Psalm 74:1-23 NKJV
74 O God, why have You cast us off forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,
The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed—
This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.
3 Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations.
The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place;
They set up their banners for signs.
5 They seem like men who lift up
Axes among the thick trees.
6 And now they break down its carved work, all at once,
With axes and hammers.
7 They have set fire to Your sanctuary;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground.
8 They said in their hearts,
“Let us destroy them altogether.”
They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our signs;
There is no longer any prophet;
Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
10 O God, how long will the adversary reproach?
Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?
11 Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them.
12 For God is my King from of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters.
14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces,
And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15 You broke open the fountain and the flood;
You dried up mighty rivers.
16 The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 You have set all the borders of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O Lord,
And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.
19 Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast!
Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.
20 Have respect to the covenant;
For the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty.
21 Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed!
Let the poor and needy praise Your name.
22 Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man reproaches You daily.
23 Do not forget the voice of Your enemies;
The tumult of those who rise up against You increases continually.
One would think that when Charles Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’ appeared in 1859 that it was shocking or took the world by surprise. In fact, however, his theory of radical randomness did not land on entirely unfavorable (or even neutral) eyes and ears. On the contrary, a lot of thinkers were ready (if not itching) for the notion and fully prepared to receive it favorably.
Psalm 74 testifies to the God who structures the world and divides it from the chaos and randomness that is so worshipped by unbelievers (and, sadly, some so-called believers as well):
“You divided the sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters.
You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces,
And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the
wilderness.
You broke open the fountain and the flood;
You dried up mighty rivers.
The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
You have set all the borders of the earth.”
The God who inspired the words of Psalm 74 is ‘the’ Creator, and His act of creation implies the imposition of limits: “You have set all the borders of the earth.” God has already attached meaning and truth to and in the world, so that now it awaits man’s discovery.
Yes, man is inclined, by his very fallen nature, to rebel and question the limits that God has set. But as the ages upon ages, through century after century, of man’s doubts and questions have tarried on — the Word of the Lord, that ever-points to Christ’s fully atoning merits, endures forever!
Let us pray: O Lord, thank You for Your inspired Word that keeps us aware of our rebellious flesh, yet also reveals You as the Creator and Sustainer of all — and brings us to repentance and belief in the forgiveness, life and salvation that only comes through Christ Jesus. Amen.