Remember the Lord in the Day of Trouble (Psalm 77)
I believe that we live in an age that does not deal with depression and anxieties well. We’re not shown how to deal with it or how to cope. We’re not shown where to turn. And part of the problem is that pastors haven’t spent a lot of time discussing it.
This is one reason that I enjoy Psalms so much. The Psalms give us an inward look at the heart of the person going through joy, sorrow, suffering, and pain. The Psalms give us a look at the heart that exults in the Lord. And the Psalms give us a look at the heart that is deep in the throws of sorrow. Another way of putting it is that the Psalms give us a look at how properly to respond inwardly to the things happening in our lives.
When the Day of Trouble comes, how do we respond? What do we do when we face such trouble that all our thoughts of God lead us to turmoil? What do we do when all our prayers leave us with faintness and not strength?
At that time, we are called to remember. We remember who the Lord is, what He has done for us, and what He has done in history. We remember His character, the salvation, He has given us, and how this has been exhibited in history.
Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of what is true, because sometimes we just can’t remember. But we preach these truths to ourselves and remember God’s character, the salvation He provided, and His powerful work in history to save us.
Cry to the Lord in the Day of Trouble (Psalm 74:1-4)
The Psalmist is in a day of struggle and cries out to the Lord. Interestingly, he is confident that the Lord will hear his cry. But though is hands have been outstretched to the Lord for a long time, it has been to no avail.
The Psalmist is attempting to find some peace. He has gone to the Lord repeatedly and it has been to no avail. His soul refuses to be comforted (Psalm 77:2). If you’ve been there, then you know, that you can sometimes cry out day and night and receive no respite.
As we all do in times like this, his mind meditates upon the Lord. He remembers the Lord, but it doesn’t bring him the comfort he is looking for. His heart faints. (Psalm 77:3) Instead of finding relief, he begins to doubt and ask questions.
“God is good, why did this happen?”
“God loves me, how could this be?”
“Does God hate me? Why am I suffering like this?
His weary soul find no rest. And he cannot find the words to express his pain (Psalm 77:4).
There is nothing but sorrow in the first verses of our text today. And many of us understand this feeling all too well.
But the thing to note here is that the psalmist does go to the Lord when his trouble comes upon him.
We often try to do something else. We try to distract ourselves with activity. We run around and get busy doing things, oftentimes good things, to get our minds off of the struggle we are having. And it just so happens that we avoid doing the very thing that we should be doing. And that is taking our burdens to the Lord.
Illustration: I have a tendency to do this. I will get an overload of ADHD and do everything but what I should be doing?
This can be difficult. And that is seen in our text today. When bad things happen, turning to the Lord can be a very painful experience. And we really do ask ourselves questions concerning God’s love for us and God’s goodness.
As Spurgeon said,
“Great griefs are dumb. Deep streams brawl not among the pebbles like the shallow brooklets which live on passing showers. Words fail the man whose heart fails him. He had cried to God but he could not speak to man, what a mercy it is that if we can do the first, we need not despair though the second should be quite out of our power. Sleepless and speechless Asaph was reduced to great extremities, and yet he rallied, and even so shall we.”
It is a struggle to eventually come out of the sorrow. But eventually we will. And we see that in our text today.
Remember the Character of God in the Day of Trouble (Psalm 77:5-9)
Now we begin to see the shift in his thinking. It happens when he searches to remember the things that he has known for a very long time. He thought and meditated upon what he knew to be true (Psalm 77:5-6).
He was thinking about the nature and character of God.
“Will the Lord spurn me forever? Will God never again be favorable to me? (Psalm 77:7 ESV)
It is a question concerning the nature of God’s love toward him.
“Has His steadfast love forever ceased? Are His promises at an end for all time?” (Psalm 77:8 ESV)
It is a question of whether God will remain faithful to His people and keep His promises. Will these things happen? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He gotten so angry that His compassion is gone? (Psalm 77:9)
He is thinking through what He knows about God and applying that to his situation.
At some point, you have to return to what you know.
We can be overcome by sorrows of this life. And at times that happens for quite a while, as we discussed a few weeks ago.
At some point we have to stop and remember what we know about the Lord.
And what is it that we know?
We know that God is ominiscient, omnipotent, and that He loves us.—Gospel—how do we know that God loves us, with an everlasting covenant love? He died for us. I can look back in history and see that.
I know that God is in complete control. I know that He is all knowing. I know that God loves me. And I know that He cares for me.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Rom 8:28-30 ESV)
If these things be true, and they are. And I am having trouble remembering them, which I will in those times. Then I am going to need to spend a lot of time reminding myself of these things.
I will put what Asaph is doing here in today’s terms.
Something has happened and it has left me completely devastated. I pray, because I know that I should, and it does little more than discourage me. I am doubting God. As I pray, I wonder if God loves me, if He cares for me, if thing will ever change in my situation. Will I ever feel the love and grace of God again?
