In a traumatic psalm describing the invasion of Jerusalem, Asaph laments the terrible suffering. With the temple defiled, blood poured out like water and bodies in the streets, he asks How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?

Asaph receives no answer. Yet he maintains his faith in the midst of horrible circumstances, and begs the Lord to remember the surviving outcasts. Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!

Remarkably, Asaph neither wallows in despair or rejects God outright. He clings to the Lord, showing gratitude and reminding his nation of their standing before God. But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

The sheep of your pasture. Even as the Lord disciplined Israel for their rejection, Asaph turned to the only place for hope. Apart from the Lord all is lost, but with Him lies a future, even if it takes a generation or two before it’s realized. Remain in the Lord’s pasture, and eventually all things will work out for good. While we may suffer, our children and grandchildren and their children will benefit.

Which makes me ask, in whose pasture am I wandering? It’s easy to stray, and to quote the old phrase, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. But while the grass may be tastier, it turns bitter in the stomach. The Lord puts boundaries in my life to keep me grazing in his meadow, the one sure hope for generation after generation.

Psalm 79

Photo by Michał Robak