"Thou feedest them with the bread of tears and givest them tears to drink in great measure."
Psalm 80:5
Part 4
Yesterday: The LORD God Is No One’s Lucky Charm!
“Thou feedest them with the bread of tears.” (b)
The holy God chastens His children.
“And givest them tears to drink in great measure.” (a)
God was angry with Israel for her sin. He brought great affliction from the Assyrians upon her.
Today: Could Our Days Be Numbered As a Nation?
“And givest them tears to drink in great measure.” (b)
Israel’s sin has made her a laughingstock among the nations.
“Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors: and our enemies laugh among themselves” (Psalm 80:6).
“Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? Let Him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed” (Psalm 79:9-10).
Israel’s God will not listen to her prayers. Her people are suffering at the hands of the Assyrians. Her God is far away from her now. And the nations are laughing at her. God’s discipline is terrifying!
Spurgeon had an interesting take on God’s chastening of the sins of His children in Israel when he wrote of Psalm 79:9-10,
“The concept of former iniquities suggests a principle. ‘Sins accumulate against nations. Generations lay up stores of transgressions to be visited upon their successors;’ hence this urgent prayer.”[1] (Spurgeon)
If Spurgeon is correct, how must God see our nation today? Our country was founded on principles of the Scriptures. Our forbears were men who at least gave lip service to the God of heaven. America has slipped her moorings and has drifted so far away from God that our children cannot even imagine her as being a “Christian nation.” What God must think when He remembers the 200 years of her sins accumulated against her! What a mockery America has become to the nations of this world. Will our country ever repent? Will we turn back to God again? Believers, we ought to be mourning and crying out to God, for our nation has fallen. Is our land in any less need of God’s affliction and adversity than Israel was before her captivity? Heaven, please help us!
Believers, individually, we need to keep short sin accounts with our God. When we sin, let’s be quick to acknowledge our transgression against our God and repent confessing our sin to Him (1 John 1:9). We need to teach this to our children. Suppose each “Christian” in this country, all who claim the name of Christ, would repent of their sin and live for the Lord. What a change that would be! In that case, our nation could be reclaimed as a beacon for the Gospel.
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home;
Under the shadow of your throne
your saints have dwelt secure.
Sufficient is your arm alone,
and our defense is sure.[2]
Quote: “Tear-bread is even more the fruit of the curse than to eat bread in the sweat of one’s face, but it… [could] by divine love be turned into a greater blessing by ministering to our spiritual health”[3] (Spurgeon).
[1] Spurgeon’s quote was borrowed from Guzik. Guzik, David, Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] These are the first and second verses of “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” author: Isaac Watts (1719). Tune: SAINT ANNE, possibly composed by William Croft. Note of interest, this song is published in 1148 hymnals as of this date—copyright status: Public Domain.
[3] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword.