Peter Barnes: Arise, O LORD, in Dark Days, Psalm 74 (Sunday 17 May 2020 Morning Service, 9.00 a.m.)
In Psalm 73 the Psalmist, Asaph, envied the prosperity of the wicked, until he entered the sanctuary (Psalm 73:16-17). But in Psalm 74 the Psalmist could not go into the sanctuary because it had been destroyed. – 74:8 (probably not synagogues) and 74:9 (presumably after Jer.25:11; 29:10; Dan.9:2). The date could be after Jeremiah’s death, and before the coming of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah around 520 B.C.
1. Plead before God because of the dreadful condition of His people. – 74:1-11. This is a picture of havoc and devastation. The question is ‘Why?’ – 74:1, 11. God is withholding His right hand, as it were, and not acting. God to do something, and cannot understand why it is as it is.
2. Plead on the basis of what God has done in the past. – 74:12. Asaph has pulled himself up here. He is thinking, and talking to himself. Other such examples are in Psalm 22:1, 19-22 and Ephesians 2:4, after Eph.2:1-3. – Asaph goes back in history – to the exodus in 74:13-15; and then to the creation in 74:16-17 (note the re-creation in Gen.8:22). – Corrie ten Boom: ‘If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed; If you look within, you’ll be depressed; If you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.’
3. Plead because it is God’s cause. – 74:18-23. ‘Vindicate Your name.’ Israel is the dove (74:19) who is being oppressed by the wild beasts who revile the name of Yahweh. – Spurgeon says verse 20 is ‘the master key’ to the Psalm. Plead the new covenant in the blood of Christ. The enemies of God scoff at His name – 74:18. The poor and needy praise His name – 74:21.
Watch the service below.