Slices
Prepare
Are you tired? Are you discouraged? Come to the God who gives rest to the weary and increases the power of the weak and be restored.
Bible passage
A maskil of Asaph.
1 O God, why have you rejected us for ever?
Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember the nation you purchased long ago,
the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed –
Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
3 Turn your steps towards 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 panelling
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 worshipped in the land.
9 We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.
10 How long will the enemy mock you, God?
Will the foe revile your name for ever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
12 But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.
13 It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
15 It was you who opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.
17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
how foolish people have reviled your name.
19 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted people for ever.
20 Have regard for your covenant,
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamour of your adversaries,
the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.
Explore
A couple recently returned from living in Greece have joined our church. ‘Thessaloniki, Philippi, the Acropolis – the church there is non-existent,’ they said sadly. ‘To think what it was and now no worshipping community at all.’ As with the Temple in Jerusalem, over and over again, sanctuaries in these key New Testament places are in ruins. How could you have let this happen? How long will the enemy mock you, God (v 10)?
In some places in the world – often where there is harshest opposition – the church is flourishing spiritually and numerically. But in many others, we Christians are an increasingly unpopular and tiny minority. Does this mean God has lost his grip? Is he losing the cosmic battle for the salvation of the world? No! When the psalmist says the day and night, summer and winter are his, he’s saying, ‘All time is God’s.’ When he says God opens springs and dries rivers, he’s saying the life and death of everything is in God’s hands (vs 15–17). Battles may be lost, but the war is won. Long live the King, on the throne for ever and ever.
Respond
‘Oh Lord, haunts of violence still fill the dark places of the land (v 20). May your kingdom come. May it come in me and through me. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.’
Deeper Bible study
Lord, you call us to the obedience of faith. Teach us to be faithful to that calling.
The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc all over the world. Millions have died. Many communities have been devastated. Personal livelihoods have been destroyed and countries fallen into great debt. This pandemic is symbolic of many other disasters that befall human beings, personally and collectively. There are tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes – not to mention war. We look to the future with a sense of trepidation because of climate change and environmental degradation. However, we still have hope in God our Saviour.
Psalm 74 reflects the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual conditions of the exiles in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Judah in 587 bc. Israel’s enemies had ripped the heart out of the nation: the Temple at the centre of its universe. The destruction was total, with every valuable item stripped, removed and carried away as plunder along with the exiles taken into slavery. The situation was bleak. The nation lay in ruins and the people descended into spiritual hopelessness. Furthermore, God was silent – or so it seemed.
This lament gives expression to deeply felt anguish and seeks to rouse the nation to place their confidence in the God who alone is able to come to their aid. He has proved his power to save in the past. After all, he is their King, Creator and Redeemer, who silenced Pharaoh, overcame the Red Sea, the River Jordan and all other obstacles, in order to plant his covenant people into their Promised Land. His anger, which has led to the present circumstances, was roused by their faithlessness. God can be trusted to do again what he has done in the past.
What difficulties are you confronted with? Use this lament to give expression to your pain and to awaken faith in the God who alone can intervene on your behalf.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Hosea 11,12; Revelation 3
Pray for Scripture Union
The last camps and conferences season of the year for SU Uganda begins this week across the country and in the refugee camps. Pray for a positive impact in all the sessions. Their theme will be Philippians 3:14.
