David was intensely personal in many of his writings. He shared his feelings and struggles of his soul. We keep things private, but David wrote them down. We call them psalms.
This unusual psalm was for the congregation of the Lord, and it should be the voice of every local church especially in this day and time.
Psalm 74:1 “O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. 3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.”
This psalm deals with the rising of every enemy against the people of God and their gathering for the Lord in his sanctuary. It sounds as if in the House of God and in the midst of the people, David says “remembers thy congregation.” He was not reminding God but the people of what God had done. They were under attack and opposition. Maybe the house of the Lord didn’t look like it used to; maybe it didn’t feel like the good old days. David said we are still the congregation of the Lord. No matter how hard the world presses us, we too are still the congregation of the Lord. He’s the same as he was decades ago when we were saved. He’s not changed a bit, and he still looks at us as his congregation.
Because we believe in Jesus, we are members of his congregation. We were “purchased of old.” (vs 2) It’s been a long time since I was saved. I’ve failed, but then I remember I was purchased 2,000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross. He who saved me in 1972 is the same Savior who still reigns. What God has prepared is for his glory and enjoyment but it’s also to move us, his congregation, to our home. John 14 says “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Jesus sat at the supper table in the upper room. He looked all around the table until he saw you and me. We are the congregation, the focus of his inheritance. God looks forward to our being in heaven with him as much as we look forward to it.
Our Mount Zion is not a cathedral, but it’s still the congregation of the Lord. We may come apart physically, but if I can’t hear or can’t walk I can still lift my heart in joy because I’m still in the congregation. A good prayer for us to pray right now is remember thy congregation.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 