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Psalm 74:1a "O God, why have You cast us off forever?"

Day 30 – Psalm 74

“O God, why have You cast us off forever?” Psalm 74:1a

SUPERSCRIPTION

A simple superscription was found attached to this psalm. It read,

“A Contemplation of Asaph”

1. The identity of the author is confirmed.

2. This psalm was written as “a contemplation”.

a) This was a meditation.

b) The mood and content of this psalm may be described as somber or even “dark”.

3. The tasks of Asaph and other psalmists.

a) Their challenge was to teach Israel.

b) All good and meaningful teachers must be prepared to do the following:-

i) They must dare to think through the hardest of subjects.

ii) They must be prepared mentally and emotionally to dwell on the most somber of subjects.

iii) They must be prepared to enter into deep prayer to find answers from God.

c) The paths of these good teachers.

i) They often walked in deep sorrow.

ii) They often experienced great pain within their hearts.

iii) They dared to have their faith in God challenged to the uttermost in order to obtain much-needed Divine wisdom.

iv) The path they walked on were sometimes melancholic.

4. The language of these melancholic psalmists.

a) Great candidness of speech was employed.

b) Sobering questions were raised to God in prayer.

c) However these questions were not meant to challenge God; they were just expressive of pain felt keenly by the writer(s).