The Cry of a Wounded Warrior
Psalm 79
Introduction
A. In his book The Barbarian Way Erwin McManus uses the illustration of Robert the Bruce to speak of our calling to be warriors in this world.
He says Robert the Bruce was a Scottish noble that rose up to lead Scotland to freedom after the execution of William Wallace.
Shortly before his death, Robert the Bruce requested that his heart be removed from his body and taken on crusade by a worthy knight. James Douglas, one of his closest friends, was at his bedside when he died in 1329. Douglas took on the responsibility … he embalmed the heart and placed it in a small container that he wore around his neck. In every battle that Douglas fought, he literally carried the heart of his king pressed against his chest.
In the early spring of 1330, Douglas sailed from Scotland to Granada, Spain, and engaged in a campaign against the Moors. In an ill-fated battle, Douglas found himself surrounded and in this situation capture was imminent and death was certain. In that moment Douglas reached fro the heart strapped around his neck, flung it into the enemy’s midst and cried out, “FIGHT FOR THE HEART OF YOUR KING”.
B. Although anyone who understands the heart of God knows that the Crusades were a tragic lesson in missing the point, the power of the story reminds us of the battle we find ourselves in.
To belong to God is to belong to his heart. If we have responded to the call of Jesus to follow him and participate in God’s chosen fast as we noticed in Isaiah 58 last week, then we are called to FIGHT FOR THE HEART OF OUR KING.
The invitation of Jesus is a revolutionary call to fight for the heart of humanity. We are called to an unconventional war using only the weapons of faith, hope and love. Nevertheless, this is no less dangerous than any war that every fought.
For those of us who have been in the battle for any length of time knows that it is easy to go from being BRAVEHEART TO GRAVEHEART. It is easy to lose heart and give up when we are wounded.
C. The Apostle Peter stepped forward to accept the call of a warrior. He wore the King’s heart around his neck, or so he thought. Longing to follow Jesus even to death he declared, “Lord, I will lay down my life for you” (JN 13:37) .
Jesus was realistic about Peter’s intentions and limitations. Jesus simple response was, “will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows you will disown me three times.” (Matthew 26:31-35)
What happened? PETER THE BRAVE HEART TURNED INTO PETER THE GRAVE HEART. His courage was buried in fear, frustration and failure.
We will learn more about Peter in the weeks ahead. Next Sunday we will start a short series entitled Pilgrims in Progress (learning from the life of Peter).
D. Today, we want to affirm that Peter has a lot of company. We have all gone from Brave Heart to Grave Heart. We have all been in a position where we feel we have been buried alive.
There are many different problems that can turn the heart from glad to sad.
Sometimes it is physical illness. I walked into Hillcrest Hospital ICU on Thursday and I heard a cry that could not be silenced. It was not audible but was written on the faces of the nurses and engraved on the portrait of a warrior who is fighting his last battle. I am sorry to say this warrior is our good friend Pastor Reggie Bailey. As you know he has been fighting health problems over the last nine months. We have been in prayer while continuing mutual outreach projects with Anointed Gates Church. We hoped for the best. Our elders went over to Reggie’s a couple of months ago to pray over him. The tumor that was removed months ago is back and there is nothing they can do about it. Pastor Reggie has been wasting away over the last couple of months. There are times when warriors weep. It is the cry of our hearts that binds us together as fellow soldiers in the cause of Christ.
Sometimes it is a relational breakdown. A man and woman that were madly in love with each other are going their separate ways. Many years of joy and now filled with sadness.
Sometime it is a financial problem. A man or woman have given the best years of their career to a company only to be let go because of age.
Sometimes it is troubled teen. Our sons and daughters are going down the wrong path, making the wrong choices or choosing the wrong friends.
THESE ARE ALL WARRIORS: A SERVANT FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST, A SPOUSE FOR THE SAKE OF THE HOME, AN EMPLOYEE FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMPANY AND A PARENT FOR THE SOUL OF THEIR CHILDREN.
When there is a loss, we feel exiled. Sometimes we feel separated from God, or others or even within ourselves.
There is a Psalm that expresses the Cry of a Wounded Warrior. Turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 79.
This psalm is the cry of a wounded people whose best days as the people of God are seemingly behind them. It is a lament for our times. We share with them a common grief and we must learn to weep for the wounded warrior.
