THANKSGIVING AMIDST SEVERE PERSECUTION

PSALM 79

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SCRIPTURE READING IN ENGLISH

1 A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.

3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.

4 We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

5 How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

7 For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.

8 O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.

9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.

10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.

11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;

12 And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

13 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.

INTRODUCTION

Can a Christian give thanks even in times of war and great persecution where the home is no more a home? The psalmist said, "Yes!" at the conclusion to his prayer in Psalm 79:13 "So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations." Was this a conditional thanksgiving? What if God does not deliver as the psalmist pleaded (v 10-12 )? We noticed carefully that the enemies have "reproached" the Lord (v 12 ,10 ,6 ) so cried His faithful remnant. His name blasphemed and His people put in desolation for their faith as stated in verse 10 "Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed."

The struggle in the heart of the psalmist was to affirm that God is still in control in spite of all the desolation around him. He cited perhaps it was their sins and former iniquities that wonted repenting of and asked God to cleanse His people (v 9 ). Strength came to his heart when he affirmed the unfailing character of God's love, name, presence and power. He broke off into thanksgiving even amidst great difficulty. The Apostle Paul affirmed this doctrine perhaps in times of persecution said to the church in Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

What specific point in Israel's history was this psalm written? Asaph lived in the time of the United Kingdom of Israel. This psalm speaks of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem defiled and Jerusalem lay in heaps. Was it the period of the Babylonian captivity in 586 B.C.? Then it is possibly written by a descendent of Asaph.

The prophet Zephaniah warned the Southern Kingdom of Judah to repent of their sins of before judgment comes. The coming judgment of God was described thus, Zephaniah 1:14-18 "The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." The warning went unheeded! Finally desolation came!

The scene opens in this psalm with the psalmist expressing His grieve at the desolation that is around him as a result of war and persecution of God's enemies. God had allowed His people to undergo the fiery furnace of persecution. He cries out to his God describing the carnage of destruction before His eyes (v 1-3 ). Jerusalem is the political and religious capital of ancient Israel. Her destruction described extreme anguish and misery His people have experienced.

He asked God to come swiftly to relieve His people. Three questions of anguish describing the unbearable suffering within and without.

"Pour out" is in the imperative is an entreaty signifying idiomatically for God to bring swift destruction to His enemies by His divine intervention so that His suffering people are vindicated. Notice the contrast described of unbelievers - (1) They knew Him not (2) They call not upon His name.

God's love, His saving name, His presence and His power abides with His people! His tender-mercy refers to His compassion, the outworking of His love in delivering His people. Israel's Messiah continues to save all who would repent and call upon His name. His abiding presence amidst calamity is known by faith! His great power to set every prisoner free and punish the captors must remain undoubted.

Verse 9 contains three imperatives "Help us" (v 9a ), "Deliver us" (v 9b ) and "Purge" meaning "cover" our sins. This is the crux of the matter. May we come to Jesus, to Him crucified, for our cleansing for only Jesus saves! Come now while His longsuffering tarries!

Verse 13 "So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations."

Thanksgiving and praise comes because of the faith given to the heart of the psalmist to take God at His Word that He will not fail to care for His people. The pictorial language "sheep of thy pasture" described God as the Shepherd of His people. It was an experiential faith that the psalmist exhibited. "I believe therefore I understand" must be the thought pattern in the spiritual realm which is future reality as a result of present fidelity.