Psalm Bible study

Holy Desperation
Psalm 79

    The churches of Christ today are being attacked from forces on the outside, from our contemporary society, and from forces within. Some Christians have decided that rather than leave the church for a denomination that suits their tastes, they will stay within the church and change it within.

    How do we respond to this “invasion” of false teaching and false practices within God’s people? The question is not new. The song leader and preacher, Asaph in Psalm 79, dealt with the same question as he felt a “holy desperation” at what was happening to his people.

THE UTTER DESTRUCTION OF GOD’S PEOPLE - 79:1-7:

    Verse 1 - The nations have invaded God’s inheritance.

    Verse 2 - Israelites have been killed and their corpses have been used to feed the birds of the heavens.

    Verse 3 - The Israelites’ blood has been poured out like water on the ground.

    Verse 4 - Asaph laments that Israel has become a “reproach” to their neighbors.

    When a church of Christ decides it has to change and be more like the culture, how can they call people to live against the culture? When a church of Christ decides that it will worship like the denominational churches next door, how can they call people to leave denominational teaching? In other words, if a church of Christ teaches that Jesus does not mean what He says in 1 Tim 2:11-12 that limits the role of women in worship, how can they expect their denominational neighbor to accept that Acts 2:38 teaches that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins? We live in a state of “holy desperation,” just like Asaph.

    Verse 5 - Asaph cries to God: “How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?”

    God is described as “jealous” 35 times in the OT. God is jealous because God is one. God must be the sole recipient of our devotion and only He has the authority to describe and authorize how that devotion is to be shown.

    Verse 6 - Asaph asks sincerely for God to pour out His wrath on the nations.

    Verse 7 - The nations have “devoured Jacob.”

    What do you do when you feel the utter destruction of God’s people is on the horizon? Asaph prays to God. Let’s take a look at Asaph’s prayer…

PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE - 79:8-12:

    Within this prayer, Asaph addresses nine commands to the God of heaven. He calls on God to do nine specific things in these five verses.

    Verse 8 - Command #1: “Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us.” While we cannot truly repent of the sins that our forefathers have done, we can learn from their mistakes and seek to behave better. If past generations have come across as ugly in their attitudes, then we need to acknowledge that and learn from it. But, just because they may have been wrong in their attitudes does not mean they were wrong in what they taught and practiced.

    Command #2: “Let your compassion come quickly to meet us, for we are brought very low.” The churches of Christ are not on the edge of extinction as some people would like for us to believe. There are Christian universities which are continuing to teach the pattern for Christianity as it is revealed in the NT and you can go to events like Challenge Youth Conference and Lads to Leaders and see where there are scores of churches that are still holding to the NT pattern for Christianity.

    Verse 9 - Command #3: “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name.” “Help us for the glory of your name,” is an evangelistic message: to make known to nations around, as well as to unfaithful Israelites, the glory of the name of the God of heaven.

    Command #4: “Deliver us.”

    Command #5: “Forgive our sins for your name’s sake.”

    Verse 10 - Asaph asks a rhetorical question: “Why should [the nations] ask, ‘Where is their God?’” The churches of Christ are not the largest religious body in America or in the world and many, many people have the mentality that if you are small, you are destined to destruction and you cannot be doing something right. But “right” has never been defined in God’s eyes based on some type of popularity contest. Just ask Noah.

    Command #6: “Let there be known vengeance for the blood of your servants.” Asaph wants God’s nature to be known: you don’t mess with God’s inheritance. You don’t mess with the nature of God. You don’t mess with God’s commands and His expectations.

    Verse 11 - Command #7: “Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You [literally, “before your face”].”

    Command #8: “Preserve those who are doomed to die [literally, preserve those who are ‘sons of death’].” It is appropriate to pray that God will destroy the efforts of those who seek to lead our Christian family into a man-made religion. We should also pray that God will open the eyes of those who are being deceived, that they will come to their senses and be saved by God’s powerful arm.

    Verse 12 - Command #9: In holy desperation, Asaph prays that God will “return” over the neighbors, seven times the “reproach” or “scorn” that they had heaped on the nation of Israel. The reproach shown to Israel was not just a mockery of Israel but it was also a mockery of the God of Israel. Anyone who mocks the church of Jesus Christ is also mocking the Christ of the Church. That is not a safe behavior to practice!

CONCLUSION - 79:13:

    So, how do we respond to an invasion of God’s inheritance? After we have prayed (verses 8-12), Asaph tells us in verse 13 to do two more things:

    1. Give thanks to God forever.

    2. “To all generations,” we must continue to be evangelistic: “we will tell of your praise.”    

    Let us be busy doing that.

    When we feel a “holy desperation” about the state of the church today, let us pray, be thankful, and continue to teach the Gospel.