Psalm 74 - A Prayer for God's Help While in Exile

Introduction

What are the people of God to do when we are being chastised and feel abandoned by God? Intellectually, we may know He never does but what happened when it seems like it? How are we to respond to the seemly triumph of our enemies over us? All of us have or will have events in our lives that shake us to our cores. These are / will be unwanted events: death, sickness, divorce, financial collapse, slanders, and the like. Sometimes, though not always, they are the result of our sinfulness as we see here. When these events come upon us how are we to respond. What is the best way for us to do so? We will explore these things as we examine Ps. 74

Background

We don’t know for sure who wrote the psalm but we do know the historical background. This is the cry of the exile. Jerusalem is in waste and the temple has been destroyed. The enemies of Israel and her God have triumphed and Yahweh is no where to be found. He did not come to their end then and he appears indifferent now. With the benefit of hindsight we know this wasn’t the case but for the godly exiles, dejection was the order of the day. There was one thing that could be done however. They could turn to the Lord in prayer. The psalm writer knew that Yahweh was still the Sovereign LORD, that He was no less powerful than at creation, and he could restore His people. We find in this psalm his lament and his prayer, one in which he believes to LORD can answer and calls Him to do so for His own glories sake. This is what we must do As Matthew Henry states: “That when we are, upon any account, in distress, it is our wisdom and duty to apply to God by faithful and fervent prayer, and we shall not find it in vain to do so.”[1]

We can break this psalm up into 6 parts:

A plea for God’s remembrance of His people (vs. 1 - 3)

The destruction of the temple (vs. 4 - 8)

The LORD’s seeming abandonment of His people (vs. 9 - 11)

A review of Yahweh’s creative and redemptive power (vs. 12 - 17)

Another plea for God’s remembrance (vs. 18 - 21)

A plea for judgment on God’s enemies (vs. 22 - 23)

Exposition

Verses 1 - 3: The present plight of the people is based upon their sin. Israel for centuries gave in to idolatry and the worship of false gods. Yahweh sent warning and warning thru His prophets who delivered the call to repent and be blessed or else suffer God’s judgment. The exile was God’s judgment. The psalm writer know this but it feels as if Yahweh has gone and will not return. He feels as if the anger of the LORD is still pressing down and is pleading for the mercy of Yahweh upon His people. The psalmist bases his appeal on the reality that Judah / Israel is still God’s people. It was Yahweh that bought Israel long ago. He went to Egypt to free them. He brought them to Mt. Sinai and gave his law to them. He cast out there enemies before them and gave them their land. Out of all the nations of the earth Yahweh choose Israel and dealt in her midst in the tabernacle and temple. Now all of that stands in ruins. This is the ruination of sin. It ultimately destroys its followers. Herein is a imperfect model for prayer to the LORD when under chastisement. Charles Spurgeon, in his commentary on the book of psalms known as the Treasury of David, writes: “We have here before us a model of pleading, a very rapture of prayer. It is humble, but very bold, eager, fervent, and effectual. The heart of God is always moved by such entreaties.”[1] First, we are to seek the LORD as to why we are afflicted. As Charles Spurgeon states: “It is our wisdom when under chastisement to enquire, “Show me wherefore thou contendest with me?” and if the affliction be a protracted one, we should the more eagerly enquire the purport of it. Sin is usually at the bottom of all the hidings of the Lord’s face; let us ask the Lord to reveal the special form of it to us, that we may repent of it, overcome it, and henceforth forsake it.”[2] I say imperfect because it assumes something that Yahweh have and will never do, permanently abandon His people (Rom. 8:35 - 39). To cite Charles Spurgeon again: “The Lord’s portion is his people—will he lose his inheritance? His church is his kingdom, over which he stretches the rod of sovereignty; will he allow his possessions to be torn from him?”[3] Second, we are never to demand anything from God or approach Him like He owes us anything. The extant of our entitlement to His goodness, mercy, and grace is zero. Our prayers must be based upon who He is, keeping His glory at the center, and desiring that His will is accomplished on the earth. If we feel abandoned or under God’s judgment we are to cry out to Him, seeking the turning of his anger and the receipt of His grace. Let me make on more point.

