Pastor Billington's Blog

Psalm 75:1-5 “For the Chief Musician. To the tune of ‘Do Not Destroy.’ A Psalm by Asaph. A song. We give thanks to you, God. We give thanks, for your Name is near. Men tell about your wondrous works. When I choose the appointed time, I will judge blamelessly. The earth and all its inhabitants quake. I firmly hold its pillars. Selah. I said to the arrogant, ‘Don’t boast!’ I said to the wicked, ‘Don’t lift up the horn. Don’t lift up your horn on high. Don’t speak with a stiff neck.’ ”

We go from the Psalmist’s voice to God’s in this passage. Here, Asaph recognizes the closeness of God and gives thanks because He is near! (Aren’t you thankful that God is near?)

Psalm 145:18 “The LORD is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”

Of course, that nearness implies coming judgment as well. But we can trust in God’s judgment, because He judges blamelessly. The wicked should tremble! This could refer to the coming judgment at the end of time, or any time God chooses to make His judgment know.

For additional worship: Give Thanks (Don Moen)

Psalm 74:18-23 “Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, LORD. Foolish people have blasphemed your name. Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever. Honor your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth. Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name. Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day. Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.”

Even with the nation being punished for their sins, the Psalmist doesn’t think that God should continue to allow His enemies to blaspheme Him and oppress His people. Asaph boldly pleads with God to punish them! Even though their judgment is deserved, he is concerned about God’s reputation, and he represents the righteous remnant. They long to see Israel restored and the ungodly empire punished. Are they right in their understanding of God’s covenant with them? Was it unconditional? Did God have to restore them? God actually prophesied that they would return, and He did punish the nation that destroyed His temple. But it took 70 years! God does things in His time, not ours. But I believe the lesson we can take from this is the honesty and zeal that characterizes the righteous in the nation. May our prayers be filled with honesty and zeal as well.

Hebrews 4:16 “Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.”

For additional worship: Come, ye Disconsolate (Adam Wheatley)

Psalm 74:12-17 “Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth. You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures. You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers. The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun. You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.”

Whenever we are having doubts or questioning why God is doing what He is doing, we should remind ourselves of the way He has worked in the past. He is sovereign and majestic. He is creator, provider, and redeemer. The very creation points to His care and compassion, which means we can trust Him to do what is best and right!

For additional worship: Thou art, O God, the Life and Light (Thomas Moore)

Thou art, O God, the life and light
Of all this wondrous world we see;
Its glow by day, its smile by night,
Are but reflections caught from Thee:
Where’er we turn, Thy glories shine,
And all things fair and bright are Thine.

When day, with farewell beam, delays
Among the opening clouds of even,
And we can almost think we gaze
Through golden vistas into heaven,
Those hues that make the sun’s decline
So soft, so radiant, Lord, are Thine.

When night, with wings of starry gloom,
O’ershadows all the earth and skies,
Like some dark, beauteous bird, whose plume
Is sparkling with unnumbered eyes,
That sacred gloom, those fires divine,
So grand, so countless, Lord, are Thine.

When youthful spring around us breathes,
Thy spirit warms her fragrant sigh;
And every flower the summer wreathes
Is born beneath Thy kindling eye:
Where’er we turn, Thy glories shine,
And all things fair and bright are Thine.

Psalm 74:9-11 “We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there amongst us anyone who knows how long. How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever? Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them!”

When God wants to punish His people severely, he withdraws his Spirit and His truth.

Amos 8:11-12 “‘Behold, the days come,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the LORD’s words. They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek the LORD’s word, and will not find it.'”

We’re warned that in the last days people will follow false prophets and teachers.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 “But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron…”

I wonder if one reason for this it that God allows the false to spread and withholds the true? Paul warns Timothy that there will be a lot of people who don’t follow God in the last days, and that he should not only turn away from them, but make sure that he looks to the Word of God for instruction!

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

For additional worship: Word of God Speak (Mercy Me)

Psalm 74:1-8 “A contemplation by Asaph. God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived. Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary. Your adversaries have roared in the middle of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs. They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees. Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers. They have burnt your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name. They said in their heart, ‘We will crush them completely.’ They have burnt up all the places in the land where God was worshipped.“

Israel has been overrun and the temple is in ruins. Even though the punishment is deserved, the people cry out for mercy and ask for judgment to fall on their persecutors.

Although you may have experienced God’s discipline in the past, or may even be experiencing it now, remember that it’s for a purpose, and God’s love and mercy are always present and available!

Hebrews 12:5-6 “My son, don’t take lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

For additional worship: O Breath of Life (Emu Music)

Psalm 73:25-28 “Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you. But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord the LORD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.”

What should we do when we feel our hearts and minds failing? When we’re overcome by doubts? We should remember that God is our refuge and strength. He has promised that we will be with Him forever. He’s the one we can trust in and rely on. He should be our deepest desire, and our love for Him should find expression in praise!

For additional worship: Jesus the Very Thought of Thee (The Living Stones Quartet)

Psalm 73:16-24 “When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me— until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter end. Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction. How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors. As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies. For my soul was grieved. I was embittered in my heart. I was so senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand. You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”

Yes, it often seems that evil gets away with it. But only for a time! When we enter God’s house is should remind us of the blessings that are ours because we are His. We will be received into glory! Not so for those who don’t know Him. That’s why we should pay attention to His counsel. Our future is secure, and we should joyfully serve and follow even if it’s hard sometimes.

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed towards us.”

For additional worship: O Jesus, I Have Promised (Olive Tree Hymns)

Psalm 73:10-15 “Therefore their people return to them, and they drink up waters of abundance. They say, ‘How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?’ Behold, these are the wicked. Being always at ease, they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence, For all day long I have been plagued, and punished every morning. If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children.”

We have to be careful what we say, especially to our children. If we have doubts, misgivings, or questions, we should be careful who we express them to. We should make sure that we seek out mature believers who can (hopefully) provide us with some perspective and clarity. Just going around freely expressing our unease does nothing but put doubts into the minds of others and undermine their faith.

Matthew 18:6 “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

For additional worship: Psalm 73 (Emu Music)

Psalm 73:1-9 “A Psalm by Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm. They are free from burdens of men, neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the limits of conceit. They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression. They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth.”

There are a couple of self-evident truths presented in this passage. First, when evil triumphs, it becomes even more evil. Getting away with something bad generally leads to doing more bad things. Second, when we see evil getting away with it, we get disheartened. We might wonder, “What is the point in being good? If evil gets rewarded, what is the benefit of being pure?”

As we’ll find out, just because we don’t see evil being punished in this life, doesn’t mean that it won’t be in the future. We need to keep our eyes on God and continue to keep His commands. We have been promised blessings, but not always in this life!

Matthew 19:28-30 “Jesus said to them, ‘Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life. But many will be last who are first, and first who are last.’ “

For additional worship: The Nearness of God (Psalm 73)