Daily Devotional Monday 27th March 2023

by William Moody

Psalm 77

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

77:1   I cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
  In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul refuses to be comforted.
  When I remember God, I moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
  You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
  I consider the days of old,
    the years long ago.
  I said,1 “Let me remember my song in the night;
    let me meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
  “Will the Lord spurn forever,
    and never again be favorable?
  Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his promises at an end for all time?
  Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10   Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”2
11   I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12   I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13   Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
14   You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples.
15   You with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16   When the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
17   The clouds poured out water;
    the skies gave forth thunder;
    your arrows flashed on every side.
18   The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
19   Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints were unseen.3
20   You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes

[1] 77:6 Hebrew lacks I said
[2] 77:10 Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed
[3] 77:19 Hebrew unknown

(ESV)

Asaph seems to be struggling as his praying appears to be falling on death ears and he is getting no apparent response from the Lord (v1-9). He appears to be going through a long dark night of the soul in which the Lord is far away. His hope in a response appears to be totally gone (v7-9).

Asaph then decides not to wallow in his situation but rather to take time to focus on God’s past deeds for the encouragement of his soul (v10-20). He speaks of appealing to these deeds. Is him recounting these deeds meant to move himself of God? The answer is probably both. Focusing on God’s past acts feeds his own faith but also is a means to encouraging the Lord to move once more.

In doing what he did, Asaph was spiritually moving himself out of his current bleak situation, and to go on the march alongside the Lord as he previously marched in splendour and power.

In days of discouragement it is wonderful that we can spiritually travel with the Lord back to creation, to the flood, to the crossing of the red Sea, to the battle of Jericho, to alongside David as he fought Goliath, to Jesus feeding the 5,000, to the cross, to the resurrection and to Pentecost. Such a wonderful Bible journey has to feed our souls and inspire our faith.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.