Desperation Amid the Ruins

As impressive and foreboding as “the news” was in the last section, the psalmist calls to mind his God—“my King” (v. 12)—a God who performs saving acts. He speaks of God’s power in the salvation of Israel, opening up the sea (v. 13a) so they passed through on dry land. The psalmist’s faith is expressed here. His eyes are up. God has power over forces of evil too strong for us (vv. 13b-14). God opens springs and streams (v. 15) and rules over the day and the night (v. 16), the changing of seasons and the establishment of all earthly boundaries (v. 17).

Our God is the sovereign King. He rules over creation. Not only does he have untold, infinite power, but he also presses his power into the service of his people’s salvation. In the Old Testament God saved his people through a mighty act of rescue—the great exodus. His people passed through the waters of death and emerged on the other side. However, that great redemptive act pointed forward to the mightiest of God’s mighty deeds. God sent a deliverer, his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus performed God’s “saving acts on the earth” (v. 12) through his perfect life of obedience, his sin-bearing death on the cross, and his glorious resurrection from the dead. As a result, Jesus leads God’s chosen people out of slavery to sin, and he promises to be our God forever—never to leave us or forsake us. This is the message of the gospel. This is the believer’s hope.

Christian friend, take this truth to heart. God has shown us his saving acts. Jesus is our King, and he has power over all earthly powers. He has power to deliver us from powers too strong for us. He has power to sustain us in this present darkness.

This Old Testament saint doesn’t know the fullness of the messianic hope we now see on this side of the cross, but he’s onto something back there. He knows God as a covenant God who keeps his promises. He knows God as a saving, redeeming Lord who shepherds his people. He knows God as the King who rules and reigns and cannot be defeated. He knows that God contends for the glory of his own name and will not sit by and watch Israel’s enemies gloat over his peoples’ enfeebled condition. The psalmist is preaching truth to his soul.

Do you do the same? Have we learned the art of preaching the gospel to ourselves? Or do we only sit and listen to our fears mount their case? This psalm is instructive for us. He is bringing the grave “news” of his circumstances into contact with the truth of God’s character and promises. This sets the psalmist up to make specific requests.

The Ask

Psalm 74:18-23

The superscription attributes this psalm to Asaph. If the background of this psalm is the Babylonian invasion in the sixth century BC, this could not be the Asaph who was a contemporary of King David. It could be either a later Asaph or, as many scholars believe, the name Asaph was “affixed to many psalms produced by this body of musicians” (Boice, Psalms 42–106, 617).

This writer deeply understands the character and nature of God. His prayers here at the close have a covenantal cadence about them. He uses this word remember again (v. 18) as he begins a series of earnest petitions.

Remember, Lord: this enemy has mocked you (v. 18). At this point, the psalmist is not focused on the way Israel’s enemies oppress Israel (v. 8). His focus is the glory of God. When Babylon mocks Israel, Babylon is mocking Israel’s God.

You may remember that when the risen Jesus confronts Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, he says, “Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). Jesus so identified with his disciples that to persecute them was to persecute him. Asaph says that these foolish people insult God’s name (v. 18).

The psalmist then represents Israel as easy prey for the great military might of Babylon (vv. 19,21). Asaph knows God hates oppressors—those who crush the powerless and gloat over them. “The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker, and one who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished” (Prov 17:5). “The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed” (Ps 103:6).

Asaph asks God to remember the covenant promises he has made to his people (v. 20): You have never abandoned your promise. You didn’t choose us because we were impressive. You weren’t magnetically drawn to our moral beauty. We’ve tested you throughout our history and yet you’ve borne with us. You’ve given us your law. You’ve sent prophets. You’ve pleaded with us. You’ve wooed us, provided for us. You’ve disciplined us. But you’ve never abandoned your purpose.

On this basis the psalmist says, “Rise up, God, champion your cause!” (v. 22). Don’t let the history books proclaim the great power of Babylon! Don’t let the headline say, “Israel: Protected by God, Until Broken by Babylon!”

Conclusion

Here are six implications for the Christian life.

First, God is not put off by our desperation. We can come to him and bring our pain and our questions to him. Far better to bring them to him than to let our questions drive us away.

Second, our hope in prayer is not anchored in our worthiness or merit but in God’s saving grace. This means all Christian praying is gospel-driven praying. We come confidently to a throne of grace (Heb 4:16) because of the work of our mediator, Jesus Christ. In Christ we have full access to God. We are invited to draw near and find the grace and help we so deeply need.

Third, prayer involves theology and even argument. We come to God as the one who is all powerful. We pray in a way that manifests our desire for God’s glory to be revealed in the world and through his people.

Fourth, we size up our circumstances against our all-powerful, loving, and faithful God. The tour through fallen Jerusalem was a terrifying display of Babylon’s strength; but God is King over the sea, Leviathan, day, night, seasons, and boundaries. This God is our God. He is a refuge for us. The best posture for us is to lift our eyes upward and outward.

Fifth, even when our desperate condition is owing to our own sin and failure, God delights to run to the rescue of a humble people. God’s patience is great. The arm of God’s mercy is long. There is no depth of sin we can find ourselves in where God cannot reach and restore us.

Sixth, the church of Jesus Christ is meant to reflect the character of God. Since God champions the cause of the poor and the afflicted, we, his people, are called to the same. God protects the vulnerable. God takes their side against their oppressors. The kingdom of God is not for the strong and mighty but for the poor in spirit. Therefore, the church is called to display God’s heart to the vulnerable, the outcast, the poor, and the oppressed.

So we see yet again that God’s Word exalts his character. He hears our desperate cries. He acts, he saves, for the sake of his name. We find all the grace and help. He gets all the glory.

Reflect and Discuss