And as I’m in that pit, I begin to remind myself of the truth. God does love me. He showed me that when Christ died for me at Calvary. God has told me of His love for me in His Word. God is in complete control and knows all things. And God has promised that He will work all things together for my ultimate good.
In that pit, I remind myself of the truth of God’s love and care for me. In that pit, I forget all of these things. Circumstances drive these facts far out of my head. I just don’t remember them. And when those times come, I have to remind myself of these truths.
This is one of the reasons that learning and knowing God’s Word is so very important. How are you ever going to remember what you didn’t know to begin with? How are you going to call to mind those things you don’t know?
Difficult circumstances can be so difficult that it is hard to figure things out as you go. Learn these things before those times come.
Remember the Mighty Works of God in the Day of Trouble (Psalm 77:10-15)
We don’t just see the nature and character of God listed in Scripture, but we also see His acts in history. And this is what we see the psalmist doing here. He is looking back at the years of faithfulness found in history.
In fact, he thinks back to one particular moment and it is the rescue of the people of Israel out of Egypt. He calls them the wonders of old (Psalm 77:11). And we should do the same.
No one has acted as God has acted in history (Psalm 77:13-14). No one has saved His people with power and might as God has done (Psalm 77:15). All of nature bowed to the will of the Lord as He brought His people out of Egypt (Psalm 77:16-18). He led them like a flock out of danger (Psalm 77:20). By the hand of Moses and Aaron makes it clear that he is thinking about Israel’s enslavement.
He has seen God’s grace and mercy taught in Scripture. And in that moment in time, he can see it exhibited in the mighty act of God bringing them out of Egypt.
As we face struggles in this life, it sometimes helps to remember the faithfulness of the Lord to His people.
I do this, and you probably do as well, with people around me. When I start to doubt their love and care for me I can rehearse the interactions that I’ve had with them in the past and see that things are better than I had first thought. I remember their character, what I know of it. Then I rehearse their activities in my mind. And this whole exercise helps me to remember who they are.
We have already seen God’s nature and character. He is all powerful, all knowing, and He loves and cares for us. How have we seen this in history. Well, we can look at the Old Testament interactions. God intervened often in the life of His people, so I will only have time to talk about a few of them. But you could mine the Old Testament for more examples.
Joseph was cast into a hole by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of a crime, sent to prison, and still God was with him. Eventually he became second in command of all Egypt. And this very fact saved the people of Israel.
The people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years before the Lord rescued them. But He was with them and He did rescue them. And this is specifically the event that this psalm focused on. God rescued His people out of Egypt with power and might. The mighty plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud and fire. It’s an extraordinary store. And it reveals the power and might of God, and His care for His people.
But there is one event that Christians should look to and see the love of God toward them and it is the cross. As believers this side of the cross and resurrection, we can see the greatest act of love and care for us.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (1Jo 4:9 ESV)
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die– but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:7-8 ESV)
God has revealed His love for us in the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Do you want a picture in history that reveals God’s love and care for you? Look at the cross.
Do you want to be assured of God’s care for you? There His son hangs bearing the full weight of your punishment.
Remember That You Don’t See Or Understand All That God Does (Psalm 77:19)
“Yet your footprints were unseen” is a strange phrase to have close to the end of this psalm. But it’s reason for being there is clear. The people of Israel did not see the hand of God in their life at the moment. They had undergone years of enslavement and hardship. Yet, God was with them.
We don’t understand what God is doing. And we don’t understand what He is going to do in the future with our lives.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
If I do a glance back at my life and think about things, I am amazed that they have worked out as they have.
Hardships have been introduced along the way that I never would’ve voted for. But the Lord’s ways are not mine. And through these different events, he brought me to where I am today.
We will never have all the answers to why some of the things in our lives worked out as they did. It just won’t happen this side of Glory. There are things in my life that I have wondered about for years, and will likely continue to wonder about.
I always have to remember that my ways are not God’s ways. My plans are not His plans. And that though it doesn’t always seem that way, God is working all things for my ultimate good.
A long time ago in Israel, God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. He committed no sin. He did no one wrong. And He fulfilled all righteousness on behalf of sinners. Some people hated him and wanted him dead. They turned the people of God against God the Son until they yelled “crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Roman soldiers beat him nearly to death with their fists and the scourge. He was mocked and crucified between two thieves on a cross where He hung naked for all to see.
The perfect and sinless son of God hung there dying. His mother’s gaze was upon him, certainly she had questions. Certainly she doubted God’s goodness in that moment. John, who was there, no doubt did the same. The other disciples mourned and questioned everything after the death of Jesus.
But God’s ways were not their ways.
“The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’– for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” (Act 4:26-28 ESV)
When I begin to question whether God is in control, and whether His plan is really coming to pass, and whether He is working for my good, I look to the cross. And there I see God using the most evil event in history for my salvation.
I don’t understand. But I trust that the Lord does. And I trust that He can use the darkest of evil for my good and His glory.