As mentioned previously, I am reading through the Old Testament in chronological order. The Blue Letter Bible reading order has me pause Jeremiah to wrap up all of the books from prior to the Babylonian victory over Jerusalem. First up are these two psalms.
Psalm 74
A Maskil of Asaph
Asaph lived in the time of David, so this is either prophetic or applied to this season of defeat and destruction.
It's quite a start:
O God, why have You rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Psalm 74:1
Verse 2 does the thing that Old Testament leaders often do: remind God of His character and promises. This is wise. Asking for ourselves doesn't have a lot of cache' when He's finally lost patience with our sin. Our only hope, ever, is to rely on His unearned grace and mercy.
Next the psalmist calls on God to see the catalogue of damage done by the enemy, seemingly to garner sympathy from the Lord—Who, ironically, already catalogued in advance what was going to happen!
- the sanctuary is damaged
- the meeting place is ruined
- the enemy is now flying their own flags in the meeting place
- all the craftsmanship has been hammered
- the sanctuary is burned
- the Holy of Holies is defiled
- they purposed to subdue the Jews by burning all of the meeting places
Next, the psalmist describes the damage to the people.
- there is no prophet
- there is no one to tell them how long this will go on
- it's unclear how long the enemy will prosper
- they are confused why God withdrew His protection
- They ask God to destroy the enemy
In the next paragraph, starting in verse 12, the tone changes from pleading and raging to remember Who God is and what He has done for them in the past.
- He has delivered them
- He divided the [Red] sea
- He broke the "head of the sea monsters" and crushed the Leviathan. I can only assume this still refers to what happened to the Egyptians who followed after the Jews into the parted Red Sea.
- He gave them water and dried up the water, as needed
- Now he becomes even more poetic and broad in seeing Who God is beyond just their circumstances:
- He is the day
- He is the night
- He made the light of the sun
- He established Earth's boundaries
- He is summer and winter.
Now that he has calmed down and recentered himself, based on Who God actually is, the psalmist returns to the matter at hand. Once again he is wise in calling to mind the topics framed for God, not based on his own self-pity. He points out that the enemy reviled God and spurred His name.
I cannot emphasize this enough; and I hope I can remember this in my troubled times, my best and most effective prayers will always be those that remember who God is and who the actual enemy is. God doesn't need this reminder. I do. I am warring NOT against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities of this dark world. (Ephesians 6)
If I can remember how big God is and His sovereignty and His lovingkindness AND His righteousness and then remember that the actual enemy isn't the person hurting me but the powers of darkness...if I can hold all of that in my mind at once, my prayers will have more clarity and power. Wallowing in self-pity for things I probably had a hand in myself, is going to be less effective and more painful.
Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
Consider the covenant;
For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
Let not the oppressed return dishonored;
Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name. Psalm 74:19-21
These are reasonable petitions. Not earned, still relying on grace and mercy, but prayers based in Who God is and who the people are who put themselves in this dire situation.
The psalm ends with a plea, but in the context of the Lord and His enemy.
Psalm 79
A Psalm of Asaph
This is the same song leader from David's time, but does seem to be equally applied to this season of destruction from the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Like Psalm 74, this one starts out by decrying the damage from the enemy to the Temple and Jerusalem. He also describes the death of the people slain—so many dead that they cannot be buried and the birds are eating them.
Yikes.
In verses 4 and 5, he adds that those around them seeing this destruction are reproaching and mocking them.
In verse 5 he asks the age-old question, "how long?"
In verses 6 and 7, he asks the Lord to destroy the nations that did this.
Starting in verse 8, he makes his request for forgiveness, compassion, deliverance, and salvation. He does ask these things for His name's sake and for His glory—which is the only basis to which we can appeal when we've sinned our way into destruction. he details these requests for forgiveness and vengeance.
And then he does close strong:
So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture
Will give thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will tell of Your praise. Psalm 79:13
Like Job and like Daniel's friend in Babylon, and like all other saints and believers, we have to remember Who He is, who we are, and to always praise His name.
Amen.