Arise O God

Psalm 74
July 17, 2022
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

There are many terrible things that can happen to a person. But one of the worst is when you lose your home.

Imagine your home right now. Where you live. Imagine your room with your bed and your belongings. Imagine your apartment or condo or house and the neighborhood where you live. Imagine the place that you call home.

And now imagine your home destroyed. Destroyed by an enemy. Destroyed because of your own sin. Imagine having your home chopped up like firewood and then set on fire to be burned to the ground. And imagine being taken away to a foreign land. Imagine being poor and homeless.

If you can imagine all of this, then you can understand the story and the meaning of Psalm 74.

Psalm 74 was written by Asaph. Asaph was a singer, musician and writer of the throne of King David. In this psalm, Asaph mourns the loss of the temple, which was the home of God and the home of God’s people. The Babylonians invaded the land in 586 BC and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple of God. The temple was home. It was God’s dwelling place with his people. It was the place of worship and fellowship for God’s people.

But it was gone. And God’s people were taken away from it. This overwhelmed Asaph with sadness and trauma and weeping. And so he cried out to God through this psalm.

Asaph asked God to remember his people and remember his dwelling place. He asked why God did not destroy the enemy. He considered how God is sovereign and powerful over all of creation. He asked God to not forget the poor and the needy. He asked God to remember his covenant. He asked God to arise.

But it seemed like God did not answer Asaph’s prayer in Psalm 74. The temple was gone. There was no more home.

Why?

Near the end of the Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok, Thor, the god king of Asgard, is about to lose to Hela, the goddess of death. Thor has already lost his hammer. And now Thor is about to lose his home. Hela has come to destroy and conquer his home that is Asgard. Hela has Thor by the neck. Hela says to Thor, “I’m the goddess of death. What were you the god of again?” Suddenly, Thor has a vision of his father Odin. Thor goes to his father and falls to his knees and says, “She’s too strong. Without my hammer, I can’t….” Odin replies, “Are you Thor, the God of Hammers? Hmm? That hammer was to help you control your power, to focus it. It was never your source of strength.” Thor shakes his head and says, “It’s too late. She’s already taken Asgard.” His father Odin replies, “Asgard is not a place. Never was.” After that, Thor understood the truth. Asgard’s not a place. It’s a people.

Dear Highland, it seemed as though Asaph and God’s people lost their home when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. But they didn’t. The temple and the city of Jerusalem was not their ultimate home. Never was. Our home is not a place. Our home is a person. Our home is literally Jesus Christ.

This is good news. Remember that the worst thing that could happen to us happened to us: we lost our home. We lost communion with God corporately in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned against God. And each and every one of us lost communion with God individually because of our own sin against God. Our home was destroyed by an enemy. Destroyed because of our own sin. We lost our home and became poor and homeless orphans. We lost our blessed relationship with God who made us and loved us.

But God our Father sent us his Son Jesus to save us from sin and from death and bring us home.

Jesus was the Word. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The second person of the Triune God took on human flesh in the incarnation. Our King has dwelt among us. He has tabernacled among us. He has templed among us. He is our true and ultimate temple. He is our dwelling place. Jesus is Immanuel, which means God with us. Jesus is our home.

We are now united with Jesus in his life, his death, and his resurrection. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. You live in Christ and Christ lives in you. Jesus is our home.

The temple in Jerusalem was real. But it was not ultimate home. The temple in Jerusalem pointed forward to the ultimate temple, the eschatological dwelling place of God, and the real home that we need. And that home is Jesus.

Praise the Lord. God remembered his congregation, the sheep of his pasture. He never forgot his redeemed, the tribe of his heritage. Foes scoffed against God. The enemy reviled God’s name. But God did not hold back his right hand. He destroyed the enemy. God worked his salvation in the midst of his people and made them a new creation. With absolute sovereignty and with almighty power, God crushed and broke the head of the serpent that is Satan. And with amazing grace and tender mercy, God paid for and forgave our sins. God had regard for the covenant, for his covenant of grace. Now we who were once spiritually poor and needy have our home in Christ. Asaph asked God to arise and defend his cause. God did just that in the salvation of Jesus.

Dear Highland, this is so good for us to know and hear. Be encouraged. And realize something amazing. I’m sure must of you have your address memorized. There are numbers and the name of a street. There is a town or city and the state of Illinois and a zip code. That is your temporary and earthly home. That is where you live. But that is not where you live live. That is not your home home, your ultimately home, your home home home. Your home is Jesus. Never forget that.

Soli Deo Gloria