Broken Hearts and Bold Faith

 

Psalm 74

Arise, O God, Remember Your People

Psalm 74 is a lamentation sung by the Israelites over the sufferings of their nation as they gathered together. They had been long suffering in their tribulation, and they even felt as if God had abandoned them forever!

“O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?” (v.1)

God’s people spoke about their tribulation in this lamentation: Their country was ruined, their people were killed, and God’s temple was destroyed. How did they call out to God in this long suffering?

Call out to God wholeheartedly in a prolonged tribulation（vv. 1-11）

“Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary…. They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.” (Psalm 74:3, 7）

The Babylonian army attacked Jerusalem in BC586. They burnt down the temple, palace and houses in Jerusalem, and torn down its city walls. They smashed the bronze pillars in the temple and took away all the valuable gold and silver vessels. (2 Kings 25:8-17)

God’s people were killed and captured to Babylon. They left behind them a ruined home. Their country was desolated, and their people were killed, and it was a very miserable situation.

Didn’t God say that God’s people are to receive His blessings? ？Wouldn’t God protect His people so that they would prosper in all things, and enjoy peace and live in their settlement with a successful life? However, in reality, we see and experience hardships in life after we come to believe in Jesus, and we are even attacked by others because of our faith.

Sometimes, tribulation comes as a means of discipline from God. In this Psalm we see that God’s people suffered hardships of losing their countries and homes, and the Bible tells us that it was because they sinned greatly against God and did not observe His Word.

“The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.” (2 Chron 36:15-16)

God disciplines out of His love (Proverbs 3:11-12). God loves His children, and He longed to see them repenting of their wrongs and sins and turning back to Him. When the Israelites lost everything, their hearts began to turn to God, and they trusted in God once again and sought Him earnestly.

On the other hand, we will encounter tribulation in our lives on earth when we become the children of God，for many do not know God, and they oppose Him and reject Him. Believers and churches in many countries are persecuted and oppressed by their regimes.

Even in those countries with freedom of religion, where churches and believers are not attacked like what is mentioned above, they and the Bible would often be attacked due to different issues, e.g., same-sex marriage.

We often feel so unbearable when we hear enemies attacking believers and blaspheming God’s name, and it is like the crying in Psalm. “How long will the enemy mock you, God? Will the foe revile your name forever?” (Psalm 74:10)

This world opposes God and we do suffer for the sake of our faith. The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “In the world, you have tribulation.”

Moreover, we could not see a way out of our trouble times. “We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.” (Psalm 74:9)

At that time, God’s people did not know when the disaster would end. Previously, they despised God’s prophets, and refused to listen to His instructions. Then they lamented they had no prophet among them anymore.

They repented and turned from their wicked ways and called upon the Lord wholeheartedly. Yet they did not see God’s rescuing hand. Nobody told them how they should move forward, and they did not know how long they had to suffer.

Sometimes we also could not understand why God does not answer our prayers, and why He refuses to extend His hand to rescue us from our difficulties, and why He has been keeping silent all the whiles?

In the midst of many things that were unknown and puzzled to them, one thing that they did know was, they were sheep in God’s pasture, and they were the nation that God purchased long ago (vv.1-2).

They were aware of their relationship with God, and that they belonged to Him. God was their Lord and the Only One they could trust. Though we might not know how the situation would be unfolded and we do not know how long we have to endure, we must know one thing: God is our Lord, and He is the Only One we could trust.

Therefore, we just have to seek God with all our hearts in our hardships, helplessness and disappointment! We could just tell God our inner pains and longings.

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” There is another phrase after, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

The Lord Jesus suffered all kinds of hardships on earth, and He even suffered unto death. However, He has conquered sin and death, and He is able to empathize with our weaknesses.

Hence, let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

We just need to call upon God with all our heart in our “current” hardships. However, God works in our lives beyond our current situation. Scripture brings us to recall the past and look forward to the future, so that we would not fix our eyes on our current hardships.

Recall God’s Creation and Salvation in the Midst of Troubles (vv.12-17）

“The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” (Psalm 74:16-17)

God is the Creator who is in control of all things. He takes charge of every moment of our lives. Not only is He our Creator, but He is also our Savior. “It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.” (Psalm 74:15)

All these were memories of the Israelites in relation to the experiences of exodus and salvation they received upon entering the land of Canaan. When they ran out of water, God caused the water to come out from the rock. When they crossed over the River of Jordan, God made the water stand up like a dam.

We reaffirm God to be the Lord who rescues our lives, our spirits and our souls when we recall His creation and salvation, and at the same time, we also count the grace and the deeds of God in our lives.

The word “You” was emphasized five times (Psalm 74: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17）in the scripture.

It was the Lord who brought us through many difficulties in the past, that we would be able to experience His power and His love for us and cause us to recognize that our lives indeed are under His control. This is a real experience for many believers, and we can’t tell all in detail.

The God who created, saved and kept us, caused us to believe deeply in our hearts;   that God would also bring us through the valley of death and give us comfort in our current tribulation.

Keep the Hope of Victory in the Midst of Tribulation (vv. 18-23）

The Psalm ends with a petition to God to have regard for His covenant. It is God’s covenant and promises that give us hope of victory.

“Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord, how foolish people have reviled your name…. Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.” (74: 18,20)

Our God is righteous. He would surely remember and judge sin and wickedness. Our God is faithful and loving, and He would surely care for His covenanted people. He shall be our God, and we shall be His people. We must be His people and He would fully rescue us.

God did care for the psalmist, and He did respond to the lamentation and answer the prayer of His people. He remembered His covenant and His promises, that He later sent His Son Jesus Christ to the world as the time came to its fruition.

The Word became flesh and through His death and resurrection, He defeated our greatest enemy: Death, Sin and Devil.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Heb 2:14-15)

Jesus Christ has overcome, and He would surely lead us into a complete victory. He promises us an eternal life, and that we could inherit His eternal Kingdom.

We really would feel like our days are dragging like years in our troubled times. “O God, why have you rejected us forever?...  Will the foe revile your name forever?” (Psalm 74:1,10) However, what is considered “forever”?

The tribulations in our lives and the arrogance of our enemies would not last forever. It is the Kingdom, authority and glory of God that would last forever. Jesus Christ was resurrected from the death, and He brought us an eternal salvation, that we must keep our faith in Christ Jesus no matter how the situation turns out to be.

Only the Lord Jesus would be able to give us the real hope of victory. God’s salvation and plan is wonderful. We believe we will surely see the good will and plan of God behind our hardships in the future (Gen 50:20), that we would praise His name forever.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

God would not take us out from this world, but He would keep us and rescue us from evil. (John 17:14-15)

We should trust God in our tribulations and call upon Him wholeheartedly. We should recall God’s creation and salvation in the midst of our tribulations and be assured of His relationship with us.

We must have hope of victory and trust that the Lord Jesus would lead us into victory, for the Kingdom, authority and glory belong to our Father God forever and ever.