Ps 74:1, 7-8 (ESV) O
God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger
smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
. . .
7 They set your
sanctuary on fire;
they profaned the
dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to
the ground.
8 They said to
themselves, "We will utterly subdue them";
they burned all the
meeting places of God in the land.
NOTE: It does seem
at times that the enemy is winning. Of course, that ignores two major truths,
one, he already lost at the cross, and two, the major reason for the
tribulation is for God's wrath to be revealed against his enemies. So, the
enemy has not won nor will he win. The Psalms capture the heart and emotion of
the psalmist. As such they are not to be mistaken with didactic instruction.
They are perfectly true, in as much as they fully convey the emotions of the
believer. But one must be careful in drawing doctrine from the pages. We can
see that it is entirely normal to feel discouraged by events of the time or
cultural demise. It is happening now and it is sad. But not really because I
would like it to be different so I can live life in the culture I prefer, but
it is sad because it blinds those who most need something different. And so it
can be a good thing if we live our lives in such a way that the gospel is seen
through it. We can have hope; we can do the right thing, the more thing; we can
love others; we can serve others; we can display the righteousness and love of
Christ to a dying world--AND people will see it because the contrast is
unmistakable.
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