Psalm 74:1 “O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.”
The Lord’s people are referred to as “the sheep” because they appear tender, loveable, and obedient, and they anxiously follow their Shepherd. Our Lord plainly tells us of his “great love” (Ephesians 2:4) for His “sheep” and of His loving care for them (John 10). But, these lovely creatures can also become attracted to things outside of their pasture and sometimes stray away from the flock. The Lord plainly tells us that “My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.” (Ezekiel 34:6). Hunters have been known to hunt antelope using a technique called ‘flagging’. The antelope are hard to get close to, but when the hunter stands still and waves a bright colored cloth (flag) over his head, the antelope will become mesmerized by it and ignore the danger and begin to walk towards it and will continue until it comes within the hunter’s range. Similarly, “the sheep of” the Lord’s “pasture” are sometimes attracted by the devil’s cruel devices, and they can be drawn away in ungodly behaviors. For example, when king David “walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw” and, instead of averting his attention, he sent for what “he saw” (II Samuel 11:2); the result was great suffering for David and his family (II Samuel 12:10). When “the sheep of” the Lord’s “pasture” wonder away from obedient and worshipful service to the Lord, we can expect that the Lord’s “anger” will “smoke against the sheep of” His “pasture” and great misery and suffering often comes upon them. “As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity”; so that in this life, they will endure awful sufferings right alongside “the workers of iniquity”. But, the good news is that “peace shall be upon Israel” (Psalms 125:5); in our day, “the Israel of God”, which is the Lord’s “sheep” in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, upon repentance, the Lord’s “sheep” have “a strong consolation”, for they are blessed to flee “for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18). Let us pray that there will be a tidal wave of repentance washing across our Land and that there will be a great ingathering of those who are fleeing for “refuge” to “the Israel of God”.