Waiting for Victory

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Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, come to me in Your matchless power. Release praise in me, deep and full.

Read Psalm 74:1-23

^[1]A maskil of Asaph. 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.

Meditate

“You are sometimes hidden, silent, absent, unresponsive. Then, quite reliably then, You appear in Your full glory” (Walter Brueggemann). This adapted prayer reminds us that we are not forgotten in the midst of adversity.

Think Further

Unlike other parts of the Bible, the psalm’s heading–a “maskil” of Asaph–is part of the text. This heading is likely to refer to the style of the psalm. The Temple has been violently destroyed (4-8) and the people have lost their direction in a time of uncertainty.

The psalm has a striking approach to this calamity. First, this is a song of community lament: the grief and disorientation are named out loud and expressed by the people together. Most congregations find it difficult to express such negative thoughts in conversation over coffee, let alone in praise. The result is that those who are struggling with life and faith often feel like failures, isolated from those around them. How much healthier we would be if we could together express negative feelings, as in this psalm.

Second, the psalm does not simply wallow in grief but locates it within the story of God’s creation and redemption (12-17). It sees these two as of a piece rather than separate; all of God’s actions have been a single work of bringing order out of chaos, triumphing over the forces of evil and destruction. It is this work that the people long to see made real in their lives once again. But the psalm does not resolve despair, nor does it hope prematurely. The reality of darkness and chaos in the world around sit uneasily with the truth of God’s power and love, and are not yet reconciled–and we who know the creative power of God’s redemption still await the day when every eye shall see and every tongue confess this truth.

Apply

How can you hold together these two truths–the evil in the world, and the power and love of God–in your own life and that of your congregation?

Closing prayer

Loving Lord, sometimes it happens to me. Sometimes it happens often to people I know. It is the struggle with Your seeming absence. I pray against those dark places and ask for Your fullness.

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