God Promises to Keep You

Psalms 74:1 Why have you rejected us forever, O God? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
 
THIS hard question doesn’t sound like a promise, does it? But the question directs us to the promise: V 12 But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth.
   Asaph – a descendant of the first Asaph from Psalm 73 – expected God to keep Israel as his people, even after Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem and God’s temple. This was not as we might see a church destroyed. The Jews saw the temple as the place where God dwelled. It was a representation of heaven on earth. If the temple was gone, God was gone. How could he be their God of old, their king? Could the Jews still worship God? Was his salvation still on the earth?
   But God’s power seems to be missing as the psalm describes Babylon’s harsh destruction summarized in v 8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!” They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land. Will God respond? V 11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
   But Asaph knows God. With hope and expectation he extols God’s power to create and guide the universe. Surely God will use this unlimited authority to defeat Israel’s enemies.
   Then he points to God’s covenant with Israel: V 20 Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. The psalmist knows God’s Word. Read carefully this covenant God had spoken to Israel hundreds of years before Babylon’s army destroyed Jerusalem: Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there (a foreign land) you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.  
   Do you get this? Long before Israel was in exile, God prepared them for the exile. He knew they would abandon him, and he would need to judge their idolatry. He planned to redeem their sin and return them to Jerusalem. He would keep them as his people because he had another promise to keep. That promise, of course, is the promise of salvation through Jesus Christ.
   The psalmist’s prayed for God to keep Israel as his people: v 21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name. He urged God to take action. V 22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. 23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.
   Do you see how God has answered that prayer?  Through his profound covenant of grace in Jesus Christ, the LORD has planned for you to be with him. He has defeated the enemy, so you can dwell in God’s Holy Temple forever.
   God is a Promise Keeper. Even if the enemy seems to be winning, the LORD keeps you when you believe his promises are true for you. But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth.