Day 442: Psalm 74- Security In God's Sovereignty

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!
 
Meditation
God’s sovereignty offers strength in seasons of struggle, hope during hard times, solid ground in the midst of storms, and certainty during uncertain seasons of life. Feasting on the sovereignty of God gives a fullness of peace in times of famine. God wants you to remember He is in charge. God rules and you can open your hands and praise His name.
 
National disaster makes God appear distant, His people forgotten, enemies winning, and darkness prevailing. The Psalmist begs God to “remember” His people and His covenant as he leads God’s people in crying out, “How long!?!”
 
Embedded in this corporate lament is a seed of strength celebrating the sovereignty of God. Lifting eyes off circumstances we can see “God is King… working salvation” (12). The Psalm leads the worshipper in remembering that God has been faithful to save in the past, fueling faith to trust God in the present (14-15). God is the ruler of all creation (16-17! The sovereignty of God refocuses the eyes of our heart and feeds our faith.
 
Strength in God’s sovereignty invites the downtrodden to not turn back in shame, inviting the poor and needy to praise God’s name (21)! When disaster surrounds we know peace can be found when our faith is focused on God and His sovereign rule, transforming our problems into praise.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you identify with the disaster or fear of national disaster reflected in this Psalm?
 
-Present hope can be fueled by remembering God’s past faithfulness. Take a moment to remember and reflect on how God has been faithful.
 
-Take a moment to name three realities of God’s sovereign rule… over history, creation, every situation, through suffering, and even the grave. How does the reality of God’s total rule offer you a renewed perspective?
 
Key Verse
21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.