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Sunday Psalms;
O God, 
pagan nations have conquered your land, your special possession.
They have defiled your holy Temple and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
They have left the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of heaven. 
Psalms 79:1-2 NLT
Actual war. 
Asaphs psalm could be written today if you live in Ukraine, Gaza, parts of sub-saharan Africa, Sudan, Myanmar...
Asaph thinks that God is angry (v5), he thinks God is blaming them for the sins of others (v8), their own sins (v9), he tries to tell God to sort this out to save Gods reputation (v9, v12), tries provoking Gods compassion (v8, v11), and ends the psalm telling God how faithful and worshipful his people will be forever, after God has stepped in and sorted it out (v13).
Asaph is trying everything he knows to prompt God to intervene.
And it follows Ps78 which outlines the peoples rebellion against God, how they forgot Him, forgot His interventions, how they rejected Him, turned away & "stubbornly tested God in their hearts" 
(Ps78:18)
Maybe you've never tried bargaining with God, but I have. God, sort out this for me, fix this, and I will never/never again/always/ from now on...
This psalm tells us it's OK not to be OK about what is happening in our world. 
Maybe I can trust God in my circumstances, be real about the impact of my own choices & the choices of others, know that He IS Good, despite what's going on right now, & that in the Big Story, all will be made new.
#psalms
#psalm79
#onedayallwillbemadenew

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