Ps74: Grieve, Believe & Plead for Reprieve

Whether under attack from outside, or, as anyone who has lived through a church split will testify to, weakened by sin from within, there is frequently much to grieve over when we consider the state of the church, the people of God.
The writer of Psalm 74 knew what it was to grieve over the state of the people of God. Exiled and with the temple in ruins he rightly grieved for the nation of Israel but he also grieved deeply over Yahweh's ruined reputation amongst the nations. Thankfully his belief in God's sovereignty engaged with his grief and he was able to plead, with confidence, for God to act to rescue not only His people but also His reputation.
This pattern of grief, belief and pleading for God to act teaches us how we can (and should) respond when faced with griefs of our own.