God Is My King From
Long Ago
Your foes roared in the place where
you met with us; they set up their standards as signs. They behaved like
men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They
smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. They
burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of
your Name. They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!” They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.
Psalm
74:4-8
But God is my King from long ago; he
brings salvation on the earth.
It was you who split open the sea by
your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It
was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures
of the desert. It was you who opened up springs and
streams; you dried up the ever-flowing rivers. 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.
Remember how
the enemy has mocked you, Lord, how
foolish people have reviled your name. Do not hand over the life of your dove
to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever. Have
regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of
the land. Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may
the poor and needy praise your name. Rise up, O God, and
defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. Do not ignore the
clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises
continually.
Psalm
74:12-23
Most of the people of Jerusalem were either in exile
or had been slain. Asaph wrote this psalm. Pouring out his heart’s anguish, he
described the destruction of the temple at the hands of ruthless invaders.
Yet the psalmist found a place to stand despite the
awful reality – providing encouragement that we can do so too.
“But God is my King from long ago,” Asaph resolved. “He
brings salvation on the earth.” This truth enabled Asaph to praise God’s mighty
power even though His salvation seemed absent in the moment. “Have regard for
your covenant,” Asaph prayed. “Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.”
When justice and mercy seem absent, God’s love and
power are in no way diminished. With Asaph, we can confidently say, “But God is
my King.”
God
will defend his name.
Our
Daily Bread – November 4, 2018