The Psalms grow out of the soil of human experience. They talk to us in the voice of a fellow warrior. They have within them the resources needed to survive and thrive. The book of Psalms talks to our spiritual quest: our desire to find God and our frustration that God is often remote, hidden, unapproachable and unknowable.
The Psalms talk to human pain – illness and fear and to some extent the sense that we have been abandoned. The Psalms give voice to the concern of the moment. Human emotions sneak out unguarded, raw and without religious pretense.
It seems that none of us can get through life without episodes in which things do not work out as planned. Every part of our lives is subject to collapse – our relationships , careers and health. We can be emotionally starved or economically threatened. Our jobs may not work out and our bodies can fail us.
E. The setting for the psalm appears to be the aftermath of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The title connects the psalm to Asaph. Perhaps it was written by a descendant of the musician under King David (1 Chronicles 6:39). It takes the form of a lament, with a particular national, or corporate, emphasis. Asaph is lamenting not his own plight but that of his people.
The psalm begins with a lament (verses 1 through 4) and ends with a vow (verse13). The interior of the psalm features two questions (verse 5, verse 10a) and two petitions (verses 6 through 9, verses 10b through 12).
I. Lament: Babylonian invasion (1-4)
The psalmist brings to God’s attention the invasion of the “nations,” or the Gentiles, who are in this case the Babylonians. Their aggression in 586 B.C. ruptured three powerful symbols in the national life of Israel: God’s inheritance, God’s temple and God’s city. God’s inheritance is the land of Canaan, which he gave to his people. The temple was the most holy place, set apart for God’s presence. Jerusalem served not only as the city of God but the city of his people.
In verses 2 through 4, the psalmist describes what the Babylonians have done to God’s people. Not only have the invaders killed God’s people, they have left their bodies to be scavenged by the birds and the beasts. Such a fate, which was thought to await only the unloved, was considered humiliating.
But the Babylonians spilled so much blood that it flowed like runoff throughout the city. The siege was so intense that the survivors were unable to bury the dead. In verse 4, the psalmist’s thoughts turn to how Jerusalem’s demise has affected the surrounding nations. The neighboring nations would have concluded that Israel’s God was powerless to defend her or that Israel had been unfaithful to her God. In their eyes, Israel has become a joke.
The psalmist uses the possessive pronoun “your,” in reference to God, four times in the first two verses: “your” inheritance, “your” holy temple, “your” servants, “your” godly ones. He thinks that the invasion should get God’s attention because of his intense personal attachment to his place and people.
Invasion of enemies
The enemies of Judah had no regard for God or human life. Blood, i.e. human lives, was like run-off water. Those who were left had no reason to rejoice.
There are many enemies as we walk through life. Each enemy takes away our hope. After it has its blood trail, those left behind are left to wonder “WHAT’S NEXT?”
Each of us knows what it is like to be overcome by our burdens and anxieties. WE OFTEN FEEL THE ECLIPSE OF GOD. It is dark all around us. At times like these all we can do is cry out. Our first response is to cry out – HOW LONG?
Question 1: How long? (5)
The heart rending cry “how long” is a cry from a wounded people. Having received a severe blow, they ask how long they must suffer.
Having described for God the plight of his people, the psalmist now questions God, invoking his covenant name YHWH (translated “the LORD”). At this point, we might expect the psalmist to question why the Lord would allow the Gentiles to devastate his people. The psalmist, however, knows the reason. The Lord told the Israelites that he would remove them from the land if they provoked him to anger through persistent idolatry (Deuteronomy 29:22-28). The Lord, in his anger, sought to purify Israel so that it would return to him (Deuteronomy 30:1-3). God is angry because of their sins.
The psalmist doesn’t question the Lord’s anger. He knows why the Lord is angry with his people and that he has every right to be angry. He only questions the duration and intensity of it. The severity of the Lord’s anger is rooted in the depth of his love. He is angry because Israel is bent on destroying herself by worshiping other gods. The Lord is so angry because he loves Israel so much. But the psalmist wants to know: Will the Lord’s anger last forever? And will the Lord’s jealousy burn like fire and destroy Israel? For he knows that “the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24).
