Psalm 74-75

“Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary” (74:3). This psalm mourns Jerusalem’s destruction and asks God to ‘turn his steps’ back toward his people. The Temple itself has been smashed: “Your foes roared in the place where you met with us” (74:4); and God seems silent (74:9). Yet, “It was you who split open the sea by your power ... it was you who set all the boundaries of the earth” (74:13-17).

“But God is my king from long ago, he brings salvation on the earth” (74:12). God sees the terrible cost of sin and the destruction of individuals and communities. He is King, and He brings salvation.