Asaph laments the invasion of the promised land by the Babylonians, an invasion that resulted in destruction of Jerusalem and the disappearance of the temple. Those who served God were slain and their bodies left for beasts and birds to devour. The surrounding nations scoffed at the Jews for their faith in God because they imagined he was powerless (vv. 1-4).
Asaph knew that was not true. Moreover he knew that it was God’s power, expressed in his anger, that had brought about the situation. He had punished his people for their sins of idolatry, which had enflamed the Lord’s jealousy for his name. It was not the case that Asaph thought that the Lord should not punish sin. But he wanted the anger expressed against Israel to cease and for the nations to be punished for their cruelty. He wanted mercy for Israel and justice for their oppressors (vv. 5-7).
Therefore he prays for spiritual recovery for Israel. He asked the Lord to show mercy, to bring about restoration quickly. Despite the absence of the demolished temple and its rituals, he knew that God could provide a way of atonement, which suggests that he already regarded the rituals as symbolic of a greater sacrifice. His argument for divine help was the fame of God’s name, his glory, which would be enhanced in the estimation of others when they saw him punish his enemies (vv. 8-10).
Although the state of the people of God was very low, like being in captivity and facing death, Asaph was confident that God would yet recover his cause. Eventually God would come in blessing on his people and in judgement on those who opposed him. This future recovery would not be like previous ones because it would keep on going from generation to generation, even for ever. The place where such thanksgiving occurs is in the next world, the new heavens and new earth, so even in the dark days of the exile Asaph’s faith enabled him to see the eternal blessedness of God’s people (vv. 11-12).
What about us? While our circumstances are not as low as those in the time of Asaph, the question that comes to us is whether our hearts are pained by the decline in God’s cause. Earnest prayer comes from those who feel the distress and who bring their concerns to God in a passionate manner.
Whatever Asaph grasped about the atonement, we know what it is and how it was made when Jesus suffered on the cross. Unlike what happened with the temple in Jerusalem when the rituals disappeared, we know that nothing in life can touch or make void the atonement that the Saviour made. Even in the worst of times, we know that the atonement has been made.
Like Asaph, we can see by faith beyond the current world with its many issues to the future world where believers will be shepherded by Jesus into the provisions found beside the fountains of living water, God himself.
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