I want us to take a moment and think about a time when you needed help from the Lord, and He answered. His answering of your request may not have come immediately, but His tender mercies did arrive at a necessary time. The Lord’s timetable is different from ours. We tend to think of time as minutes, days, weeks, months, quarters, years, and so on.
Something has happened in your life, and you realize that you need the Lord’s help. Whatever it is, it is too big for you to manage alone. Maybe you have prayed about the situation, and maybe you have asked others to pray about your situation. But still, the issue lingers, and it begins to cause some distress.
In our Scripture today, Asaph has written a psalm regarding comfort. To provide comfort to someone is to help make that person feel better after a period of sadness or worry.
In these first nine verses, Asaph is crying out due to some type of unseemly, never-ending distress. A distress that was so overwhelming that it seemed to run deep within him. It was a distress that seemed to him something from which he could not escape.
He states that he cried out to God, but it was as if God did not hear him. The day that his issue started, he sought the Lord, but his anxiety ran on into the night, and he still felt alone. He thought about the Lord, but he was still troubled and felt overwhelmed by his worry. He could not even sleep or speak of his issue.
Does this sound familiar to any of you? Something occurred, and it caused you so much distress that you could not even fall asleep. Maybe you paced around in your home, maybe even talking to yourself, with your mind racing around so much that you could not even think straight. Did it not say in the book of Matthew that we should take no thought about our life, in a sense telling us not to worry? (Matthew 6: 25-34) Unfortunately, for some reason, we still do.
As we continue, by verse five, Asaph is remembering the days from the past, during the time of his ancestors when God delivered His people from their enemies and performed miracles on their behalf. During our time of distress, do we take the time to do this, remembering the times and the good things that God has already done for us?
Psalm 77:6-9 expresses the anguish and doubt of the psalmist, who wonders if God has abandoned him and his people. He recalls the songs of praise he used to sing in the night, but now he is filled with questions and complaints. Will the Lord reject me of us forever? Will He ever show His favor again? Is His love gone forever? Has His promises failed forever? Is the grace of God gone? Has He, in anger, withheld his compassion?
These questions reflect the deep distress and despair of the psalmist, who feels that God has changed his character and broken his covenant. He is struggling to reconcile his current experience of suffering and silence with his previous knowledge of God’s goodness and faithfulness. However, the psalmist does not end with these questions. He goes on to say, “Selah,” which means to pause and reflect.
Then, in verses ten to twelve, he remembers the deeds of the Lord, His wonders of old, and His mighty works in history. He meditates on the power and holiness of God, who made a way through the sea and led His people like a flock. He realizes that God’s ways are mysterious and incomprehensible but also marvelous and righteous. He concludes with a note of hope and trust in God, who is still the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Therefore, verses six - to nine can be explained as a part of the psalmist’s journey from lament to praise, from doubt to faith, and from sorrow to joy. He does not deny or suppress his feelings, but he brings them to God in prayer. He does not ignore or forget God’s works, but he recalls them in gratitude. He does not give up or despair, but he waits for God’s salvation. He shows us how to cope with our troubles by seeking God, remembering His works, and trusting His character.
If you look back through verses one – six, what do you see? You will notice all of the “I’s” and “My’s;” I cried, my trouble, I remembered, I complained, I am troubled, I have considered, I call. In verses seven – nine, the doubts creep in. But by verses ten-twelve, his thoughts begin to change. He says that he will remember and he will meditate.
Now, we can see that starting with verse thirteen through the end of this psalm, Asaph is now expressing thoughts of praise. The focus moves from thoughts of himself to that of giving praise to the Lord. Notice his ‘eyes’ have shifted from looking down at himself to that of looking up to God. When we turn our eyes toward the Lord, we begin to see things in a different light. We just might begin to see things from God’s perspective.
Verse thirteen implies that God’s methodologies are heavenly and just. We can believe them even when we cannot comprehend them. The sanctuary is a place where we can come together to worship God and have confidence that every one of his ways is true, fair, and right. In the Old Testament, God was within the Holy of Holies, in the interior of the Temple. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit was sent down to dwell within the hearts of the believer. As such, we are also to be told not to forsake assembling ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). Where two or three are gathered in His name. He will be there as well, right in the middle of the meeting (Matthew 18:20). The last part of verse thirteen additionally commends the greatness and sacredness of God.
Next, we see the psalmist praising God for His deeds (wonders) and His power (strength) within the people. With His arm, He has redeemed the people. The parting of the Red Sea is mentioned here (Psalm 77:16-19) as well as in other parts of Scripture (Exodus 14:21-22; Joshua 24:6; Nehemiah 9:9’ Psalm 74:13, 106:9; 136:13-15). This is to remind the children of God of the love, strength, and preservation that God has given to His own. He has led them and continues to lead them. He can deliver us through the floods of evil that are constantly thrashing at us from all sides. We just need to put our faith and trust in Him and His timing.
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus, by Helen H. Lemmel (1922)
O soul, are you weary and Troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Refrain: Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Thro’ death into life everlasting,
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin hath no more dominion,
For more than conqu’rors we are!
His word shall not fail you, He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Braden Barwich
