O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? – Psalm 74:1

Today's Scripture Reading (July 30, 2023): Psalm 74

We love to read the Shepherd's Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name's sake.
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever (Psalm 23).

The Psalm often feels like a security blanket in the turbulent moments of our lives. God is our shepherd; he leads us beside quiet waters. He is the one who restores us. He sets a place at his table, and his blessings overflow in our lives. Yes, we might have to walk through the darkest valley, but God promises to be with us even there. And not only is God with us here, but we will dwell where he is … forever. When anxiety shows its ugly face in our life, the Shepherd's Psalm often has the ability to calm our lives and recognize once more that our God is still on the throne, and he is still with us.

Psalm 23 was likely written by King David when he was a young shepherd. It has a simplicity that might lend itself to a young person's writing. And that simplicity often is what draws us to the Psalm.

If there is an antithesis to Psalm 23, it might be Psalm 74. Instead of hope and security, there is depression and defeat. God, rather than being the Shepherd of his people, is Israel's rejector, and Israel is not just rejected for now but rejected forever. And in a passage, the Psalmist seems to point to the Shepherd's Psalm. "Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture" (Psalm 74:1)? Once, you guided us by still waters, but now your anger burns against us.

Who was this mystery poet? The Psalm itself tells us that Asaph wrote it, but it is unlikely this is the Asaph that ministered during the days of David, the Shepherd King. More likely, this Psalm was written by a descendant of that Asaph, who lived during the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and watched the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. And with both of those things gone, it seemed to the Psalmist that Israel had been rejected forever. Gone was the security of the Shepherd Psalm; security has been replaced with desperation, and the song of the Shepherd has been replaced with the wail of a hurting believer.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 79