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WHEN EVERYTHING IS GONE BUT GOD (Psalm 79)

What do you do when everything, I mean everything, is gone but God?

Well, you still have God.

Vance Havner said, “When Jesus is all you have, you find out that He is all you need.” Someone else said that when the bottom falls out, you realize that the foundation is still there.

Psalm 79 reminds us that there are moments in a nation, a family, or a life when it seems like everything is gone — everything you hoped for, worked for, and are used to. Aren’t you glad at those moments that God is not gone?

In many ways, Psalm 79 (written by Asaph) is a parallel to Psalm 74. You see much the same wording in the two. They both connect to the life of Jeremiah; in fact, some believe that this psalm could be inserted historically in Jeremiah 39, where the final captivity of Judah took place.

Verse 1: “O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.”

Unholy people will never consider holy what you consider holy. You have a certain reverence for God and respect for spiritual things, but the blasphemers described in this verse do not have that. They were trampling the heritage of Israel.

Verses 2-3: “The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.”

There were so many corpses lying around that there were not enough living people to bury them.

Verses 4-7: “We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire? Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.”

What was he saying? Everything was gone — their reputation, their temples, their riches, their people, their future. But then, in the middle of the psalm, there was a beautiful shift.

Verse 8: “O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.”

At first, that sounds quite negative, but it was actually the first ray of hope. It was a breakthrough. By this point, the prayer was less about what they did not have and more about their relationship to God.

This was where the psalmist realized, “We still have God.” As long as you have God, you have an anchor. You have sufficiency.

What do you do when everything is gone but God?

1. Go back to His mercy.

Remember the plea in verse 8. Aren’t you glad the Lord does not bring up your past? You might, and someone else might. The devil certainly will; he is “the accuser of our brethren” according to Rev. 12:10. But the Lord casts all of our sin into the sea of His forgetfulness, and as my grandpa used to say, He puts up a “no fishing” sign.

There is a tremendous message in verse 8. Mercy is always connected to humility. If you want God’s mercy today, consider that it is seen most when we are low. The Lord stays afar off from the proud, but He comes near the lowly. If you want real access to God, you must humble yourself.

The world is harsh. Circumstances can be harsh. People can be hateful. But God is full of tender mercies, as verse 8 shows us. According to Lamentations 3:23, “They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Interestingly, Psalm 79 points out the tender mercies of the Lord and it is connected to Jeremiah, who wrote the words in this verse.

2. Go back to His name.

Verse 9: “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.”

His name provides access to us in prayer. Not only that, but this should be the great aim of prayer — for His glory rather than our relief. God may strip all of your glory away, but in doing so He may get the most glory. We should pray for God’s name to be known and for His purpose to be fulfilled.

3. Go back to His power.

Verses 10-12: “Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die; And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.”

Do you see both sides of His power here? On one hand, it brings judgment and justice to the wicked. On the other hand, it brings deliverance, grace, and help to the needy.

To me, this is reminiscent of the children of Israel, who had the pillar of the cloud to lead them and go before them. But when the enemy came around, that same cloud became a divider to protect the people and blind their adversaries. That is God’s power; it can take care of your enemies.

Martin Luther said, “Always remember that even the devil is God’s devil.” That means the Lord has Satan under control. Leave your enemy with God, and trust Him for the power you need.

4. Go back to His praise.

Verse 13: “So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.”

What a glorious note on which to end this sorrowful psalm. It ends not like a funeral dirge, but a celebration with everyone praising God.

When everything is gone but God, go back to His mercy, His name, His power, and His praise. As Lester Roloff put it, sometimes you can praise your way through things you cannot seem to pray your way through.

As Psalm 100:3 tells us, “We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” If you feel like a wounded, wayward sheep today, remember that He is the good shepherd. When everything else is gone, you still have God.