Psalm 74 - Suffering Beautiful

Psalm 74:1-3, 7, 9-13, 16-17, 20-22 NIV

O God, why have you rejected us forever? 

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 

Remember the nation you purchased long ago, 

 the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—

 Mount Zion, where you dwelt. 

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.

We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left,

 and none of us knows how long this will be. 

How long will the enemy mock you, God? 

Will the foe revile your name forever? 

Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? 

Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

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. 

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.

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.

Psalm 74 is a cry for deliverance from exile among the Babylonians. In 586 B.C. the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and burned down the temple. They hauled the nobles away. They took the king and his sons away. They left only the miserable poor behind. The land was decimated and the government under the sons of David was utterly thrown into disgrace.

The psalm asks the God of the covenant why He has not roused to punish the enemy. What the psalm does not acknowledge is the fact that Israel did not keep their part of the covenant faithfully. They worshiped the gods of other peoples. They engaged in the services of shrine prostitutes, both female and male. They sacrificed to false gods and idols. They even burned their children to seek the favor of Chemosh the pagan god of the Moabites. Of course God is not moving to rescue them from despair. God was quite clear about the blessings and curses of the covenant. The exile is the natural consequence for a wayward nation.

But God is not abandoning Israel. God is refining them through the fire of national shame and suffering. Israel came out of the exile strongly convicted that strict adherence to the law of Moses was essential for their future survival. They understood anew through the messages God sent through prophets that they had a mission to be light to the gentiles by maintaining holiness.

And so the psalmist acknowledges God as creator. He knows God shaped the world. He knows God will shape Israel and the Babylonians. In time God sent Persia to conquer Babylon. The Persians released the exiled Hebrews and the royal treasury funded the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem.

Psalm 74 is a snapshot of faith being tested. Let the rest of the story inform us. God is at work even when we cannot see it. God works His will to bless the world with the knowledge of God. He is ever faithful. We can wait in hope and by waiting hope transforms suffering into something beautifully useful.