Can you see Asaph? He's an assistant to the lead worship leader Heman for the children of Israel and seems to have been commissioned especially by King David, and later, by King Solomon. They are in charge of leading worship, singing and song writing. Asaph took his ministry among the people of Israel seriously - a holy, sacred trust, as well as being his 'ordained-by-God' duty for Yahweh.
Look, there he is up on the wall of Jerusalem. What...what's he doing up there?! Oh, he's leading a choir parade of singers and trumpet blowers; marching, singing and celebrating. Oh, just listen to that worship! Euphoric! Such praise to God! Close your eyes and take it in.
Can you get a 'feel' for it?
Get back into your machine and push the button forward to our time (yeah, I know, that sounds boring, but...). Hear master choirs from England (& elsewhere), bringing us the likes of Handel's Messiah and good solid, traditional hymns of praise. Ok, even the backup choir singers for the likes of Michael W. Smith or Don Moen can be brilliant with their more "contemporary" music. All of this not to 'tickle our ears' but to render sincere praise to our God and to Jesus our Savior and Redeemer; helping their fellow worshipers to join in and elicit praise and worship with them.
Read Psalm 74. I think it is not something we'd enjoy singing. It's talking about the devastation and desecration of the sanctuary of God (& Jerusalem).
Where would that sanctuary have been? The Temple! The House of God where He dwelt among His people of Israel.
Pop back there to that time again. Listen to the raucous clamor of the invaders, hacking at, smashing with axes and hatchets and battering rams, at the holy Temple of God; see and hear the attacking and scoffing in ridicule. You are shuddering, aren't you! The acrid smell of burning assailing the air and your nostrils in sickening dismay and demoralization. God's Temple going up in smoke and battered to ruin; God's Name is shouted in mockery and contempt, shaming God's people on whom He had placed His Name; His very own "tribe of inheritance" "cast off" in punishment.
What stark contrast!
Euphoric worship of Almighty God, their Refuge, Deliverer, Rock and Fortress in Whom they could trust and shelter and be blessed vs the clamor, shouts, curses, and scoffing of the attackers who worshiped idols and gods of all sorts, as they tore the place apart, "Where's Your God, now, O Israel, you "chosen" ones of God? Not so chosen after all?"
Incidious laughter rakes the spine as if a fingernail on a chalkboard...Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
"How long would they mock You, O God" (vs 10)?
God, who had "fixed the boundaries of Earth" and "made summer and winter," was He still Sovereign and in control?
These chosen ones had rejected the one true God and turned to other gods. God had warned and warned them to turn back to Him. Didn't they know He was a "jealous" God? They rejected Him. Didn't want Him "interfering" in their lives.
I bet they did now...
Why? Why did this happen?! You might ask as you see the dispirited conquered and captured led away by the jubilant conquerors.
The wake-up call struck strong and hard reality into the fabric of their souls and even into yours as you watch. Their place of worship totally defiled and left in shambles. Oh that place where God, Who loved and cared for them so faithfully, was worshiped but likely had been desecrated with worship of other gods. The Temple now in ruin and abandonment.
Stepping into my time machine, I hurtled ahead through the next decades to Babylon. Are you with me?
Seventy years! A lifetime of punishment ensued. Indeed, Asaph asked, "Why do You hold back Your right hand?" That hand of strength; that hand that had created the universe, Who had been their God; He could effect a rescue, if He wanted to.
So Asaph delves into his spirit and connects with God, and calls upon God's mercy to once again rise up and "defend" (vs 22). Repentance of Israel a catalyst to rescuing His "dove" from ruthless, mocking adversaries who continually afflicted them.
Zoom ahead to 2021.
You may be scratching your head a wee bit and asking, "Huh?! Asaph lived that long? Through two kings and more until the captivity and through the captivity and then back to Zion!?"
I scratched my head too.
Allow your fingers to surf the internet a bit, you'll discover that, reference to Asaph could be that there was a "guild" (or 'worship team' as we'd say today) that carried over from generation to generation under the name of "Asaph;" for example, The Asaph Guild.
To me it's like, let's say, The Gregorian or Benedictine Monks. They had their groups and sang alot. Oh I suppose those guys chanted, but you get the idea.
Asaph was from the tribe of Levites who were "set aside," "sanctified" and "ordained" to the service of God, and in particular, in Asaph's case, worship leading for the whole congregation of Israel. More specifically, at the time of captivity, the tribes of Judah and some of Ephraim and half tribe of Manesseh, and the Levites, were the main tribes remaining of all Israel. The rest had long been scattered to the four winds of conquerors' domains. (You can note though that God in His grace and mercy, mostly saw them all and referred to them as the children of Israel, in their entirety.)
Psalm 74 seems more of a recalling of the traumatic, travesty of the desecration and decimation of the Temple, God's dwelling place and sanctuary. A hard lesson learned and Asaph did not want his people to ever, ever forget it; so sing it in remembrance, they did.
Praise God, He did "rise up" and He was in control all along. They could now give thanks to their one true God and humbly bow before Him in unadulterated thanksgiving, praise and worship.
Father God, how terrible yet just You are; Your ways, past finding out. In fear and trembling we must come before You into Your holy presence and come confidently in the name of Jesus. We have become Your sons and daughters through Him. We thank You for the redemption of our souls and for Your Holy Spirit who individually indwells us, Your holy temple.
Thank-You for Your Holy Spirit Who convicts us when we begin to slide away and turn to "other gods" in our lives and begin to desecrate Your temple, our bodies, with those "gods'.
We know and are assured that we can never lose our salvation because You gave us "eternal life" (John 3:16) when we believed in Jesus and got our justification through faith in Him. However, we would lose our joy. We would lose our desire to sing beautiful praises to You. We would often suffer "punishments:" those consequences of smoking, drinking, doing drugs; of adultery, gambling, pornography, dishonesty and so on. Or perhaps, just a slide into indifference or feel You no longer care for us because our child or loved one was snatched "early" from us; or we were maimed in an accident.
Heavenly Father, help us to guard our hearts and stay near to You because we know that You never move away. You stay outside our door, knocking and knocking. May we always open that door and let You come in to 'sup' with us. May we always desire fellowship with You, to get to "know" You and be friends as Abraham of old had been, as Asaph himself did. May we serve You whole-heartedly, also as Asaph and company. May we desire to keep our hearts and temple of Your Holy Spirit pure before You; ever and always. Keep us and never let us, nor You, be put to shame in front of our adversaries.
Father, this Lord's Day, we once again partake of the broken bread and drink from the cup of wine in remembrance of all Jesus has done for us. May our hearts continue to overflow in gratitude and songs of praise and adoration together with all the saints. What will it be to dwell above in constant, continual praise!
In Jesus' Name we give our thanks and ask from the top to the bottom of our hearts.
Hop back into your time machine, press the button for "near future"...
Look through the window and get a glimpse what we will enjoy. Singing our praises to the Lord, together with all believers in Jesus Christ, around the banquet table of The King, in the presence of our Heavenly Father, Savior, Redeemer, Friend. Listen to and join in with the 'Heavenly Throng Choir' worship (Is that Asaph still conducting?) . This we will be doing for all eternity to come.
That is more than euphoric.
~ERC May 2021~
Based on Psalm 74:1-23.
Sing, What Will It Be to Dwell Above, as posted by Philip Tadros
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