For those of you who are adventurous and flip around in the Psalter, your faith will be stretched. You will be challenged to ask difficult questions. Today I want us to continue on in this series that we're working on through the Psalter. These are simply selections from each of the five books of the Psalter. And so I want you to turn with me to Psalm 74. And I want to remind us the big picture of what we're trying to do in this series. It is, there have been wise and godly exegetes of the scripture who have gone before us, who have identified that there's a theme, and maybe even several themes that characterize certain groupings of Psalms. The first one, if you remember, we use the word confrontation. And if you want a simple word to remember, it's the word David. For all the Psalms of Book One are penned by David himself. These are the earliest and Psalms, many of them are tied to specific events in the life of David. But the confrontation is the confrontation between the messianic king whom God has anointed and established to bring order and peace to the land. Israel had tried to run as 12 independent tribes and they always wound up warring with each other. And so after Israel asked for a king, God anointed first Saul who disbelieved God and flamed out, and then God ordained David to be the messianic king over the land of Israel. So there's that confrontation between David and his enemies. Then, secondly, we talked about communication. Or if you want a simple word to remember this second book of the Psalter, it's the word nations. Now, David is continuing on in this confrontation, but he wants the nations to know some things. He wants the nations to understand that God is king of all the earth, not just one group of people. He wants to convey the beauty of relationship with God. Remember, we looked at Psalm 45. and how the messianic king, in fact, loves his bride, the church, and he gave himself for her. Thus, we celebrated the Lord's Supper. Now we come, and again, I'm just saying hang on, because no doubt your faith will be challenged as we read and meditate upon this psalm. So turn with me to Psalm 74. And again, as part of our effort here, I do want to remind you that it's just before Psalm 73 that this third book begins. And so it's Psalms 73 through 89 that are in this section of the Psalter. And I say, in my summary of this book, in book three of the Psalter, we find a disturbing perspective as God's people sing and pray amid, and I decided to use a really strong word here, conflagration. That is, it seems as though your life is going up in smoke, literally on fire in the land. No longer is the focus on David or on the nations. This book is dark. as the community struggles to trust God amid terrifying circumstances. As we read this psalm, I want you to note that it uses the words us and we. This is not an individual psalm of piety designed to be sung alone, but rather this is the community of God's people lamenting together over the trials and the difficulties that have come into their lives. I was reminded as I talked with some of the elders in our RP church in Chora several years ago during an Easter morning service in a park in a city not too terribly far from our church there. There was a suicide bomber who snuck in amongst the people who were walking from the park to the church and partway to the church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. That suicide bomb went off. And suddenly the day was announcing this on the news and the churches across Pakistan lamenting as this Easter became an Easter of lament. It's that kind of thing that we're talking about here as we read and sing this psalm. And so I want you to note that there are some very terrifying circumstances and there are also some difficult faith questions that this psalm raises for us. Does the psalmist not believe the promises of God? Well, he doesn't feel like the promises of God are true. And I want you to note, as we read, that those doubts, questions, wrestlings are validated by the language of this psalm. And I want you then to note where we're driving, and the title of today's sermon comes from verse 22. As the psalm concludes, by calling on God, arise, O God, defend your cause. Remember how the foolish scoff at you. That's where this psalm is going, is that the Bible is teaching us to call on God collectively. That God will do what he's promised to do. So let's read this psalm together. Psalm 74, and as I've mentioned other weeks, I'm more and more persuaded that the inscription of the psalm is regarded as a part of the psalm, and so I'll be reading that as well. Psalm 74, a mascal of Asaph. Oh God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion where you have dwelt. Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins. The enemy has destroyed everything. in the sanctuary. Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place. They set up their own signs for signs. They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees, and all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. They set your sanctuary on fire. They profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. They said to themselves, we will utterly subdue them. They burned all the meeting places of God in the land. We do not see our signs. There is no longer any prophet. And there is none among us who knows how long. How long, O God, is the foe to scoff Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them. Yet God, my King." Notice that's the first time the singular is used. Yet God, my King is from of old. Working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the seas by your might. You broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan. You gave him his food for the creatures of the wilderness. You split open springs and brooks. You dried up ever flowing streams. Yours is the day. Yours also the night. You have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth. you have made summer and winter. Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs and a foolish people reviles your name. Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts. Do not forget the life of your poor forever. Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame. Let the poor and needy praise your name. Arise, O God, defend your cause. Remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day. Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually." Friends, this is the Word of God. Today, we behold a community lamenting in the midst of catastrophe. The word I'm using here may not be the most Familiar word to you, but a conflagration is an intense fire which destroys a great deal of land or property. Today we turn to book three, the darkest of the five books of the Psalter. filled with numerous lamentations over Israel's fiery catastrophes. Faith is encouraged. I don't want to pretend like everything in this book is like this, but that this particular book of the Psalter contains Psalms like the one we've read today. This is probably the most intense. Psalm 74 is a community lament that takes Israel into its past to remember God's power and promises. It pleads desperately for the Lord to quote, have regard for the covenant. Verse 20. Friends, as we look at this psalm, this psalm causes us to pause. And to think about the reality that not only individuals, but entire groups of people walk through the valley of the shadow of death. And you've had this experience personally. When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it feels as if God has abandoned you. But what does Psalm 23 teach us individually to say? Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because you're with me. It's teaching us individually in Psalm 23, a very well-known and loved Psalm, to have faith individually in the midst of trials. Psalm 74. is the same thing for an entire community of people. It's teaching us to see ourselves as part of the covenant body of the Lord. And the old covenant, this was in the line of David, the physical kings of Israel. And in the new covenant, it's the greater son of David, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as we look at this psalm, there's a curious thing right in the title. It's entitled, A Mass Skill of Asaph. The Asaph, we know, was a contemporary of King David, who lived sometime around 1000 BC. But numerous lines of argument date this psalm to the 6th century BC. That is, almost more than 400 years later, in the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. We're not aware of a time during the life of Asaph himself that these conditions were present in Israel. Notice it describes God's sanctuary as being set on fire. It describes all the meeting places, those would be the synagogues of God in the land, have been burned. Imagine, like our brothers and sisters in China, if the government went around and said, okay, you can have your building as long as you conform to our other rules, but you can't have crosses or signs or anything that marks your church as a building, marks your church as a worship center. And if you don't follow all the other rules we give you, the government will pay to bring in bulldozers and tear down your church building. And that has happened again and again in China. And guess what, friends? They love psalms like this. These songs comfort those who are afflicted in the midst of their collective struggles. The first thing we need to consider today is that this psalm is reminding us that we're part of something bigger. We're not merely individuals floating through life on our own. That we belong to something bigger. The visible church is a place where God's means of grace come to us with potency. Where we learn all kinds of lessons. Where we develop lifelong friendships. Where families are formed and prosper. We've been praying that God would bring to us and establish in our midst young families. Because there's nothing more joyous than to see children growing up to learn and love and follow God. But there are times where entire churches go through profound struggles. There's a church in our presbytery right now that's going through some pretty deep and profound struggles. And again, the particular circumstances aren't the same, but many of these sentiments, many of these questions are no doubt in the hearts of those who are together struggling to walk in faith in the midst of darkness. One other comment here on the inscription and then we'll go to the text itself. I want you to be aware, well in fact let's just go ahead and go to the first point here, because that is the psychological rumblings within the singers. The psychological rumblings within the singers. And the verse I want to point you to is 2 Chronicles chapter 35. Because a lot of people say, oh, there's a contradiction here. David lived in the times, Asaph lived in the times of David, and yet he's talking about things that couldn't have happened in the time of David. Well, one of the things that 2 Chronicles 35, 15 clarifies is that the sons of Asaph, who are the singers in the temple, exist hundreds of years later in the time of Josiah. It's a passing reference, there's not extensive explanation. But one of the things we need to see is that Asaph becomes not only a person, but in fact becomes a group. They may be the biological sons of Asaph, that's quite possible, who are the singers, the official professional singers in the temple, or they may be a guild called the Sons of Asaph who, you know, they have tryouts and you're welcomed into the choir and you become one of the quote, Sons of Asaph. This is one way, this verse is one way of helping us understand that a psalm, a maskil of Asaph could nonetheless be talking about what we know as the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. That is, that the Psalms are not all written at the same time, but that there's