March 4
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PSALM 79 HOW LONG O LORD WILL YOU BE ANGRY?
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.2 They have given the bodies of your servant to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. 4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? 6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms
that do not call upon your name! 7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation. – Psalm 79:1-7
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HOW LONG WILL WE WAIT FOR YOUR RESCUE? By ILMA
O Lord, your people have been invaded by many attackers
They have enslaved your people and have dishonored your temple
These evil conquerors have treated your faithful servants like dirt
They have fed their bodies to the birds and beasts of the earth
Many lives have been taken and blood streams from their death
No one even gave them a decent burial, but made to rot instead
Your people have become a taunting matter to other nations
Mockery and ridicule abound in the midst of all these adversities.
O Lord, we look forward to your deliverance and justice
How long Lord will you bring us justice and put an end to this?
How long, O Lord, will your anger continue to burn like fire?
When will you save us from their obsession to terminate us?
You promised deliverance and justice to your people
O Lord, please come to our rescue and end these evil
Why don’t you revert your anger to these unbelievers?
Lord, we plead you to grant us mercy and to be delivered.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think Asaph’s question was more on “How long will your anger last?” instead of “Why is this happening to us?” What is the big difference with the how long and the why questions?
• When was the last time you pleaded God to deliver you from some situations or someone who was oppressing you and what was the result of such prayer?