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Pray Without Ceasing, Week 7, Day 47

by David Joynt on July 18, 2019


PSALM 74:12-14 | Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

The basis for hope is the capacity of Yahweh, the King of history and creation to “work salvation.” Verses 13-14 have a double reference. The Egyptian and Babylonian creation myths included their gods conquering the chaos of the sea, with Marduk or Baal gaining victories over disorder. The psalmist refers to the dividing of the waters at the Red Sea when the dragon, Egypt, was defeated. What their gods did in myth, Yahweh did in history! The Exodus victory was far greater than the destruction of Jerusalem by Israel’s enemies.

The Old Testament is sacred history, not just past events. What is the basis for your hope in difficulty?

As Christians, we remember God’s great Easter victory in the face of earthly disaster. Praise God for working in history.

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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