PSALM 77
Overwhelmed in spirit verse 1- 3
I cried to God with my voice – even to God with my voice
and HE gave ear to me
In the day of my trouble – I sought the LORD
my sore ran in the night – and ceased not
my soul refused to be comforted
I remembered God – and was troubled
I complained – and my spirit was overwhelmed
SELAH
Song in the night verse 4- 6
YOU hold mine eyes waking – I am so troubled that I cannot speak
I have considered the day of old – the years of ancient times
I call to remembrance my song in the night
I commune with mine own heart
and my spirit made diligent search
Question of mercy verse 7- 9
Will the LORD cast off forever?
and will HE be favorable no more?
Is HIS mercy clean gone forever?
does HIS promise fail for evermore?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
has HE in anger shut up HIS tender mercies? SELAH
Remembering the blessings verse 10- 12
And I said This is my infirmity
BUT I will remember the years of the
right hand of the most High
I will remember the works of the LORD
surely I will remember YOUR wonders of old
I will mediate also of all YOUR work – and talk of YOUR doings
People who are redeemed verse 13- 15
YOUR way – O God – is in the sanctuary
Who is so great a God as our God?
YOU are the God that does wonders
YOU have declared YOUR strength among the people
YOU have with YOUR arm REDEEMED YOUR people
the sons of Jacob and Joseph SELAH
Walking through the Red Sea verse 16- 20
The waters saw YOU – O God – the waters saw YOU
they were afraid – the depths also were troubled
The clouds poured out water – the skies sent out a sound
YOUR arrows also went aboard
The voice of YOUR thunder was in the heaven
the lightnings lightened the world
the earth trembled and shook
YOUR way is in the sea – and YOUR path in the great waters
and YOUR footsteps are not known
YOU led YOUR people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. (3027 “sore” [yad] means an open hand, strength, power, or service.)
DEVOTION: Here is another Psalm that deals with someone who is overwhelmed with life. He has trouble on every side. He has gone to the LORD but thinks he has a deaf ear. He refused to be comforted. He wanted the LORD to act on his behave.
He was honest with the LORD. He complained. He asked good questions. The LORD wants HIS people to come to HIM with honest statements. Will we ever understand completely the way the LORD handles our troubles? NO! HIS ways are far above our ways.
Asaph was troubled by what was happening in his world. He, however, remembered the works of the LORD in the past. He meditated on those works. He knew that the LORD had worked in his life in the past. He also realized that the LORD was going to work in his life in the future. It was the present that he was having trouble with. He didn’t see the LORD working fast enough.
He questions whether the mercy of the LORD ever ended for those who are followers of HIM. He questions whether the LORD could forget HIS people. He knew that the LORD was still on the throne. He knew that the LORD was in control of all of creation.
When we think that the LORD has forgotten us, do we remember all the blessings HE has given us in the past? Have we ever had troubles that we just had to have an answer from the LORD? He was praying all night for the LORD to help. We need to have these times in our lives when we pray all night for the LORD’S help. HE wants us to depend on HIM. Are we willing to depend on the LORD?
As a final statement of his trust in the LORD he recalled the LORD using Moses and Aaron to lead the people through the Rea Sea. He stated that the power needed to separate the water was great. He remembered that the LORD had great power.
CHALLENGE: When we are discouraged we need to meditate on the works of the LORD in the past in our life. We need to meditate on the Word of God regarding the future and how God will act. Then we can face the present with courage.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. (1992 “troubled” [hem] means to roar, moan, to make a noise, to be tumultuous, to vocally indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure, almost always inarticulate)
DEVOTION: Honesty is what the LORD expects of us at all times. HE wants us to
tell HIM how we are feeling at any given moment in our walk with HIM. HE wants us to make sure that we go to HIM with our feelings.
They might be wrong feelings but that is what happens sometimes in our lives. We sometimes feel like the LORD is letting us down. We sometimes feel that things are not going the way we think they should go as we are trying to be obedient to HIM and yet there seems to be more trouble than solutions to what is happening around us.
Here we have Asaph writing this hymn to be sung in the Temple of God. He is trying to communicate what the rest of the children of Israel are feeling at the time. He was trying to represent of the feelings of those who were coming to him and his own personal feelings.
God wants us to be honest with HIM at all times. We are to go to HIM with our prayer requests and our concerns for what is presently happening in our life and let HIM give us an answer. Part of asking is waiting and most of us are not good at waiting on the LORD to send answers to our prayers. We want it to happen yesterday.
One thing we have to remember and this Psalm reminds us is that there will be days when we wonder what God is doing in our life and in the lives of those we love. We want everything to be perfect and it seems that it never is. We want things to be easy and it seems like it never is but we need to continue to go to HIM in prayer and wait for HIS answers.
HE does answer. He answers through people He answers through circumstances. HE answers us in our inner person that can give us peace while we are going through a trial.
CHALLENGE: We need to be willing to go to HIM honestly and then wait for HIS answer to what is presently going on in our life.
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: 6 “I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). (Meditate – 7878 שִׂיחַ [siyach /see·akh/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 2255; GK 8488; 20 occurrences; AV translates as “talk” five times, “meditate” five times, “speak” four times, “complain” twice, “pray” once, “commune” once, “muse” once, and “declare” once. 1 to put forth, mediate, muse, commune, speak, complain, ponder, sing. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to complain. 1A2 to muse, meditate upon, study, ponder. 1A3 to talk, sing, speak. 1B (Polel) to meditate, consider, put forth thoughts. James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: If you lay awake at night instead of counting sheep why not what the psalmist do did as he lay awake? He meditated and considered the ways of the Lord! I have to admit I seldom have trouble going to sleep at night but I know that many spend long hours trying to sleep and it not coming for them. For many that time is spent working on issues that have happened through the day or potential areas of concern that await them. While the psalmist seems to say that he also thought on those topics (v.2) he comes back to the songs, works and deeds of the Lord. (v.6, 12) This appears to calm him and he continues with history of his nation as a conclusion. Perhaps that is what made him drift off to sleep! As you meditate upon the things of the Lord you will find that you are comforted and assured of the shepherd guiding you!
CHALLENGE: Sleeplessness is a problem for many people and the psalmist knew what to do when it would not come! May you and I meditate upon the Lord during those times! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 I will meditate also of all YOUR work and talk of YOUR doings. (7878 “talk” [siyach] means to speak enthusiastically, to praise, lament, instruct, to think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes, or mediate upon)
DEVOTION: Sometimes we are not great thinkers. We don’t spend enough time thinking about what is going on in our world and its relationship to what the LORD is doing in our life.
We need to connect what is happening in our world with what we are studying in the Word of God and what the Holy Spirit is trying to teach us through our present situation. The Godhead is concerned with our personal growth as a believer. They want us to make sure that we take the time to really think about what has happened to us today. They want us to evaluate our relationship to each activity in our life.
To often we are not good thinkers. We don’t take the time to sit down and think about what has happened in each hour of each day and how it affects our relationship with HIM.
Too often we don’t look around at what is happening and see HIS hand in what is going on. It is sad that we don’t take the time to just relax and let HIM speak to us through the activities of our day.
Once we understand what HE is doing in our life we need to share that with others. HE keeps us occupied with daily activities that sometimes don’t make sense but as we look back we see HIM doing a work in our heart and in the hearts of others.
There might not be lightning and thunder but HE does speak in a still small voice at times to get our attention to what HE is expecting of us.
CHALLENGE: We need to be individuals who are thinkers and sharers. Too often we keep too much to ourselves. Share a truth the LORD has taught you today with another believer.
