EVERLASTING
Opening Prayer
Lord God, you are faithful to your promises to redeem, to help, to deliver, to bless. Help me to stand in those promises today.
Read PSALM 74
Psalm 74
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
1 O God, why have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember the nation you purchased long ago,
the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—
Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
4 Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards as signs.
5 They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.
6 They smashed all the carved paneling
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.
9 We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.
10 How long will the enemy mock you, God?
Will the foe revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
12 But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.
13 It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
15 It was you who opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.
17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
how foolish people have reviled your name.
19 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.
20 Have regard for your covenant,
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,
the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.
Footnotes
- Psalm 74:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Are you tired? Are you discouraged? Come to the God who gives rest to the weary and increases the power of the weak, and be restored.A couple who recently returned from living in Greece have joined our church. ‘Thessalonica, Philippi, the Acropolis—the church there is non-existent,’ they said sadly. ‘To think what it was, and now there is no worshipping community at all.’ As with the temple in Jerusalem, over and over again, sanctuaries in these key New Testament places are in ruins. How could you have let this happen? How long will the enemy mock you, God (v 10)?
In some places in the world—often where there is harshest opposition—the church is flourishing spiritually and numerically. But in many others, we Christians are an increasingly unpopular and tiny minority. Does this mean God has lost his grip? Is he losing the cosmic battle for the salvation of the world? No! When the psalmist says the day and night, summer and winter, are his, he’s saying, ‘All time is God’s.’ When he says God opens springs and dries rivers, he’s saying the life and death of everything is in God’s hands (vs 15-17). Battles may be lost, but the war is won. Long live the King, on the throne forever and ever.
Apply
Are there situations where you have grown weary as you wait for God to act? Do you question God as did the psalmist? Reread his words of confidence in God and be encouraged.
Closing prayer
Oh Lord, haunts of violence still fill the dark places of the land (v 20). May your kingdom come. May it come in me and through me. Come, Lord Jesus!
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