1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
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.
3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
While in the throes of deep trouble, we may toss on our beds at night, but we will find comfort when we meditate upon the mighty works of God in history.
Trouble is an inevitability of life, and for some reason we tend to reflect on our troubles at night when we are trying to sleep. It is at that time that we can sense the desperation of our condition and turn to God for help. But it seems that God is very distant from us, and our prayers receive no answer. Where do we turn when many hours of prayer and meditation do nothing to comfort the soul? Our minds instinctively reflect upon the mighty works of God in the past. Our attention is drawn away from our present state of trouble to the power, holiness, and love of God for His people. After the third verse, we will completely forget our own condition as we lose ourselves in deep meditation upon the character and work of God.
Verses 1–3. The greatest men can face the deepest discouragements. Even men like Elijah, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist fought discouragement and struggled with lapses in faith! As they lay in the cave, prison cell, or at the bottom of a deep well in the dark of the night, they spoke their heart-troubles to God. But, even in these prayers and meditations, their souls received no comfort. We see the same scenario in this psalm as the psalmist stretches out his hands to receive God’s comfort and blessing but receives nothing. This discouragement is deep. As his thoughts turn back to God, his distress only intensifies. It is usually at this point that the faithless give up on God and rely on cheap worldly comforts like food, drink, or drugs to make it through their troubles. But Asaph steadfastly continues his meditation and prayer.
Verses 4–9. He turns to memories of better days gone by when he could sing a song in the night. Under normal circumstances, singing is effectual for renewing the spirit and bringing us closer to God as we walk through the trials of our lives. But this time is different. Asaph won’t be singing any songs tonight.
So he asks whether God will cast him off forever. Will this present darkness ever break? The morose, dark language he uses approaches faithlessness. But he only asks the questions: will God be true to His promises? Is His unfailing love going to fail? If he proceeds to answer the questions wrongly, he may experience a fatal breach of faith. However, the true believer will not “go there.” He may ask these questions, but he will never go so far as to say that God will fail the covenant.
The root of the problem is noted in verse 9. God is angry with His people. Verse 7 makes the subtle shift from the individual’s relationship with God to the corporate (group) relationship with God. The psalmist now speaks of Israel (or the corporate body of the church). Life in the church, in the “candlesticks” (Rev. 1:13; 2:5), or in the vine is relational. Both the individual and corporate relationships with God are real and personal relationships, often characterized by emotions similar to what we experience with our own family members—sometimes affection, sometimes sadness, or sometimes coldness that can lead to distance and disowning. Occasionally, a man of God realizes what is happening to the people of God. He looks around him and the hard, cold reality of a dying church dawns upon him. Vines shrivel. Candlesticks are removed. Whether it be this or that local church, the evangelical denominations, or the entire Western church, the bride of Christ struggles mightily for mere survival in the present day. It may be that God is abandoning the church in the Western world. If He abandons our churches, will He abandon us? Asaph is traumatized by these considerations.
Verses 10–20. Now the psalmist thinks back on the powerful works of God in history, and he identifies with these events. The man of faith associates himself with the church in history, whether it be the church of the Old Testament saints or that of the New Testament Apostles. Although he may not see God’s intervention in the immediate circumstances, there is no question that God has intervened in the past by working great miracles for His people. From the crossing of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh’s armies to Gideon’s mighty victory, and from the creation of the world to the resurrection of the Son of God from the dead, there is much to remember. In Asaph’s dark depression, his attention is held by the power of God rather than by his own weaknesses. Though God may not be helping him immediately, he can at least rest himself in God’s mighty works in the past, trusting that God will work again in the future.
Verse 13 is a corrective to the earlier statements that might have implicated God with wrongdoing. Asaph reminds himself that God’s works are impeccably holy. His motives are pure and His actions are right; He brings about that which is good for Himself and for His people. Even His acts of judgment bring about the purification and the establishment of His holy church. In the New Testament Paul declares that Christ is preparing for Himself a “glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle… that it should be holy and without blemish“ (Eph. 5:27). Therefore, God’s work in the earth is for the benefit of His precious church, made up of the “saints” or the holy ones, and He will sanctify that church in the end. Even the great empires of the earth will serve the living God for the benefit of His church.
The psalm ends with a poetic description of the power of God displayed at the Red Sea, when God separated the mighty waters to deliver His people from the armies of the greatest empire on earth. All of the elements are under His control—the mighty oceans, clouds, thunder and lightning, and earthquakes. They belong to Him and they are at His beck and call. Yet, He used these powerful elements to make a pathway for His people, gently leading them to salvation. What a picture of God’s power and mercy is wonderfully brought together in a single motif!
Small children usually do not understand what it is to be discouraged or depressed. But as our children mature into adulthood, they will have to wage war on the battlefield of the mind. Doubts and discouragement will come. How will they react to tragedy in their own lives? Will they abandon God as many do in the present day? Or will they be the ones crying out to God in order that He does not abandon His people?
When waves of doubt and discouragement roll in, our children must learn the discipline of godly meditation. Although it may not be a sin to have discouraging thoughts, what you do with those thoughts is critical. Will your heart turn inward or outward? Will it turn towards meditation on God’s faithfulness and holiness in His works, or will it harbor bitterness towards Him? The man of faith identifies himself with God and His people, losing himself in meditating on God’s powerful salvation.
Worship includes picturing the mighty acts of God in history. The word pictures provided in the psalms should help us to “feel” the power of God’s great works in history. The lightning flashes. The thunder crashes. The power of God is palpable in our midst. There it is: the hand of God is holding back six trillion tons of water as His people walk on dry ground to safety. Such descriptions take you into the story and help you experience the miracle one more time.
1. What is Asaph’s mood at the beginning of the psalm?
2. How would you characterize God’s relationship with His people, according to verse 9?
3. Where does Asaph direct his attention for the last half of the psalm?
4. How does Asaph describe the works of God?
5. What great saving act of God is referred to in the final verses of the psalm?
6. Give several examples of Faith Psalms.
1. How well do we discipline our minds when we are tempted to discouragement and doubts? Would it be helpful to memorize psalms like this one?
2. Do we instinctively turn to food, chocolate, or sweets to lift our spirits when we are discouraged? How do these things fail to get to the root issue in our discouragements and depressions?
3. Why would the story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt be an encouragement to us, since we were not the ones delivered?