Prayer, Praise and Promises 7/7

Author: Warren Wiersbe
Source: Prayer, Praise and Promises
Scripture Reference: Jeremiah 7:11 Psalm 74:1-11

A New Temple

Read Psalm 74:1-11

It must have been difficult for the Jewish people to watch the Babylonians destroy their city and temple. No wonder Asaph wrote, "O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?" (v. 1). Keep in mind that this happened because the people had sinned. They had their great city. They had their beautiful temple. The problem was they trusted the city and the temple, but they did not obey the Lord. In their sin, they had defiled the temple. Jeremiah said they had turned it into a den of thieves (Jer. 7:11). God would not permit this, so He allowed the Babylonians to destroy the city and the temple. Psalm 74 reveals the heartbreak of Asaph.

Even today the Enemy is destroying God's work. "They seem like men who lift up axes among the thick trees" (v. 5). What can God's people do? Notice what Asaph said about God's people. We are the sheep of His pasture (v. 1). He's the Good Shepherd, and He has given His life for the sheep. What defense do sheep have against a Babylonian army? Jesus, the Shepherd.

We are also God's congregation. "Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, the tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed" (v. 2). We are a purchased and redeemed people. "Remember . . . this Mount Zion where You have dwelt"(v. 2). God lives with us. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, but He had even greater things in store. Jesus came to earth and revealed the glory of God. Now He's building a new temple, His Church, and it can never be destroyed.

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God is your trust. If you trust Him, you will want to obey Him. Be careful that you don't misplace your trust in the world's substitutes. The Enemy will do all he can to divert your trust in God. Keep trusting in the Lord and rejoice that He never fails.
Psalm 74:1-11 (New International Version)
A maskil of Asaph. [a]
1 Why have you rejected us forever, O God?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

2 Remember the people you purchased of old,
the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—
Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

4 Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards as signs.

5 They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.

6 They smashed all the carved paneling
with their axes and hatchets.

7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.

8 They said in their hearts, "We will crush them completely!"
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

9 We are given no miraculous signs;
no prophets are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.

10 How long will the enemy mock you, O God?
Will the foe revile your name forever?

11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
Footnotes:

1. Psalm 74:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term