The psalmist can pray this way before the relationship between God and Israel has not been severed. The fellowship has been but Yahweh is still the good of Israel. We are called to Holiness. When we sin we are still subject to the consequences, else the justice and holiness of God is impugned. Yet it doesn’t severe the relationship. Additionally we have an advocate in Jesus Christ the righteous (1 Jn. 2:1) argues our case. We also have the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us when we don’t know what or how to pray (Romans 8:25 - 26).

Verses 4 - 8: Here the psalmist details the nature of the destruction caused by God’s enemies. They went into God’s house and destroyed the beautiful works (1 Ki 6:23 - 25). The took the gold and precious furniture of the temple (2 Ki 25:13 - 17). In the places where the people offered sacrifices and experienced God’s presence where pagan symbols, showing their triumph. They desecrated everything in sight. In their hearts Israel’s and Yahweh’s enemies desired to crush God’s people under them. When they were finished there was no temple standing (2 Ki 25:9), nor any other place where the people of God worshipped.

Verses 9 - 11: If all our what we described wasn’t bad enough, Yahweh presence is missing. There is no prophet declaring the word of the Lord. There is no one who can say when this will end. The enemies of God and being allowed to roam free and despise His holy name. In despair, the psalmist ask how long will this continue? He pleads for God to raise His right hand of power and destroy His enemies. This lament raises an interesting question: What happened to the prophetic word? The first thing we must note is Yahweh, through the prophet Jeremiah, had indeed declared the time of the captivity to be 70 years (Jer. 25:11; 29:10). Second, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were both alive when the city fall and the temple was destroyed and Jeremiah laments the ruination of the land. I would also add Daniel was in Babylon in the court of Nebuchadnezzar and prophesied during that time. What then can be said here? I believe the answer can be found in Amos 8:11 when the people were warned their would be a prophetic famine in the land. There would be no words from the LORD because the people had refused to listen to any of them. Today, we don’t have this issue. The word of God is readily and freely available in the west and many parts of the word. In our parts of the world, such as China and the Middle East, it is dangerous and probably deadly to have the word yet it is still there. We have preachers and teachers, audio bibles and software. We have access to the word and good exposition of it. We have the ability to rightly divide it ourselves. The question is are we using it? How seriously are we taking the word of God that we have in our life? Do we love God enough and appreciate His word enough to read, memorize, and study it or do we want our ears itched? Israel choose the later and paid the price. What about us and our land?

Verses 12 - 17: Here we have a transition from despair to trust. The psalmist begins to reflect on who God is and what He has done. Yahweh has been King in Israel since the days he brought her out of Egypt. He performed mighty acts in Egypt to free them and bring them into the land of existence. This included the parting of the red sea which led to Israel’s final freedom from Egypt and that nation’s final judgment. It is the LORD that rules the heavens, land and the sea. The day and night are subject to Yahweh, the One who formed and fashioned the earth.

Verses 18 - 21: Having rehearsed the sovereignty and power of God the psalmist returns to the enemies of Yahweh. They hate Him. They despise His very name. Therefore, the psalmist pleads with the LORD not give His people over them. He pleads for the protection of Israel based upon His covenant with them. His enemies have fulled the land with violence. He asks that those trampled under not be shown foolish for crying out and trusting him Him. Instead, he desires the LORD to deliver His people so that they can praise Him.

Verses 22 - 23: The psalmist ends by asking that God would act for the sake of His glory and judge those who hate Him. He seeks God to be glorified in the silencing and defeat of those who oppose him.

Bibliography

[1] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 850). Peabody: Hendrickson.

[2] Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 56-87 (Vol. 3, pp. 275–276). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.”

[3] iBid. Pg. 272

[4] iBid. Pg. 273