increasing liberation but one of increasing provision of Land (the necessary and requisite to security from enemies) and Liturgy (Shiloh). What we see here is the dramatic and truly tragic reversal of the entire edifice—Shiloh and the arc are given over to Israel’s enemies. The whole momentum of liberation has now become a momentum of “handing over” to the enemy.  

His things. And we must note that this ‘handing over’ consists in ‘things of God’: “his power”, “his glory”, “his people” and “his heritage”.  (It is fascinating to note that, once the ‘fire of wrath’ begins to burn in the immediately following verse it is no longer “his” but “their” (“their young men and their maidens”, “their priests” and “their widows”)). This is not merely a ‘shrugging off’ of Shiloh, the arc and his people. God is intimately associated with these. They are ‘his’. Hence, it is clearly a painful and tragic act on God’s part. It is a type of crucifixion, a purposeful handing over to shame of his objects of affection.  

Given and Allowed. God “gives up’ his liturgical emblems, but he ‘allows’ his people to be given. It is as if the liturgical emblems are actively handed over while the people are simply not provided protection (God passively allows it, rather than actively handing them over). There is something of import in this: that once God hands over his liturgical center (Shiloh) and its implements (arc), the people are absolutely vulnerable. Shiloh was their fortress; their protection; the ‘throne of their God’ (the arc is specifically described thus). Once they are gone, the people’s protection has evacuated and they are left alone to suffer “the sword” (62, 64) and “the fire” (63). More importantly still, once these are gone the people are no longer “his”; they are, only, their own.