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WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR QUESTIONS (Psalm 74)

No matter what you are dealing with or going through today, there is some psalm that addresses the emotion you are feeling. It will in some way connect with where you are. This is a beautiful reminder of the sufficiency of Scripture.

On top of that, it is frequently the psalm with which we are least familiar. Many of us know Psalm 1 and Psalm 23; most of us can probably quote significant portions of both. We often make reference to verses in Psalm 119.

But what about Psalm 74? It is another of the psalms written by Asaph, and it is not well known. I rarely hear anyone refer to it. But it is full of truth.

This is a psalm of a man in great affliction, who is having a difficult time making any sense of life and what is going on around him. This is part of the Leviticus Psalms, which focus on the sanctuary of God and His presence. But here it is even in the sanctuary that trouble is seen.

Verse 3: “Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.”

Verse 7: “They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.”

Even in the high, holy places of life where there should be peace and joy, the enemy attacked and caused disruption. Do you ever feel like that — when you think there will be rest and peace but there is still struggle or a battle?

Psalm 74 was one of the favorite psalms of the French Huguenots. These were people who were driven from their homes and lived in caves. This was a beloved passage for them, and they memorized it and sang it. Why? Because Psalm 74 tells you what to do with your questions. There are many questions in these verses.

Verse 1: “O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?”

We look to God as our Shepherd. Here the psalmist asked why He was angry with His sheep.

It is not a bad thing to ask why. Even the Lord Jesus, the perfect Son of God, did that while on the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (See Matthew 27:46.)

But I would remind you that the story did not end there with that question. It was later that Christ said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). We may not have all of the answers we want, but we can still commit ourselves to the loving hands of our Heavenly Father.

Psalm 74 is filled with questions, but it is also filled with God.

Verse 10: “O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?” The words “for ever” are seen throughout this psalm.

Verse 11: “Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.”

For the first 11 verses, there is a series of questions and complaints. Remember we are studying the Leviticus Psalms and entering into the Lord’s presence. Asaph brought his questions to God.

Only God can take question marks and straighten them out to make exclamation points. Only God can take uncertainty and make it confidence, or change confusion to assurance. He does this when we bring our questions to Him.

1. The psalmist reviewed who God is.

Verse 12: “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.”

Instead of looking ahead, he looked back for a moment. He knew he could not see into the future, so he went back to the beginning. We should do the same. Go back and review God’s power and mercy for yourself.

Verse 13: “Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.” He knew the Lord had brought His people through impossible things before and would do so again.

Verse 14: “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.” The very thing that was going to devour God’s people ended up being food for them.

Verses 15-17: “Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.” He reviewed the fact that God is always the same.

If you have questions today for which you have no answers, go back and look at what you know for sure, which is what God is.

2. The psalmist rehearsed his trouble to the Lord.

Verse 18: “Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.” We also see his plea in verse 22 to “remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.”

It is all right to bring these things up before God. Certainly, He knows them, but He wants to hear us cry out to Him. We are told repeatedly in the Bible to cast our cares and burdens on the Lord so that He can take care of us.

When you have questions, instead of just thinking about them or talking to someone else about them, rehearse them to God. Many times, as we are talking to God, He shows us something. At the very moment we bring our complaints or questions to Him, the Lord opens up the understanding and gives light. God speaks as we speak to Him.

3. The psalmist made a definite request to the Lord.

Verse 19: “O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.” In other words, “Lord, I don’t know what you are going to do with these people, but please help me. Do not forget me.”

Verse 20: “Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.” There are a lot of dark places in the earth.

Verse 22 begins, “Arise, O God, plead thine own cause.” Remember, it is not your life anymore; it belongs to God. That means it is not your problem, but His. If it is God’s cause, He is going to take care of it.

What we must do is bring our prayers in line with God’s eternal purpose so that He alone will get the glory and the honor. When you have questions, bring them into the sanctuary and the presence of God. Like Asaph and the French Huguenots, you will find something to sing about as you remember His unchanging goodness.