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: 13 “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” (“In the sanctuary,” 6944 קֹדֶשׁ [qodesh] 468 occurrences; AV translates as “holy” 262 times, “sanctuary” 68 times, “(holy”, “hallowed”, “…) things” 52 times, “most” 44 times, “holiness” 30 times, “dedicated” five times, “hallowed” three times, “consecrated” once, and translated miscellaneously three times. 1 apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness. 1a apartness, sacredness, holiness. 1a1 of God. 1a2 of places. 1a3 of things. 1b set-apartness, separateness [Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software]).
DEVOTION: This psalm of lament points out that even in the time of calamity God is in control. This verse is declaring God’s holiness. It is interesting that the King James translators chose to translate the verse that emphasized where God dwelled, but the holiness that is part of His very being and way is also the primary characteristic of the temple, while was designed to be a holy building.
God’s holiness translates to wherever He is. That is why Paul tells us that our bodies are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). This is because the Holy Spirit dwells inside of our bodies. This is a continuation of His glory in the earth after it left the temple (Ezekiel 10:18) prior to the destruction of the Jerusalem by Babylon.
Because this is so, we are to live lives which are holy or separate unto God. The idea of being “saints” is the same Greek word for “sanctified” and “holy.” Everything about our lives is sacred. While it was sad for the children of Israel to see their great temple destroyed, that did not mean that God had abandoned them. In the same way, we need to realize on a daily basis that God’s holy way will be demonstrated in our lives when we choose to follow Him and His commands.
CHALLENGE: Do you see God as holy, or do you want Him to conform His will to yours? Ask God to show you a glimpse of His holiness today. Then make it a point of telling one other person about His holiness. This will be the motivation for you to live a holy life. (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
My spirit made diligent search verse 6
I will meditate verse 12
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
I complained verse 3
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
I cried to God verse 1
God gave ear to Psalmist verse 1
I sought the Lord verse 2
I refused to be comforted verse 2
I complained verse 3
Commune with mine own heart verse 6
Will the LORD cast off forever? verse 7
Will HE be favorable no more? verse 7
Is HIS mercy clean gone for ever? verse 8
Does HIS promise fail for evermore? verse 8
Has God forgotten to be gracious verse 9
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sanctuary verse 13
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 1, 3, 9, 13,
14, 16
HE gave ear to me verse 1
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 2, 7
Mercy verse 8
Promise verse 8
Forgotten verse 9
Gracious verse 9
Anger verse 9
Tender mercies verse 9
Right hand of Most High verse 10
Works of the LORD verse 11, 14, 16- 20
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 11
Does wonders verse 14
Declared strength among the people verse 14
Redeemed YOUR people verse 15
Waters saw God and were afraid verse 16
Depths were troubled verse 16
Clouds poured out water verse 17
Skies sent out a sound verse 17
YOUR arrows went abroad verse 17
Voice of YOUR thunder verse 18
Lightnings lightened the world verse 18
HIS footsteps are not known verse 19
HE led HIS people like a flock verse 20
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Days of old verse 5
Years of ancient times verse 5
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Refused to be comforted verse 2
Complained verse 3
Overwhelmed verse 3
Not praying verse 4
Wrong thoughts verse 7- 9
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Cried to God verse 1
Trouble verse 2, 4
Seek the LORD verse 2
Remember God verse 3
Call to remembrance verse 6
Song in the night verse 6
Diligent search verse 6
Will the LORD cast off for ever? verse 7
Mercy verse 8
Promise verse 8
Gracious verse 9
Tender mercies verse 9
Meditate verse 12
Witness verse 12
Who is so great a God as our God? verse 13
Redeemed verse 15
Lead verse 20
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Psalm of Asaph verse 1- 20
Soul refused to be comforted
Troubled and couldn’t speak
Questions he is asking concerning God
Remember works of God
Remember wonders of old
Meditate
Sanctuary verse 13
People verse 14, 20
Sons of Jacob and Joseph verse 15
Moses and Aaron verse 20
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
All who have known the enveloping pressure of a dark mood can be grateful for the candour of this fellow-sufferer, but also for his courage. The memories which at first brought only tormenting comparisons are resolutely re-examined, no longer coloured with the present despair but allowed to shine with their own light and speak with their own logic. By the end of the psalm the pervasive ‘I’ has disappeared, and the objective facts of the faith have captured all his attention and all of ours.
