To the banker, Jesus is the Hidden Treasure;
To the baker, He is the Living Bread;
To the biologist, He is the Life;
To the doctor, Christ is the Good Physician.

To the educator, he is the Master Teacher;
To the engineer, He is the New and Living Way;
To the farmer, Jesus is the Sower of the Seed and the Lord of harvest;
To the florist, He is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.

To the geologist, He is the Rock of Ages;
To the horticulturist, He is the True Vine;
To the lawyer, Christ is our Advocate to the Father.
To the oculist, He is Light to our eyes.

To the judge, He is the Judge of all the earth;
To the juror, He is the Faithful and True Witness;
To the journalist, He is the Good News of great joy;
To the philosopher, He is the Wisdom of God.

To the philanthropist, Jesus is the Unspeakable Gift from God;
To the preacher, He is the Gospel;
To the theologian, Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith;
To the toiler, He is the Giver of Rest.

To the student, He is the Incarnate Word;
To the servant, He is the Good Master;
To the statesman, Christ is the Desire of the nations;
To the sinner, he is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
To the Christian, He is all of these and more.      (Author unknown)
 

“How long?” is found sixty times in the King James Version of the Bible.  It is a question that exposes the weakness of the human race to deal with the assortment of troubles that are a part of life on earth.  We simply do not have the answers, nor do we have the strength to make it.  The question “How long?” is an admission of the human condition, and it implies that there is hope only in the passing of time—if enough of it passes, maybe these troubles will pass, too.

The Bible encourages us to ask this question, but to direct it toward God, for He is the source of the answers to all of the issues we face in life, and in death.

I do not have the space to list all sixty of the places where the Bible uses the words “How long?”, but I hope that you will take the time to look for them in your concordance.  The need for you and me to use these references will recur all through our lives.

The term “O God” appears three times in Psalm 74 (vv. 1,10,22).  We will study it by using these three verses as transition points.

The first part of the poem begins with the cry, “O GOD, WHY HAVE YOU CAST US OFF FOREVER?”  This section has four parts, in which the following subjects are treated: In verse 1, the poet speaks of the anger of God, which has been directed toward His Own sheep.  Things must have gotten terrible for Him to be so angry against them.  In verse 2, he notes that this is against His congregation, and the author desires for God to remember that.  He wants the outpouring of anger to end, and maybe if they who are God’s purchase, His inheritance, His redeemed, and His place of dwelling—maybe if they could be considered this way again—then maybe this would come to an end.  In verses 3-8, we are exposed to a long statement regarding the fact that God had used the wicked people around them to punish His Own people, which speaks loudly about the seriousness of the situation.  And in verse 9, the writer makes it clear that no clear word has come from any prophet to help with the answer that the people now desired.  Hopefully, this cry carried the implication that they had repented; for surely they would have to repent in order to gain God’s favor again.

“O God, why have 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, The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed--This Mount Zion where You have dwelt. Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations. The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary. Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place; They set up their banners for signs. They seem like men who lift up Axes among the thick trees. And now they break down its carved work, all at once, With axes and hammers. They have set fire to Your sanctuary; They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground. They said in their hearts, "Let us destroy them altogether. "They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land.  We do not see our signs; There is no longer any prophet; Nor is there any among us who knows how long.”

The second part of the poem begins with the cry, “O GOD, HOW LONG SHALL THE ADVERSARY REPROACH?”  In this section, the author addresses three more important themes.  In verses 10,11, he asks the famous “How long?” question.  He wants the enemy to reap as they were sowing.  In verses 12-17, he expresses his belief that God is all-powerful, and therefore able to do whatever needs to be done in order to remedy this oppression.  His belief is well founded, for God has demonstrated His omnipotence often.  In verses 18-21, he presents the plea of the people to God.  The plea includes references to the sinful ways of the powerful enemy, the sins that have been committed against the name of God, the tender and weak condition of the “turtledove” of God, the all-importance of the covenant of God, and the desire of the oppressed people of God to praise His name again.

“O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever? Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them. For God is my King from of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters. You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness. You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up mighty rivers. The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun. You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter. 
Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name. Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast! Do not forget the life of Your poor forever. Have respect to the covenant; For the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty. Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed! Let the poor and needy praise Your name.” 

The third part of the poem begins with the exclamation, “O GOD, PLEAD YOUR OWN CAUSE!”  In verse 22, there is a contrast between God and His enemies in the matter of reasoning techniques.  God can plead His cause; the enemy can merely “reproach daily.”  

In verse 23, there is a contrast between God and His enemies in the matter of position.  He is above, and they are attempting to “rise up.”  But if they will not humble themselves, they will be brought low (James 4: 6-10; 1 Peter 5:5,6).

“Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You daily. Do not forget the voice of Your enemies; The tumult of those who rise up against You increases continually”
(NKJV).

Let me close with another reminder to search for the sixty times that the King James uses the phrase “How long?”  You may not need all of them today, but you will need them before long.  And so will I.

    — Skip Andrews
 
 

SICK LIST:  Justin Davis, Katrece, Seth, Nathan, and Lydia Howard, Martha Jones, and Margie Chadwick were ill.

GROUPS:  Group 1 is in charge of the services at Plantation South at 1:30. 
Group 3 is in charge of the service at Gwinnett Extended Care at 2:00.
CHILDREN’S CLASS:  5:30 today.
FOR THE RECORD:  12/17 12/24 12/31
AM Class  116 98 113  
AM Worship    121 131 140
PM Worship    116 129 120
Wednesday Class 91 95 106
Contribution  $5448 $5501 $5887
Budget   $6500 $6500 $6500
UKRAINE:  Chuck and Jody Northrop are working in Kiev, Ukraine.  Let’s keep them in our prayers.  Skip will be leaving Friday, January 12, to teach the book of Psalms in the school of preaching there.  When Skip returns, Paul Meacham will be going.
INDIA:  Ernest Burnette is in India with Jim Waldron.  He is to return on January 19.
BUILDING CLEANING:  There is still an opportunity for you to sign up to help clean our building.  One change:  the family who cleans the foyer will be responsible for locking up that month.  If others are still here when you leave, just lock upstairs and downstairs (everyone can still get out and the door will remained locked) and ask those still here to turn out the lights.
SEEKING THE LOST/VISITATION TEAMS:  We will meet Saturday, January 6, at 6:00 for our quarterly reorganization and fellowship (bring finger foods and drinks).
PLAN OF WORK/BUDGET 2001:  The elders will present our 2001 plan of work and budget Sunday evening, January 7.