a complexity in how they're stitched together, and they're not laid out in chronological order. And thus, it's quite an interesting and sometimes a challenging question to ask, well, how are the Psalms ordered? Is there a structure to the Psalter? And that's been the effort that I've been putting in in the last number of weeks. And so I want to encourage you and help you to think in terms of, and this is point number four in your bulletin today, giving you five words that begin with C that I think pretty well summarize the collection that we know as Book One of the Psalter. Psalms 1-41, Book 2 of the Psalter, Psalms 42-72. The canonical structure that's come to us is divided into these five books. And so Book 3 today, you'll see there, Psalms 73-89, the word, it's not a real popular word, but I think it captures something about this grouping, is the word conflagration. That is, everything's on fire. My life, both individually and collectively, is going up in smoke. That's what it feels like, and that's what they're struggling with. So let's look then at the psalm itself. Verses 1-3 I've described as the psychological rumblings. within the singers. These singers I'm envisioning are, the original authors are, these professional singers known as the sons of Asaph. And they begin in a very dark place. God, why do you cast us off forever? You seem to have been unfaithful to your promises. Your anger smokes, notice the verb here, Your anger smokes against the sheep of your pasture. Remember your congregation. This is the group that's singing. Remember us collectively, O Lord, whom you have purchased of old through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through Moses, and bringing us out of Egypt. You have purchased us from ancient times. You have redeemed us to be the tribe of your heritage. And then in verse three, we see something striking. Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins. It's not merely that their city, and no doubt including their temple, is in ruins, but it will never humanly speaking, be rebuilt. The enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary. Everything that ought to be regarded as holy has now been defaced. Our culture has gone crazy. These enemies have come in and it feels as though they have utterly destroyed God's church and God's kingdom. Look down at verse 9. You can see this continue. We do not see our signs. There is no longer any prophet. There is none among us who knows how long. How long, O Lord, is the foe to scoff Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it. It can sound, and I'm thinking of a modern way of thinking about this, it's not take it out of the folds of your garment, but it's, Lord, take your hand out of your pocket. Come and help us. Destroy them. Do you hear? The cry here of this psalm, this psalm is teaching us it's okay to bear your soul even collectively to God. The synagogues have been burned. We're going to look at that in just a moment throughout the land. It's as though those who are walking with God are now the evil ones and are being punished. Friends, this happens at times in history. Let's then move on to the second point this morning, and that is the physical ruins around the singers. In verses four through eight, the psalmist moves from what's inside of his heart to looking at the external situation. Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place. They set up their own signs for signs. They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees. All its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. Can you imagine What it would be like to see a bulldozer drive into this room right here, where for so many years you have worshipped the holy God, and suddenly begin with its bucket arm to break down the walls and to knock over the foundations. The physical ruins, friends, The ruins of the city of Mosul yet remain, where some Christians live, decimated by armies surrounding them. The US Air Force bombing them from above the entire city was destroyed. Consider what happens. The devastation of war is completely mind-numbing. to those who go through it. In the midst of that, we're supposed to sing praises to God? Well, yes. And that's the point of Psalm 74. It's okay to say, God, where are you? God, have you abandoned me forever? God, the things that I count most important and sacred in my life have been defiled and taken away. I'm lost, Lord. Help me. And again, to do that not only individually, but collectively. When one member of the body hurts, we all hurt. People can't read your mind. I want to remind those who are facing suffering that you need to go for help. You need to say, I'm struggling in my faith, help me. And friends, when you get that kind of request or pleading from a friend, drop everything. You don't even necessarily have to say anything, but go and be with that person. in the midst of their struggles. The physical ruins are everywhere. Look at verse 7. They set your sanctuary on fire. Now, interestingly, this doesn't say they have set your temple on fire. It doesn't say they have set your house on fire. This is the word that is used earlier to describe the tabernacle. So some Interpreters argue, no, this is an indication that this is a psalm from the time of David. I go back and forth, I can see both points. But whatever this sanctuary is, it's gone up in flames. The dwelling place of God has been profaned. Bringing it down to the ground. And then the piece that I think is most shocking is in verse 8. Not only has the centralized place of worship been burned, but some special forces group has gone around to all the towns around and they've gone to the synagogues and they've burned them down to the ground. They are erasing religion from this land. They have conquered the Jewish people and now they are intent on eliminating God. What a sobering thing. Again, just by way of illustration, sometime read the actions of the Stalinists in the time after World War II as they conquered Eastern Europe and went around systematically burning the churches, imprisoning the pastors, most of whom would never get out of jail for the rest of their life, killing people who were known believers in the cities, some without trial. It's amazing to think about, friends, these kinds of times happen. And I would just remind you, that there is a part of God's book that can be appropriately titled conflagration. Now, I've picked the most extreme psalm of Book 3. We read Psalm 73 earlier where it's much more personal, but did you see how the psalmist said, I've toiled in vain to do all these things because the wicked are all powerful. And then in verse 16, when I thought how to understand these things, it seemed to me a wearisome task until I went to the sanctuary of God. That's the turning point of Psalm 73. The physical ruins, the physical structures of our lives, let me say it, the physical structures of our lives are comforting in a way that we don't realize until they're taken away. The physical structures, the pew you're sitting in, the sanctuary you're sitting in, this beautiful property that was purchased back in the 90s in order that this church might gather together for worship. is tremendously important. But it's not only physical geography. It's also the ideological landscape in which we live. Where Christianity is reduced to meaningless cliches and endless strawman arguments. Where God's people are mocked and laughed at. It says here, they have put up their own signs for signs. Can you imagine what the kingdom of God could do with a billion dollars that was spent by one candidate in the presidential campaign? We're on the outside. We're mocked. We're minimized. Our faith is belittled. And it's okay. Because this is what God's people have gone through throughout our history. We don't need to be afraid or dismayed, and we don't need to lie to ourselves or to God. Put on a happy face. Everything's fine. In fact, one of the things I find myself thinking of when I come to church on a given day is, am I putting on my suit for God's glory or am I putting on my suit so everything looks like it's okay in my life? Ladies, are you enhancing the beauty that God has given you or are you putting on a mask so that people can't see the hard things? that you're going through in your life. Do you go to church in order to share and to help and to weep with those who weep? Or do you go to church in order to make things look okay? How's everything? Oh, fine, fine, fine. Everything's fine. Meanwhile, we're melting down inside. Oh, friends, Psalm 74. is laying before us the challenges. This brings us to the third point this morning, and that is the pious requests. And let me use a different word, the pious reflections of the singers. The pious reflections of the singers. Verses 12 through the end are now the psalmist going through. And again, I'm thinking of someone sitting there just kind of letting their mind wander. Think about this. Verse 12, God, my king is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. He divided the seas. He's remembering coming out of Egypt, crossing through the Red Sea. You broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan. You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. You split open springs. Think of those times when God provided water for his people in the wilderness. The day is yours, the night is also yours. You've established the heavenly lights and the sun. Verse 18, remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, a foolish people reviles your name. Do not deliver the soul of your dove. Now here, this is beautiful. I have written down beside this Song of Solomon 2, verse 14, where where the bridegroom refers to his bride as my dove. And this is a title of endearment. And here the psalmist is saying, we're your people, we're your dove. You love us. And you promise to protect us. Do not forget the life of your poor. Here's another term now, as now we are destitute in the midst of the trials that we face. Verse 20, have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. And then comes the prayer and the cry. Notice that this Psalm is saying to us at the beginning, it's okay to complain to God. The psalmist, the editor of this psalm didn't come along and say, oh no, no, no, you can't say that God cast us off forever, because God promised, remember back there, that He will be with us forever, so you can't do that. No. This psalm meets us where we are, but now notice it's leading us to a godly response to persecutions, and to catastrophes, and to conflagration. What is the godly response? It's to call out in faith upon God to do what he's promised to do. Arise, O God. Defend your cause. Remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day. Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you. which goes up continually. Ultimately, friends, remember that the manifestation of this, when the armies march, when the flames destroy, this is but an expression of the larger cosmic conflict that has raged between good and evil, between God and demons, since the Garden of Eden. We have to remember we don't live in a neutral world. We live in a world where the enemy is contending for our soul. We live in a world where the world, the flesh, and the devil are always, always present. It's not run away from the world, the flesh, and the devil. It's do not love the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. So I don't know the circumstances of your life right now, but I would encourage you to remember, to remember that the Psalms are written for people living in the real world. The world of doubts, the world of struggles, the world of financial hardships, the world of marital problems, the world where at times it seems like the enemy is unstoppable. Remember that God is faithful. I'm reminded of an illustration some of us on