Psalms 79:1-4 (ESV)
A PSALM OF ASAPH.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.
The next verse after the above four verses in Psalm 79, ask the following:
Psalms 79:5 (ESV)
How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
Who has not been where the writer Asaph is in the song? When we are going through a tough time we always wonder how long it will last. We have heartache and hurt because of how we are being treated and we cry out to God, “How long?”
Psalm 79 is a song for crying out. Throughout the entire song we have this plea for God to intervene and to deliver the nation from their tormentors. This is the key and the lesson from the song. In times of trouble God is our only source for relief. However, we often tend to turn toward friends, activity, substance, possessions, psychology, philosophy and/or denial. It is in these times of trouble we often learn the most about God and His steadfast love and care for us. Asaph ends this song with one verse of praise:
Psalms 79:13 (ESV)
But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
This is what suffering is to do. In the end, it turns us to God in praise and worship.
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