1 O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. 2 They have given the dead bodies of Your servants for food to the birds of the heavens, the flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth. 3 They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem; and there was no one to bury them. Psalm 79:1–3
In past months, we’ve witnessed, in some cases from afar, in some cases up close, the ravages of nature or catastrophic “accidents.” Curiously, only a part of an island in Hawaii is vanquished by fire emanating off shore. A town in Ohio is exposed to deadly toxic chemicals from a train derailment. Then two hurricanes bring back to back destruction to densely populated areas in Florida, one of which is oddly reenergized to cause massive flooding and death in North Carolina. Most recently, wild fires char many homes in Los Angeles stoked by hurricane force winds, but astonishingly there is no water available to fight them.
Setting aside the conspiratorial aspects of some of these events, in the context of this Psalm, the human suffering and death stands out. In an instant, peaceful communities are laid to waste. Hopes and dreams are shattered and dashed. Loved ones are lost without recovery of their bodies.
This is when our faith is the most tested. When everything is lost. Do you curse God, or do you seek him for relief and perhaps revenge?
Sometimes we cite the American spirit as reason for the resolve of its people to endure and rebuild, but the Christian spirit is by far more resilient. Perhaps the American spirit has always been bolstered by this subset. In theory, when all is lost a true Christian looks to his or her script to recognize that nothing has been brought into this world, and nothing will exit with us.
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 1 Timothy 6:7
Nonetheless, to experience cataclysmic and catastrophic loss, perhaps at the hands of others, and remain fixated on a Heavenly Father requires superhuman strength and perspective, and to “curse” the perpetrators, and even God for his acts, is a natural reaction.
12 And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom the reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture will give thanks to You forever; to all generations we will tell of Your praise. Psalm 79:12-13
Our solace is to appeal to the Great Shepherd, seemingly the protagonist in most cases, to avenge our enemies and for grace and mercy in a time of need.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:1
Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3
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