Wednesday nights have been studying through Pilgrim's Progress. It's been an incredible encouraging study together. But in the House of Interpreter, Pilgrim is brought into one particular room, and there's a fire in the hearth. And somebody has a bucket of water, and they're splashing the water onto the fire, trying to get the fire to go out. And at first the fire's sputtering and things, but then it lights up, and it lights up, in fact, even stronger. And then Interpreter takes Pilgrim around to the other side of the fireplace, and lo and behold, there's somebody on the other side with a bucket of oil. And he's taking oil and throwing it on the fire. One time I watched my grandfather take about a cup of white gas. He had a fire that wasn't starting very well. It had already started. You should never do this, by the way. And he took it and he threw it on the fire and I watched as the fire came up the stream of gas. And I think he singed his eyebrows a little bit that day. I learned from my grandfather what not to do. But think about, here's the world trying, trying, trying to put out the flame of your faith. mocking you, arguing against faith, against Christ, against the existence of God. And it's the working of the Holy Spirit that enables our faith not only to survive, but to grow stronger and stronger until we willingly say, I commit all that I am and all that I have to you, O God. In life and in death, I am your servant, you are my master. Do you see the pious reflections of these singers? As on one hand, they are remembering what God has done in the past, and yet they're also earnestly, and I believe piously, asking God to now work in the present time. Friends, we live in a time But we need to be on guard against the lies of the world that would lead us far from God, far from our Creator, that would separate us from the things that matter most. When you're young and you're strong, it seems like this is simply contending about words. But when you're 80, as some are here, or 90, as some in our congregation are, These things matter a lot. Because our time in this world is finite. And then we will fly away and be no more. And the question is, what is beyond this world? So I want you to just notice some of the reflections here. In verse 12. Sorry, in verse 9 we see there are no longer any prophets. The preaching of God's Word is gone. How long, O Lord, will the foes scoff? How does God's silence scoffers? The psalm is reflecting upon the great acts of creation and redemption in verses 12 through 17. The psalm is reminding us that we collectively are the object of God's love and loyalty. He is the bridegroom and we are the bride called the dove. And yet, in this world, we are the poor. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. These are Old Testament versions of those wonderful promises from the lips of Jesus. And this leads us then to the fourth and final point today. I already mentioned this, but I want to mention it again. Again, these aren't my words, but these are words that I think help us to think about the arc from the time of David all the way to the eternity of praise in heaven. Confrontation or contention, communication, conflagration. And then you'll see where we'll go next is book four, continuation. And then finally in book five, consummation. This is where now finally the psalmist is doing what he's longed to do, and that is to praise God in an unending way, to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Friends, what a blessing it is to think about these things, and I would encourage you to continue to study. Again, there are several copies of some writing that I've been working on, and I very much want to improve this. So as you read, I would welcome your edits, your feedback on this, because I think that this is a much neglected area where very clearly the book of Psalms is divided into five books. And we need to think about those books as units, and we need to be more accurate as possible in understanding those. If you're interested in studying this further, I'll tell you it's not an easy topic, but it is, I believe, a very important topic for the church. Let's close together in prayer. O Lord, our God, how we thank you for all that you've done for us. We ask, Lord, that you would lead us as we at times walk both individually and collectively through difficult times. We pray, O Lord, that you would lead us by your Holy Spirit and that, Lord, these psalms would become songs that are written on our hearts. That, Lord, we could use the many thoughtful tools like the Psalter app for both iPhone and Android that can immediately remind me of a psalm tune or even how to sing a particular part. The Lord, we might be able to have these words of God, these timeless words that have been with us, been with the people of God from the very beginning, that they might be written on our hearts. Oh Lord, these songs will sustain the faith of people through both the happy times and the hard times, through both the lonely times and the busy times. Lord, when the world comes in, we pray, lead us not into temptation. One of the ways that you deliver us from evil is by bringing the words of the Psalter to our minds that we've sung dozens and hundreds of times in the house of the Lord. Lord, we ask that you would receive our worship today. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, if you would, in closing, turn with me to Psalm 86. Psalm 86, Selection A. This is another one of the Psalms in this collection. Notice in stanza four, the psalmist, I've been thinking about this, is the psalmist in a day of trouble or is the psalmist anticipating a day of trouble? This is a psalm of great faith and yet it's a psalm that is not surprised. The psalmist is the kind of person who's not surprised that trouble comes upon him. And what is it that He will do? In day of my trouble, upon you I'll call. Let's stand and sing Psalm 86, selection A.