…. We are now given a closer insight into the distress, first as to its symptoms of sleeplessness and confusion (4), but chiefly as to its root condition, a state of doubt.
….. 7–9. This is a clear example of the value of confessing one’s doubts to God. As the broad misgivings of verse 7 are spelt out more precisely in verses 8f. their inner contradictions come to light, and with them the possibility of an answer. If steadfast love is pledged in his covenant (see on 17:7), it can hardly disappear, or his promises come to nothing. The words for ever and for all time underline the point. And to ask ‘Has God forgotten?’ is to invite only one reply. The remaining question (9b) is admittedly more uncomfortable, since only sin arouses God’s anger, and only impenitence perpetuates it. But that, if it arises, is a challenge rather than a problem. (Kidner, D. (1975). Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 16, p. 306). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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The Psalmist Asaph cried earnestly in the night from his troubled spirit, searching his soul for an answer to his distress. He found comfort in meditating on God’s mighty deliverance at the Exodus. This meditation bolstered the psalmist’s courage and led him to try to get God to show His mighty power again.
77:10–15. Asaph decided to recall (remember … meditate … consider, vv. 11–12) God’s miracles (v. 11) performed in the past by His right hand (v. 10, i.e., in power; cf. “arm,” v. 15). Asaph based his appeal on those works and deeds. His immediate reflection led him to praise the incomparably holy and great … God as Redeemer (vv. 13–15). God is incomparable because he performs miraculous, mighty deeds, such as the redemption (deliverance) of His people from Egypt by His arm (i.e., strength). The question, What god is so great as our God? does not imply that other gods live. It indicates that God far exceeds every false god people worship (cf. similar questions in 35:10; 71:19; 89:6; 113:5; Ex. 15:11; Micah 7:18). (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 850). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Thou holdest mine eyes waking, by those sharp and continual griefs, and those perplexing and tormenting thoughts and cares, which from time to time thou stirrest up in me. I am so troubled that I cannot speak; the greatness of my sorrows stupifies my mind, and makes me both lifeless and unable to speak; nor can any words sufficiently express the extremity of my misery.
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: gI commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
I call to remembrance my song in the night, the many and great mercies and favours of God vouchsafed by him to me, and to his people, which have obliged me to adore him, and sing his praises not only in the day, the time appointed for that work, but also by night, as oft as they come into my mind. My spirit made diligent search, what should be the cause of this strange and vast alteration, and how these sore calamities could come from the hand of so gracious and merciful a God as ours is, and what might be expected as to their continuance or removal. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, p. 122). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
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2. “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.” All day long his distress drove him to his God, so that when night came he continued still in the same search. God had hidden his face from his servant, therefore the first care of the troubled saint was to seek his Lord again. This was going to the root of the matter and removing the main impediment first. Diseases and tribulations are easily enough endured when God is found of us, but without him they crush us to the earth. “My sore ran in the night, and ceased not.” As by day so by night his trouble was on him and his prayer continued. Some of us know what it is, both physically and spiritually, to be compelled to use these words: no respite has been afforded us by the silence of the night, our bed has been a rack to us, our body has been in torment, and our spirit in anguish. It appears that this sentence is wrongly translated, and should be, “my hand was stretched out all night;” this shews that his prayer ceased not, but with uplifted hand he continued to seek succour of his God. “My soul refused to be comforted.” He refused some comforts as too weak for his case, others as untrue, others as unhallowed; but chiefly because of distraction, he declined even those grounds of consolation which ought to have been effectual with him. As a sick man turns away even from the most nourishing food, so did he. It is impossible to comfort those who refuse to be comforted. You may bring them to the waters of the promise, but who shall make them drink if they will not do so? Many a daughter of despondency has pushed aside the cup of gladness, and many a son of sorrow has hugged his chains. There are times when we are suspicious of good news, and are not to be persuaded into peace, though the happy truth should be as plain before us as the King’s highway. (Spurgeon, C. H. (2009). The treasury of David: Psalms 56-87 (Vol. 3, pp. 312–313). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinborough, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.” “The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage..”
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HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR BOOTED FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS (Friday Church News Notes, March 13, 2015,www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from “Holocaust Survivor,”WorldNetDaily, Jan. 30, 2015: “Anita Dittman has been speaking about the Holocaust for more than three decades, telling everyone who will listen of her survival and how Jesus Christ helped her escape the trap that was ‘Hitler’s hell.’ She has reached thousands through her book, Trapped in Hitler’s Hell, co-authored with fellow Minnesotan Jan Markell. … At 87, she still speaks to audiences large and small, sometimes several times a month, recounting the story of a happy, five-year-old Jewish girl when Hitler came to power in 1933 and how life changed over the next 12-and-a-half years living under Nazi rule. She would emerge on the other side of the concentration camps as a young woman of devout Christian faith, severely scarred but full of powerful stories. … ‘When I started speaking in 1978-79, people would ask me, “Do you think it could happen here in this country?” And I said, “Oh no, people are used to so much freedom in this country, it could never happen here,”‘ Ditmann told WND. ‘When they ask me that question now, I say, “It is already happening.”‘ Americans are not ‘disappearing’ as in Nazi Germany, but Dittman says something has changed. ‘The country that I came to in 1946 was very different,’ she said. ‘I can’t speak in public schools anymore. They won’t let me.’ When she informs educators that her message will contain strong Christian themes, she usually gets a few seconds of awkward silence. Then a polite rebuff. … Some schools still allow her to speak but require parents to sign a form saying it’s OK for their child to sit through a presentation that contains religious themes. But more often, the parents don’t even have a say in the matter, and she is barred upfront from speaking. ‘It’s getting worse, I tell you,’ she said. ‘It’s so dictating to the parents now. This is how it started in Russia and Germany.’ … And it’s not just public schools where free speech is being curtailed. Dittman said she has friends on the East Coast who have a religious radio program, and they are being monitored by the federal government. They watch what they say now. ‘She said please don’t use the name of the man that rules our country because they are monitoring our calls,’ Dittman said. ‘And they even use fake names because they already got a warning sent to them.'” (Don’t agree with this website all the time but this is a good warning for us.)
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Family and Leisure from ON BEING A PASTOR by Derek J. Prime & Alistair Begg
New Testament qualifications for church leaders link spiritual usefulness in the home with spiritual effectiveness in the body of Christ. (p. 246)
Pastor’s families are the objects of special attack by the enemy of souls; if he can ruin our home life, he mars our total usefulness. (p. 247
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But if we resent intrusions, then our family will. If we greet someone’s arrival or the ringing of the telephone with a groan, the family will soon emulate us. But if we show genuine pleasure at seeing and hearing from people, and back that up by what we say in private, we will have done much to remove a sense of irritation. (p. 249)
We need to be sensitive and honest enough never to encourage a member of the family’s involvement in an activity for our sake or because we feel noninvolvement reflects badly upon us. God often uses our families to keep us humble and aware of our daily need of His grace, and that is no bad thing. (p. 250)
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It was for that reason that we came to the conclusion – perhaps not always appreciated by some – that we should offer hospitality principally to those who could not normally return it: students, those away from home, and those living on their own. (p. 255)
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The best principle is to expect nothing from God’s people, so that we are never disappointed – for disappointment breeds grudges – and then we will be surprised by unexpected thoughtfulness and generosity. While God’s people have a duty laid on them by Scripture to support their undershepherds, we are not the people to remine them. We may and must trust God to raise up others to do that, if it is appropriate. (p. 257)
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