“O 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 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. 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 is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 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. 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!” (v1-4,7-8,11-12,16-17,20-23)
The author is clearly distressed – enemies have destroyed the places of worship for the God Israel. He calls out, pleading with God that the enemies be vanquished. This Psalm has a few themes we’ll look at from a high level.
1. A plea for the people (v1-2,9,19,21) – the author begs that Israel not be forgotten or abandoned by God forever, as they seem to have been.
2. The enemy’s works (v4-8) – the author points out to God all that the enemy has done to the sanctuaries and the people of Israel. It sounds a little like a prosecutor listing the defendant’s crimes in a court of law.
3. God’s mighty works (v12-17) – the author contrasts God’s even mightier works, far greater than those of the enemy.
4. A plea for God’s help (v3,10-11,18,20,22-23) – The author begs God’s to do something about the enemy and bring justice for the destruction they have caused.
Though I have never witnessed the physical destruction of God’s place(s) of worship, I have unfortunately seen the enemy tear down many temples of God within the context of each Christ follower being a temple of God. (“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” [1 Cor 3:16]) There is nothing more heart-wrenching than watching a believer get cut down in their spirit, and stay cut down (maybe they suffered a divorce, a death in the family, an addiction, or some other trauma and did not [fully] recover their relationship with God).
The enemy strives to destroy God’s temples – those of us who claim Jesus as our Lord and savior. He takes no greater pleasure than ruining people’s lives and separating them from God. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Pt 5:8) “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Cor 11:3) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (Jn 10:10a)
The question is, how do we prevent ourselves, the temples of God, from being destroyed, or just as critical, how do we help those who have already been knocked down? The author of this Psalm figured out that crying out to God was the answer for deliverance from the enemy and the rebuilding of the temples – man cannot rebuild God’s temples without God’s help.
Scripture clearly teaches that only God can protect us from the devil, rebuild what he has destroyed, and then ultimately only He can destroy the enemy. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (Js 4:7) “Resist [Satan], standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Pt 5:9) “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:11-12) “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 Jn 3:8) “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” (Rom 16:20)
Father God, the builder of Your temples, holy is Your name. All praise, honor and glory be to You, the creator of heaven and earth, the defender of Your people, the just judge of all that is evil. We pray Your strong hand of protection on us Father, for the lord of the air seeks to destroy us. May Your strong arm of healing be upon those who have already fallen victim to the lord of lies, and may Your heart of compassion be evident through Your people who comfort those in need of healing. Would You alone be glorified for any successes against the enemy, for those who are won to Your cause for the first, second, or one hundred and second time. We ask for Your deliverance from our enemy, and Your redemption of those who have fallen in this war of principalities and powers. May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ crush the head of the serpent and cause him to flee in the lives of each one who calls upon Your name. Praise be to You Father, the Redeemer of the Broken and the Defender of the Weak. In the powerful name of Jesus we ask this, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training