SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/21/2012 9:57:09 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Darkness of Dispair
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 77 Pt-1
Message of the verses: We will begin to look at Psalm 77 in today’s SD, and will begin by looking at several introductions from different commentators.
“TITLE. To the Chief Musician, to Jeduthun. It was meet that another leader of the psalmody should take his turn. No harp should be silent in the courts of the Lord’s house. A Psalm of Asaph. Asaph was a man of exercised mind, and often touched the minor key; he was thoughtful, contemplative, believing, but withal there was a dash of sadness about him, and this imparted a tonic flavour to his songs. To follow him with understanding, it is needful to have done business on the great waters, and weathered many an Atlantic gale.
“DIVISIONS. If we follow the poetical arrangement, and divide at the Selahs, we shall find the troubled man of God pleading in #Ps 77:1-3, and then we shall hear him lamenting and arguing within himself, #Ps 77:4-9. From #Ps 77:10-15 his meditations run toward God, and in the close he seems as in a vision to behold the wonders of the Red Sea and the wilderness. At this point, as if lost in an ecstasy, he hurriedly closes the Psalm with an abruptness, the effect of which is quite startling. The Spirit of God knows when to cease speaking, which is more than those do who, for the sake of making a methodical conclusion, prolong their words even to weariness. Perhaps this Psalm was meant to be a prelude to the next, and, if so, its sudden close is accounted for. The hymn now before us is for experienced saints only, but to them it will be of rare value as a transcript of their own inner conflicts.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)
“This psalm illustrates one cure for depression. The psalmist does not explain the cause of his despair, but he definitely locked into gloom. When he thought about God, it only caused him to complain bitterly. But beginning in v. 10, the psalmist’s mood starts to change because he commits himself to focusing on God’s goodness and past acts of deliverance. His lament then changes into a hymn of praise.” (The John MacArthur Study Bible)
“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 (74:12-15; 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.” (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)
The Darkness of Despair (vv. 1-9): “1 ¶ «For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.» My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; My voice rises to God, and He will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted. 3 When I remember God, then I am disturbed; When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah. 4 You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I have considered the days of old, The years of long ago. 6 I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit ponders: 7 Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? 8 Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious, Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.”
“1 ¶ For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of Asaph. I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me! 2 When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. 3 I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. Interlude 4 You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray! 5 I think of the good old days, long since ended, 6 when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. 7 Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? 8 Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude” (NLT)
We see Asaph unable to sleep in the first two verses of this psalm and then he will move into remembering the good old days in verses 3-6, and will finally find himself questing God in verses 7-9. We see from the NLT that Asaph reports that he is too distressed to even pray, where the NASB does not say pray but speak. I think that there are times in a person’s life when he could be in a position where he is unable to pray because of dread and then I have to remember what Paul wrote to the Romans in Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;.”
Asaph was a man of God who sang songs in the temple and led the worship in the temple, and now he has seen something that has caused him to even lose confidence in God for a short while. Perhaps Asaph was thinking that God had let His people down, but the truth of the matter is that God was fulfilling His covenant that He had made with Israel, in that if Israel sinned that God would not bless them, but allow them to be captured by other nations. This may have been the background for this psalm. Does this mean that God does not love His people? 11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, 12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)
I will quote from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary at this time because his commentary is so good and understandable. “It’s isn’t a sin to question God, for both David and Jesus asked the Lord the same question (Psalm 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! (1Kings 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 has 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.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: In a small way I can understand the feelings that Asaph is having, and I suppose all those who name the name of Christ are put through difficult situations, sometimes because we need discipline from the Lord and other times we are in “Job” moment where God is doing something in our lives to continue to make us more like Jesus Christ.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord in the good times and in the not so good times, and continue to seek to learn contentment as I walk with the Lord.
4/21/2012 11:12:49 AM
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