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Psalms 77

¹To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph. I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.

²In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.

³I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.

⁴Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

⁵I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.

⁶I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.

⁷Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?

⁸Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore ?

⁹Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

¹⁰And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

¹¹I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

¹²I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

¹³Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?

¹⁴Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.

¹⁵Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

¹⁶The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.

¹⁷The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.

¹⁸The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

²⁰Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

on Psalms 77

Psalm 77

This appears to be a companion psalm to 74, which also lamented the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of Israel. Both deal with the Lord’s apparent rejection of His people (74:1; 77:7), and both look for renewed hope back to the exodus (74:12–15; 77:16–19). When Jerusalem fell, many Jews were slain and many were taken captive to Babylon. Asaph may have been in Jeremiah’s “circle” and left behind to minister to the suffering remnant (Jer. 30—40). But Asaph himself was suffering as he lay in bed at night (vv. 2, 6) and wrestled with the meaning of the terrible events he had witnessed. In this psalm, he described how he moved from disappointment and despair to confidence that the Lord would care for His people.

The Darkness of Despair

Unable to sleep, Asaph began by praying (vv. 1–2), then moved into remembering (vv. 3–6), and finally found himself questioning (vv. 7–9). In times of crisis and pain, prayer is the believer’s natural response, and Asaph reached out his hands in the darkness and cried out to the Lord. He was God’s servant and had led the people in worship in the temple, yet he found no comfort for his own heart. When he remembered the Lord and pondered the matter (v. 3; see 6, 11–12), he only groaned, for it seemed that the Lord had failed His people. But had He? Wasn’t the Lord being faithful to His covenant and chastening Israel for their sins? Their very chastening was proof of His love (Prov. 3:11–12). Asaph remembered the former years when Israel enjoyed God’s blessing, and he also recalled the songs he had sung at the temple, even when on duty at night (134; see 42:8; 92:2; Job 35:10). He had lifted his hands in the sanctuary and received the Lord’s blessing, but now he lifted his hands and received nothing.

It isn’t a sin to question God, for both David and Jesus asked the Lord the same question (22:1; Matt. 27:46), but it is a sin to demand an immediate answer or to suggest that God needs our counsel (Rom. 11:33–36). Asaph asked six questions, all of which dealt with the very character and attributes of God. Has He rejected us? No! He is faithful to His Word. (Lam. 3:31–33) Will He ever again show favor to

Israel? Yes! (Ps. 30:5; Isa. 60:10) Has His unfailing love vanished forever? No! (Jer. 31:3) Have His promises failed? No! (1 Kings 8:56) Has He forgotten to be gracious?

No! (Isa. 49:14–18) Is He so angry, He has shut up His compassions? No! (Lam. 3:22–24)

It has well been said that we should never doubt in the darkness what God had told us in the light, but Asaph was about to do so. No matter what His hand is doing in our lives, His heart has not changed. He still loves us and always will.

The Dawn of Decision

During the crisis experiences of life, there comes a time when we must get ourselves by the nape of the neck and shake ourselves out of pity into reality, and that’s what Asaph did. The repeated “I will” indicates that he had come to the place of decision and determination. “It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed” (v. 10 nasb). That would be grief indeed if the character of God had altered! “God has deserted His people, and this is a burden I must bear!” He was wrong, of course, because the Lord doesn’t change (102:26; Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29). But he was right in that, by an act of will, he abandoned his former posture of doubt and determined to see the matter through, come what may. He decided to meditate on what God had done for Israel in the past and to learn from His deeds what He was intending for His people.

The Day of Deliverance

The pronouns suddenly change from “I” and “my” to “thee” and “thou,” referring to the Lord. When we look at our circumstances, we focus on ourselves and see no hope, but when we look by faith to the Lord, our circumstances may not change but we do. Asaph didn’t completely solve his problems, but he did move out of the shadows of doubt into the sunshine of communion with the Lord and confidence in Him.

First, he looked up by faith and rejoiced in the greatness of God (vv. 13–15). He realized that God’s ways are always holy, that He is a great God, and that His purposes are always right. (See Exodus 15:11, 13–14, 16.) Then Asaph looked back to Israel’s exodus from Egypt (Ex. 12—15) for proof of the grace and power of the Lord. Would God have bared His mighty arm to redeem Israel only for their destruction? No! These are the descendants of Jacob, whose twelve sons founded the twelve tribes of Israel. These are the brethren of Joseph, whom God sent to Egypt to preserve the nation. Why preserve them if He planned to destroy them? The Exodus account says nothing about a storm, although it does mention a strong wind (Ex. 14:21). Some think that verses 17–18 refer to creation rather than to the Exodus, and creation does magnify God’s power and glory (but see Gen. 2:5–6).

As believers, we look back to Calvary, where the Lamb of God gave His life for us. If God the Father did not spare His own Son for us, will He not give us everything else that we need (Rom. 8:32)? There is a wonderful future for the people of God!

Finally, Asaph realized afresh that the Lord was the Shepherd of Israel (v. 20; see 74:1; 78:52, 70–72; 79:13; 80:1). Just as He called Moses and Aaron (Num. 33:1) and David (78:70–72) to lead His flock, so He would appoint other shepherds in the years to come. One day, the Good Shepherd would come and give His life for the sheep (John 10). Asaph had some struggles during this difficult period in his life, but in the end, he knew he could trust the Lord to work out everything for good, and like an obedient sheep, he submitted to the Shepherd. That is what we must do.