My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 77:10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
Psalm 77:11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
Psalm 77:12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Psalm 77:13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
Psalm 77:14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.
Psalm 77:15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
The psalms are so relatable.
We have our author Asaph, spending the first 9 verses of this psalm asking if the Lord has spurned His people (vs 7), if His steadfast love has ceased (vs 8) and if He has forgotten to be gracious (vs 9). Asaph slung some serious accusations at the Lord in this psalm! He has really let loose on God, as he entered into very difficult times.
Yes Asaph entered dificult time, days of trouble. Out of these days of trial, he accused God of serious character flaws!
How could he? Asaph was considered a godly man, a man who wrote Scripture, a man consecrated to the service of God. How could he besmirch the name of God as he had in the previous verses.
Let me ask you a pointed question.
Have you not, in a day of trial, lashed out to God? Accused Him of forgetting you? Said things that were patently false? I admit to my shame that I have. There is no denying my sin.
But as we walk with the Lord, and time passes, we find many saints have entered the same pitfall. That is why the psalms become more and more precious as we walk with Him. We understand the continual kindness, and steadfast love of the Lord expressed towards us, even as we lash out as Asaph did.
For our verses this morning, we find, as we do in many, many of the psalms, the author remembering the goodness of God, of His past, mighty acts of provision towards His people. This is instructive for us, for as we enter difficult times, we need to rest in the mighty acts of God in our lives that are non debatable. We need to remember Him, who He is instead of the circumstances we may find ourselves in.
Asaph speaks of the deeds of the Lord. For Asaph, this surely included the exodus from Egypt, the many victories of the Israelites in establishing this new nation, of the mighty acts associated with King David and his kingdom.
To remember the deeds of God (vs 11) and to ponder on His work (vs 12) is the very foundation of strength for the believer in times of trial. Though Asaph refers to the redemption of God’s people in verse 15, the scope, depth, breadth and width of this redemption was hidden from those of Asaph’s time. For the modern believer, knowledge of the deeds of the Lord have increased exponentially.
As a matter of fact, I would confess the scope, depth, breadth and width of our redemption in the Savior is still unknown. Regarding the deeds of God, there is a certain “unfathomableness”. Is this not Paul’s teaching, even to the believer of New Testament times?
1 Corinthians 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”–
But Carl, you need to continue reading Paul’s teaching for the New Testament believer. He has revealed those things of verse 9 to us!
1 Corinthians 2:10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
And yet we lash out. We say things that are completely untrue about the God of eternity.
How desperate our condition is. How distracted from the One who loves us, cares for us, directs us, provides for us, teaches us and delivers us.
How He even recieves us, as we rant and rave. My friend, His love will eventually completely tame our hearts, but as He completes His work in us, we need to ponder His great works, His deeds, His wonders! He has not only performed the work, but provided the instructor in the Spirit of God that we might enter into this knowledge fully.
Who is a god like our God? Aspah admitted the obvious once he considered the deeds of the Lord!
Psalm 77:13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
He is like no other for He alone is holy. And as the One who alone is holy, He is the ultimate One who continues in His steadfast love, for He cannot deny Himself!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.
