The past few months I have been writing songs instead of blog posts. I wanted to share one song I wrote in October while studying Psalm 74. The audio attached is me singing just the first minute of the song, but the song’s full lyrics are below.
I wrote this song because there is so much hope in Psalm 74, hope believers need. Asaph wrote Psalm 74. He was one of the men King David put in charge of the service of song in the tabernacle (1 Chronicles 6, 15, 16). God the Spirit writes through Asaph about how God is our King from of old and how he is working salvation in the midst of the earth (v.12). When life’s circumstances make it seem like God has cast off his people (v.1), his foes are winning (vv.4-6), and his enemies are profaning his name bringing it down to the ground (v.7), the truth is God is working salvation. Asaph cries out in verse 10, “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?” Sound familiar? The world has not changed. God’s foes still scoff and still revile his name. But Asaph’s cry, our cry, is followed by hope. The psalm continues with so much hope! Hope believers needed living in the Old Covenant at the time of Asaph, and hope we need now in the New Covenant as we await the promised Messiah, who has already come, and who is coming again. Here is the hope. It appears the world has subdued believers . . .
- Yet God! (v.12)
- He is King from of old (v.12)
- Although his foes are roaring in the midst of his sanctuary (v.4), he is in the midst of the earth working salvation (v.12)
- He is the one who divided the sea by his might at creation (v.13)
- He is the creator of great sea creatures and the creatures of the wilderness, and therefore, will do what he wills with them (v.14)
- As Creator, he also brought about the springs and brooks (v.15)
- The day and night are his because he established them, as well as, all the heavenly lights (v.16)
- He fixed the boundaries of the earth (v.17)
- He made summer and winter (v.18) and promises that both will remain while the earth remains (Gen. 8:22)
I hope this truth brings you hope in the New Year! God is in charge, not his foes, no matter how it may appear. This world is his. It came from him. And in the midst of the mess of sin that we caused, he is faithful to work salvation for his people. All the evil, sin, and mess cannot stand in the way of what he is accomplishing.1
Sometimes our framework for living can look like a desolate January or February winter’s day. The events of this world, which match the bleakness of this time of year, can make us cry out to the Lord like Asaph did in Psalm 74:1-11. But his song does not end there. He continues with “yet God.” God does not just step into the mess. He’s had a plan for it from the beginning of time. His plan is to redeem people who cannot redeem themselves. His plan was to send his Son to take on the punishment for sin himself. Whatever the world looks like, in every age, God is King, and he is working salvation. This good news makes every New Year happy. God is in charge. His is the day. His is the night.
Yours Is The Day
Full lyrics
The earth, you said, it will never be moved
You are Lord God
In what you made it’s proved
All things about you, you have made known
It’s all for your sake and not my own
Yours is the day
Yours is the night
You have established all the heavenly lights
Summer, winter, seed time, and the harvest
All from your hand
You are the great artist
What I do not understand
It is all in your capable hand
The earth, you said, it will never be moved
You are Lord God
In what you made it’s proved
All things about you you have made known
It’s all for your sake and not my own
How long will your name be profaned?
Until everyone of yours you’ve claimed
Yours is the day
Yours is the night
Yours is the day
Yours is the night
Denton, Andrea. “Yours Is The Day.”
1 In fact, God is over evil. He is not the cause of it, but he has jurisdiction over it. Nothing exists apart from him either causing it or allowing it. I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating. Pharaoh, Herod, Pilate, and anyone else in history who opposes the Lord does so because God’s hand and God’s plan had predestined that opposition to take place (Acts 4:27-28). I realize this can be hard to accept because there are a lot of tragic events that take place in life, but what Scripture teaches in Psalm 74 and on every page is that God is working salvation in the midst of the evil and opposition. Believers’ response should not be one of fear or doubting God. Our response should be Acts 4:29 – “Lord, grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” We can be bold because God will not, does not, and cannot forget his covenant (even mentioned in Ps. 74:20).