Sometimes God allows defeat in our lives to humble us and make us depend on him. He does so because he is pulling us closer.
The adversaries in our lives do not appear to be as ferocious as the ones we see in this Psalm. . The world of the Psalmist is one in which you know there are people who hate you. Enemies are almost omnipresent in the Old Testament. But we too are surrounded. We often don’t realize it. Our enemies are more subtle. They do not ride horses and carry swords. They are often hidden in the war of ideas. It is smooth talking ideologues or crafty shapers of perception. We do not know who to trust. Who is telling us the truth? Sometimes our subtle enemy entraps us in self-righteousness, pride and ego. It creates misperception and greed. It is often wrapped in religiosity. ALL OF A SUDDEN WE ARE ENTRAPPED.
We are no longer fighting for the heart of the king. We are fighting for the rulers of this age and we don’t even know it. THE PSALMIST PETITIONS GOD.
Petition 1: Vindication and Forgiveness (6-9)
The psalmist’s petition for vindication and deliverance in verses 6 through 9 is based on his description of the invasion of the Gentiles in verses 1 through 3. His petition in verses 10 through 12 is based on his description of the scoffing of the Gentiles in verse 4. He now asks God to redirect his wrath toward the invaders. Justice must be done because of the conduct of the enemy. They had no regard for God, nor did they call on his name (see Psalm 75:1). Instead they desecrated and destroyed God’s land and people.
The Babylonians have been a tool of God’s anger, but that doesn’t give them carte blanche for “devouring” God’s people and “laying waste” to his land. Such extremes only show that they “do not know” the Lord and “do not call upon” his name. They have no understanding that the Lord has raised them up to discipline his people. The psalmist thinks the Gentiles are more apt recipients of the wrath of the Lord.
In appealing to the Lord for help, the psalmist calls him the “God of our salvation.” The Lord is in the business of saving Israel. The appeal is based on the “glory of your name” and “your name’s sake.” It is not based on any worthiness within Israel but on God’s faithfulness, honor and reputation. He has attached his name to his people, and although they may drag it through the mud, the connection remains. The psalmist is counting on that connection. He’s basing the future of Israel on it.
When we fail to see God intervene in due course, we often turn from the question – how long, to “why”?
Victor Frankl once said, “A man is not destroyed by suffering, he is destroyed by suffering without meaning”
Why questions about the origins of pain and the purpose for it are inseparable from questions about our identity. Response to the why question inevitably leads to one of four possible answers: deserved pain, pain that improves a person, undeserved pain and vicarious pain. The most persistent interpretation of pain is as some kind of punishment. Understanding pain as a penalty is the most prominent reaction.
The psalmist pleads in verse 8, “do not hold against us the sins of our fathers.” The psalmist knows God’s hand is in the situation. But he also believes that the extent of the punishment is undeserved. Collective punishment includes the undeserving innocents. An individual’s pain as an effect of a group’s misdeeds is troublesome. It is evident in many of our national and global ills.
The psalmist asks the question “why”? Why is the extent of the judgment necessary?
Question 2: Why? (10a)
The psalmist renews his reflection on the reproach and scorn caused by the enemy. In view of their atrocities and the glory of the Lord’s name, why should their taunt be tolerated any longer?
The psalmist again asks a question of God, this time with the scoffing of the Gentiles, already mentioned in verse 4, in the background. In the face of the devastating victory of the Babylonians, the nations are saying concerning the Israelites,
“Where is their God?” Potential answers to the Gentiles’ question include: The Lord is powerless. The Lord doesn’t care. His people aren’t worth it. But the psalmist’s question does not concern why they are saying this but why the Lord would allow them to say it. If the Lord cares about his name, the psalmist expects that he would want to do something about it.
The story often works against a simple answer or formula. The psalms do not always integrate the cause and effect of pain. Sometimes they cannot explain the extent of the pain.
We can however embrace the honest cry of the pain. The psalms weave all of the possibilities into an audible cry that draws hearers into the sufferer’s community.
The terminology biblical scholars use for a psalm dominated by such emotions as grief, anger, despair, fear and loneliness is a lament.
Lament psalms first describe an inevitable condition but does not stop there. We witness the psalmist changing in and through the experience.
Psalm 79 is the sustained cru of a wounded warrior that seems fatal. This present darkness is all there seems to be.
Emily Dickinson writes “pain – has an Element of Blank” in the sense of pain erasing any memory of any time before the pain and of no future except the pain.
The psalmist here begins to question why not just as a personal problem but a religious one too. If God does not relent, then those who look on will question the existence of God.
In verse 10 he presents the question, “why should the nations say, “where is their God”? “Their assumption is that he doesn’t exist, at least not as we conceive of him. If he existed as we conceive of him, their reasoning says, we’d be in better condition.
Petition 2: Vindication and Restoration (10b-12)
The psalmist’s petitions resonate with the Song of Moses, which features the Lord’s words against his enemies. Note the words and themes from Deuteronomy (32:35-37; 41-43) that reappear in Psalm 79.
In asking the Lord to avenge the blood of his servants, and in finding resonance with Deuteronomy 32, the psalmist is asking the Lord to do what he said he would do. The current enemies of God’s people say, “Where is their God?” But if the Lord were to answer the psalmist’s prayers, the psalmist could envision the Lord saying of the enemies, in the vein of Deuteronomy 32, “Where are their gods?”
The psalmist, along with other biblical authors, sees the current plight of God’s people at the hands of the Babylonians as being similar to their former plight at the hands of the Egyptians. Egypt held Israelites captive, but the Lord heard their “groaning” and rescued them by the “greatness” of his “arm” (Exodus 6:5, 15:16). Similarly, the psalmist asks that the Lord would hear the groaning of those taken prisoner by Babylon and that he would, literally, by the greatness of his “arm,” rescue those who are otherwise destined to die at the hands their enemies.
In reproaching the people of God, the Gentiles were reproaching God (verse 4). Their question in verse 10 also constitutes a reproach. In asking that the Lord reproach the neighboring Gentiles in a manner that fits their reproach of the Lord, the psalmist is asking, once again, that the Lord stick up for his name. He is concerned here, and throughout this psalm, evidenced also by verses 9 and 10, for the reputation of the Lord. If the prayers of verses 10 through 12 are answered, the Lord would respond to the Gentiles’ facetious question, “Where is their God?” in an emphatic way.
The seven fold restitution expresses a concern for full justice. The judgment must be equal to the severity of the reproach of God’s name.
Our desire for vengeance-justice, though it often wells up in us because of the wrongs done either to us as individuals or to others, is finally grounded in concern for the name, or reputation, of God. We want the God of justice to administer justice and be known as a God of justice.
Vow: Give thanks (13)
With the word he uses to begin verse 13, “so,” the psalmist anticipates an answer to his petitions. He expects the Lord to honor his name, deliver and forgive his people, and punish his enemies. The psalm began with a description of the devastation of God’s people and God’s land, but it ends in sharp contrast, with a pastoral scene:
God’s people are pictured as the sheep of his pasture; God’s people will be restored as his sheep; and, God’s land will once again be his pasture. For this, and for the answers to his prayers, the psalmist, speaking for the nation, vows to offer the Lord never-ending thanks, which will be effected by speaking of God’s greatness from generation to generation.
Conclusion
A. The cry of the wounded warrior is quite complex? It is voiced out of the frustration that rarely can we answer the questions, “how long?” and “Why?”. We continue to petition the Lord. We ask for vindication and forgiveness when it is necessary. Notice that the Psalm ends with a vow to give thanks.
We give thanks to God because he is the shepherd and we are his sheep. Even though we walk through the dark valley, we fear no evil, for he is with us.
B. We might cry ourselves to sleep in the dark, but when we awake light is all around us. We do not need to allow the darkness to take up permanent residence. The world is created anew each day.
The lament psalms address the crisis when faith is tested in the interval between promise and fulfillment. In these cries from the heart, the psalmists bring their suffering before God whom they know is both great and good. They are confident that their situations can be changed if the Lord wills to intervene on their behalf. Facing the problem honestly, the psalmist takes the full weight of his pain to God.
Through eyes stinging with tears, he gazes on the Lord. From a heart torn by anguish, he remembers God’s unchanging character and commitment. With a voice cracked with grief, he rejoices in God’s expected goodness. In deafening silence, he hears the heartbeat of a loving Shepherd.
