January 15
Reading: Psalm 74
A Maskil of Asaph.
1 O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
they set up their own signs for signs.
5 They were like those who swing axes
in a forest of trees.
6 And all its carved wood they broke down
with hatchets and hammers.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our signs;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!
12 Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You split open springs and brooks;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,
and a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have regard for the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, defend your cause;
remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of those who rise against you,
which goes up continually!
Psalm 74 is “a maskil of Asaph.” A maskil is a teaching poem or a song that makes you think about things. In this psalm the thinking is all about the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.
The psalm begins with a question to God: “Why have You rejected us forever?” Of course it feels this way. Verse 2 is a request to God to remember His people and in verses 3-9 the psalmist is describing the disaster that has come upon Jerusalem. Verse 9 laments the silence from God. There is no word from Him. His people do not know how long the disaster will last. This is not quite true, Jeremiah has told them, but this is how it feels when disaster strikes.
In verses 10-11 the psalmist is pleading with God to destroy those who have destroyed His city. Verses 12-17 explain that God certainly could do this if He so desired. The rest of the psalm provides motives for God to destroy the destroyers of Jerusalem.
- These people need to be shown that they are fools. (vs. 18)
- God is a God who delivers His people. (vs. 19)
- God has made a covenant with His people. (vs. 20)
- When God saves the afflicted, they will praise Him. (vs. 21)
- God’s honor demands that he deal with these people who have scoffed at Him. (vs. 22)
- God needs to answer those who still speak against Him. (vs. 23)
If one gets the feeling that the psalmist is trying to talk God into destroying the Babylonians and restoring Jerusalem, well that is exactly what is happening.
When disaster strikes, what do you do? Do you cry out to God? Or do you try to figure it out for yourself?
Psalm 74 is a guide for us. We need to bring our disasters and sorrows to God. Notice that there is no resolution here, only request. Sometimes that is where we live for a long time.