It
was a bad day for the nation of Judah. 
When you look at what the Babylonians did to Jerusalem in 586 B.C. it’s
easy to see why the Psalmist would write,
“O God, why have you rejected us forever?” (verse
1).   The flock of God was precious to the Lord so
this defeat at the hands of a pagan nation was unpalatable.  Why would God Almighty—the Warrior of
Israel—allow the pagan Babylonians to defeat the Jews, destroy the holy city of
Jerusalem and the temple?  Where was God
in all of this?  It was a bad day in
Judah.

 

In
the face of this physical, emotional, and spiritual calamity, Asaph (note: not
the same as the author of Psalm 73) begs the Lord to
“remember the nation you purchased long ago” (verse
2).  In their anguish and despair,
the people of God cry out to God to look back on the receipt He has from the
purchase of His people.  They are His and
they are powerless without Him.  Only
now, do the people begin to see the truth.

 

Often
we struggle with why God brings trials our way. 
After all, we are His people too because of the cross.  We have been purchased by the blood of Jesus
and yet we can go through significant persecution.  And it is in this persecution we can
recognize how we have been living in self-reliance and the pain suddenly drives
us to our knees.

 

How
many times have we been going along doing whatever we do and somewhere along
the way we forget God.  We forget what He
has done.  We forget His warnings to us
that He wants to be first place.  We
forget…and then tragedy strikes.

 

Then
we remember Him.

 

In
the attention-grabbing actions of the Lord, we cry out the same idea we read in
verse 12: “But God is my King from long ago; He brings salvation on the
earth.”  It was Him Who created
the earth.  It was Him Who created us.  It was the Lord who defeated death, hell and
the grave at the cross and resurrection. 
That was the Lord, not us. 

 

And
He desires us to remember Him just as He remembers us.  The true blessing of His grace: He remembers
us even when we forget.  We forget about
Him but the Lord never forgets us.  He
waits to forgive us.  He waits to embrace
us.  He waits for us to get over our
stubbornness and surrender to Him…again.

 

It
was a bad day in Judah.  Matter of fact,
it was a bad few centuries until God broke the silence in the most
humanity-changing way: Jesus Christ.  I
pray He isn’t silent for long in your life but when we face trials, it could be
possible we are also having a bad day like Judah: our decisions have caught up
with us.  Don’t struggle too long before
you call out to Him.  

 

Verse
1

You came into the family
through Jesus’ precious blood
You tasted of His goodness and His love
He showered you with blessings, He’s building you a home
But somehow on your journey, you’re standing all alone

 

Verse
2

You wandered far from
homeland, down paths so dark and cold
In search of all the pleasures you could hold
Freedom bought you bondage; rebellion bought you fear
Jesus stands behind you; and homeland is so near

 

Verse
3

Remember how it used to
be when fellowship was sweet
The time well spent in worship at His feet
You know it doesn’t really matter how long you’ve been away
Just let His Spirit cleanse you and be restored today, today

 

Chorus
Come home, your Father really loves you
Come home, it’s where you want to be
It’s place of peace and comfort, shelter from the storm
Don’t wait another moment, come home

“Come
Home”

Joe
Di Quattro
© 1993. Homeward Bound Music
(BMI).

Used
by permission.