My Body His Temple: Psalm 74-Supplication Through the Scriptures

My Body His Temple

Psalm 74

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:16‬

“My body my choice” has been a slogan among feminists to champion body autonomy. In essence, they are heralding their right to do whatever they want or don’t want with their own bodies. But for the believer, one who has been bought by the precious blood of Christ, we are no longer our own. The governing slogan of our lives must be My Body His Temple. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19-20‬).

Psalm 74 is believed to be written concerning the invasion of the Babylonians and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The psalmist cries out for the Lord to consider how “the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary” (74:3), “set the sanctuary on fire” (74:7), and reviled the name of God (74:10). He then recalls the great might of the Lord, to Him belongs the day and the night, fixing the boundaries of the earth, and even governing the seasons (74:12-17). He then calls on God to “have regard for the covenant” and to arise on behalf of His great name and His people. While this psalm focuses on the Jerusalem Temple, I want us to consider our own bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit and pray through this psalm in regards to how we have used or misused our bodies and how others have harmed our bodies or others we love.

When considering our own sinfulness, we are in effect falling prey to the enemy’s destructive seduction. We are using the members of our bodies as slaves of sin rather than of righteousness. In our sinfulness, we are willfully disobedient or ignorant of Satan’s schemes, and either way we need the Lord’s cleansing power. In Psalm 74, he called on God to remember the people the Lord had purchased and redeemed, to remember and have regard for the covenant. When we sin, we too, as God’s chosen people, redeemed by the blood of Christ, can come to God for His forgiveness. We are calling Him to remember the new covenant He has established with us through His Son. He promises to forgive us when we confess our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We praise God who has delivered us from this body of death and rejoice that in Christ there is now no condemnation (Romans 7:25; 8:1).

And what about those heartbreaking situations where someone else has sinned against our bodies? While I cannot speak to the delicacy of each situation and the effect it has taken on the lives of those involved, I hope that Psalm 74 will give you ways that you can speak your hurt to the Lord. “O God, why do you cast us off forever?…How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?” It may seem as though the abuse you have endured has destroyed so many things, but as God’s child, you have the mightiest Warrior on your side and you have the right to cry out, “Arise, O God, defend your cause” (74:22) and “do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts” (74:19). God cares about what happens to those who are part of His body. As Jesus confronted Saul on the road to Damascus and asked “Why are you persecuting Me?” thereby identifying Himself fully with His persecuted children, so even now we have One who will stand with us and strengthen us (2 Timothy 4:17).

Our bodies matter to God. What we do with our body and what has been done to our body matters to God. He has chosen to make our bodies His temple, and that truth in and of itself, shows the significance our earthly bodies have in the sight of God. We cannot just do whatever we want with our bodies, either through its neglect or its indulgence. And neither can others just do whatever they want to our bodies without God’s special concern. So let’s strive today, whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, do it all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). And for those whose bodies have been mistreated or abused by others, bring your hurt to Him. He does care what has been done to you.

Pray through Psalm 74 for God to glorify Himself in our bodies and pray also for those who have suffered hurt and abuse at the hands of others.

The Enemy has Destroyed

74:1-3 O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt. Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

Let’s pray in regards to our sinfulness:

▫️We praise You that we have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of Your beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-24).

▫️We are so thankful that You have made peace through the blood of the cross, and we have been reconciled to You by Christ in His fleshly body through death, in order that we might be holy, blameless, and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:21-22).

Let’s pray for those who have suffered abuse:

▫️O Lord, remember Your children, the sheep of Your pasture, which You have purchased and redeemed. Come to their help! Be their Shepherd to protect and defend them in their time of vulnerability.

▫️Direct Your steps to be near to them. Those things that the enemy has destroyed, You would restore. The way the enemy has used hurt and strength to accomplish evil, You would overrule his schemes and accomplish Your purposes.

How Long, O God?

74:4-11 Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs. They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees. And all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

Let’s pray with regard to our own sin:

▫️We know the enemy of our soul is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and he has at times lured us into sin. Help us to stand firm in the faith and resist temptation, no longer presenting our members as slaves of sin (Romans 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8-9).

▫️We would use the means You have provided that we might hold fast to our Head, Christ, who supplies what we need and holds us together and gives us growth which is from God (Colossians 2:19).

Let’s pray for the abused:

▫️Those who have harmed Your children have profaned Your name. How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile Your name forever? Bring justice for Your children, bring low those who have exalted themselves, and raise up those who have been humbled.

▫️Lord, do not hold back Your hand, Your right hand. Use Your arm of power to heal and strengthen the abused and to bring Your vengeance upon the wicked abuser.

God is Working Salvation

74:12-17 Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams. Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.

Let’s pray with regard to our own sin:

▫️You, Lord, are from old, working salvation. You chose us in You before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless. Complete the work You have started in us, and help us to put in hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12).

▫️By Your great power, You are ruling this world. Rule also our hearts in order that we would no longer live for ourselves but for You. We would remember that we have been bought with a price, and we would glorify You with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Pray for the abused:

▫️Lord, work Your salvation for the hurting, confused, perhaps hopeless ones. Your power is without limit and so is Your compassion. Bring both Your power and Your compassion to the aid of the abused.

▫️You rule both the day and the night. For those who have suffered abuse, there are fears that come upon them day and night. Give rest and peace to their fearful hearts. Give comfort and hope during their days of distress.

Arise, O God!

74:18-23 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name. Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever. Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day! Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

Let’s pray for our own battle against sin:

▫️Remember, Lord, Your promise to give us a way of escape during our times of temptation. Give us eyes to see the way we should take and the desire to please You above our own fleshly desires.

▫️Have regard for the new covenant which You have established with us in Christ. Forgive us for the sins we have confessed and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We praise You that Christ’s perfect righteousness has been credited to our account.

Pray for the abused:

▫️Lord, do not allow to enemy to continue to scoff and revile Your name by harming Your children. Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to the wild beasts. Do not forget them, Lord, or what they have suffered.

▫️Have regard for the downtrodden, the poor, the needy who are part of Your covenant people. Arise, O God, defend Your cause, defend Your little lambs, protect them and heal them.

‭‭May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Photo credit to pabloheimplatz

Search This Blog

Savoring the Scripture