시편 Chapter 74

Translation: ESV

1

O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

Key Message

Even when God seems silent, questioning God is not an abandonment of faith but an expression of faith.

▸This is a communal lament psalm offered in the situation of the temple's destruction.

This is a communal lament psalm offered in the situation of the temple's destruction. The desperate question 'Why do you cast us off forever?' is the cry of faith in a situation where God seems silent and absent. The expression 'the sheep of your pasture' presupposes a covenant relationship.

Related Verses

Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
12

Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

Key Message

Remembering God's past acts of salvation is the way to hold onto hope in present crisis.

▸The turning point in the midst of lament is remembering the history of God's past salvation.

18

Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name.

Key Message

The reviling of God's name is a more fundamental problem than the suffering of the faith community.

▸The prayer appeals not only to their own suffering but to the reviling of God's name.

22

Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

Key Message

Pleading for the restoration of God's glory is the ultimate direction of the faith community's lament.

▸'Defend your cause' is a plea for God to restore his own honor.