(based on Psalm 74)
Verse 1
O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
Oh, Heavenly Father, we confess that we have been very wayward. We have followed in the footsteps of Israel of old and walked in sin, and in the heathen practices of ancient times. We have adopted that which is the worship of the sun and called it the worship of the true God. We have called emotionalism worship when it is not. We have used heathen methods such as spiritual formation to contact you just as Saul did after he had severed all his ties with you. Will you, the God of all Creation, honor wickedness? No. You are holy, we are sinners. Forgive your wayward sheep, Father. May purity and holiness again be seen in our lives!
Verse 2
Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod (branch) of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Father, your remnant people were once connected to you but now they are a dead branch. They have separated themselves from you. They do not long to be near you. They do not desire the flow of Your life through their veins. They lie in dusty beds of death, nothing more than dry bones. Wake them! Give sinew, muscle, and life to their walk with you. Teach us that only by total obedience can we walk continually in your presence. Give us new hearts that love and obey you every day. Help us to desire nothing more than to walk in your presence moment by moment. Help us seek for your righteousness more than our daily bread! Redeem us from this death that has come upon us!
Verse 3
Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Father, the church is destitute. The enemy, Satan, has moved in and set up headquarters in your temple. Your church no longer prays like it used to. Your people no longer have any power to counteract evil in their own lives or in the world. Your salt has lost its flavor. It has lost its power. Revive your church, Father. Help her to leave the world behind that she may again rise in great power! Help her to give up her love of the world’s worship, dress, diet, music, entertainment, and materialism. Oh, Father, I cry to you with all I have to purify your church! Do not leave her in perpetual desolation. Make her alive again. Resurrect her from the grave. Purify your sanctuary.
Verse 4
Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
Father, the enemy, Satan, has moved in to take the battlefield. We no longer see the three angels flying in the heavens as our sign. Now all we see is the sign of the enemy. We no longer see your clean people without the world’s adorning. We no longer see the holy days you spoke of in your word. All we see are those set up by the Catholic church: Christmas and Easter. Even Sabbath, the seventh day, is desecrated by unholy feet. Father, set up your signs again. Help your people to arise and take the field.
Verses 5 & 6
A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
Father, where are those who established the pillars of faith in the past? We had powerful men and women of the Word in the early days. But where are they now? They are in the grave. They taught the solid food of the vital truths from your word, but now . . . now it is just milk that is served in most places. Sadly, the old pillars are being torn down. Many no longer believe in the sanctuary message, or the 1844 investigative judgment. The three angel’s messages are hardly mentioned! Satan’s axes are chopping away, destroying the knowledge you gave this remnant people. They no longer see You—the way, the truth, and the life. Instead their eyes are focused on a god of their own making, one that does not see, nor hear, nor punish them for their evil ways, a catatonic god who really doesn’t care what they do.
Verses 7 & 8
They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
Father, is this a prophecy of what is coming to your remnant people? It seems that it is. For so it has been in the past. Israel is an example to us. Their fate will be ours unless there is thorough repentance and turning back to the old paths. History will repeat. May your people turn back before it is too late!
Verse 9
We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
Father, they have spit on your prophet. Many, many churches of this remnant people have chosen to reject the messages and letters sent through your prophet. Oh, God, help us! We are a lost and scattered people who do not read the map or the prophet’s directions to the heavenly Canaan; nor do we see the road signs pointing the way. Please, please give us eye-salve the we might read and see and know the way. Give us eye-salve that we might see how short the time is!
Will the remnant people turn back to you, Father? I pray they do. But there are those who are still faithful. This is my prayer for those faithful few, who have stood in the ancient paths even in the midst of apostasy.
Verses 19-21
O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
Thank you Father, for you will be glorified in those who feel poor and needy, who turn to you in humility every day. Strengthen your faithful remnant who keep your covenant in these last days. Bless those who choose to surrender body, soul, and spirit to you. Bless those who choose to remove all spiritualism and pagan idols from their lives! May we be a part of that people! May You be glorified in Your people and may Your glory fill the earth! May your kingdom come soon! Amen.