God can you hear me: Moving from Verse 1 to Verse 3
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Now
4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; 5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb. 6 Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9 Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. 1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, 4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
1 The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. 2 How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. 3 Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.
1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. 2 O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.
“I do not suppose there is any person in this assembly who ever has stronger fits of depression of spirits than I have myself personally” (MTP 15:640). After witnessing seven people trampled to death he said, “The very sight of the Bible made me cry” Charles Spurgeon
-In this list you see a list of some of the most mature believers crying out to God, and wrestling with unchanged suffering, and feeling abandon by God.
-Today I want to look at a biblical character that many might not know much about, but he wrote a song the might help you today.
For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. 1 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. 10 Then I said, “It is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed.” 11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. 12 I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your 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 strength among the peoples. 15 You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16 The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The deeps also trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; The skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows flashed here and there. 18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. 19 Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints may not be known. 20 You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Then
For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
-As far as timing the only thing that we know is that this was most likely written during the time of David’s reign over Israel.
-The most important factor about this Psalm is to identify the writer. And try to do a little background work on that to help us better interpret this Psalm.
-You will notice the phrase “For the choir director” not all of the Psalm say this. This tells us that this Psalm after it was penned became a song that was sung by the Jewish people. In other wards they put this song into the hymn book.
“according to Jeduthun” lets take a look at who this individual is.
16 Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives the singers, with instruments of music, harps, lyres, loud-sounding cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel, and from his relatives, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari their relatives, Ethan the son of Kushaiah, 18 and with them their relatives of the second rank, Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.
-(v.1-15) David is giving instruction on how he wants the Ark transported to Jerusalem. He is talking to the Tribe of the Levites who were responsible for this task
-(v.16-17) David told the Levites to get some of your people(family) who are skilled singers and musicians to join the First Baptist Choir of Jerusalem.
-(v.17) I want you to see that Asaph was one of the appointed musicians and singers.
-(v.18) Also there was a person named “Obed-Edom” that was appointed. He was a gatekeeper for the Ark
Who was Obed-Edom?
During the Jewish wars with the Philistines the Israelites lost control of the Ark and it feel into the hands of the Philistines. When the Philistines stole it, the Lord trouble their whole camp with diseases, and rats. It got so bad at they told the Israelites come and get this Ark back. David went to get it and on the way back he was carrying the Ark incorrectly and the Lord killed his servant Uzzah. So David get scared and took the Ark to Obed-Edom home.
-Obed-Edom was a Gittite, which is of the clan of the Philistine. Meaning that Obed-Edom was a son of Ham. This tells us that Obed-Edom was a black man. It also tells us that he was a Jewish Proselyte meaning that he left the idolatry of the Philistines and became a worshipper of the God of the Israelites. What we can also glean is that his whole family was godly, in that David trusted him with the Ark.
-(v.18) David eventually came to his senses and realize that it was his fault that Uzzah died while carrying the Ark so this is the point at which he is giving instruction on getting the Ark from Obed house.
-(v.18) You will notice that Obed is a gatekeeper of the Ark, and he is Part of the First Baptist Choir of Israel.
-Why is that important? Let’s take a look at who his Father is:
37 So he left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required; 38 and Obed-edom with his 68 relatives; Obed-edom, also the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah as gatekeepers. 39 He left Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place which was at Gibeon, 40 to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel. 41 With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because His lovingkindness is everlasting. 42 And with them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun for the gate.
-Obed-Edom brought his whole household to work at Jerusalem in the service of the protection of the Ark. Now look who his father is----Jeduthun
-Psalm 77 title “For the Choir Director; according to Jeduthun” Now we know that this piece was made for the Choir Director, according to Jeduthun. Meaning that this song was sung by the First Baptist Choir of Israel and Directed by Jeduthun the Father of Obed-Edom a black proselyte to Israel.
-Psalm 77 title- “A Psalm of Asaph” Now this phrase tells us the writer of the song. The Writer is Asaph.
17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel, and from his relatives, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari their relatives, Ethan the son of Kushaiah, 18 and with them their relatives of the second rank, Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. 19 So the singers, Heman, Asaph and Ethan were appointed to sound aloud cymbals of bronze;
4 He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: 5 Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom and Jeiel, with musical instruments, harps, lyres; also Asaph played loud-sounding cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.
-(v.4-5) After the Ark was set up David called for an A & B selection from the First Baptist Choir of Israel. Now look at who the leader is in (v.5) “Asaph the chief” and also “Asaph played loud-sounding cymbals” notice in (v.6) what’s going on. Benaiah and Jahaziel blew trumpets continually before the Ark. This was a praise session that never stopped this became part of their regular duties everyday (v.37).
37 So he left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required;
-Let me add another nugget about Asaph:
Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.
-(v.30) In this text King Hezekiah ordered the officials to get out the First Baptist Church of Israel hymnbooks and sing a song of praise written by David and Asaph the Seer. The word Seer in noun form is “Prophet” meaning Asaph was one the chief choir director, and Prophet of God.
Always-Kingdom Principle- God in his infinite wisdom sometimes allows for times of silence in his relationship with us so that we may learn to live by his words rather than our emotions.
Verse 1: Discouragment
Verse 1: Discouragment
-Discouragement-to deprive of confidence, hope, or spirit; dishearten. Listen to the words of Asaph
1 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.
-One of the reason that I did that background work on Asaph was to show you that even the spiritually mature go through times of depression, anxiety, fear and feeling abandon by God.
-Asaph was chosen by David as one of the Chief Choir Director of the First Baptist Church of Israel, and yet in this passage he is wallowing in deep emotional pain, and suffering related to something that either he is going through or the country is experiencing. His trial is not spelled out in the Psalm so it would be unwise to speculate, but whatever it is it has him feeling “some kind of way”
-(v.1) “My voice rises to God” This tells us right out front that this a prayer lament. Asaph is in private worship of God via prayer and his heart is heavy
-(v.1) “and I will cry aloud” He is no longer sending up quiet prayers for provision and guidance. His tone has changed and he has increased his tone, believing that if he maybe he yells his pain that God would hear him.....Have you been there???
-(v.1) “My voice rises to God, and He will hear me” Two things to take notice of in this phrase.
a. 1st- “and He will hear me” this phrase is render more accurately in the Niv, and Rsv. it is base on the verb form of hear. The Niv renders this phrase “I cried out to God, to hear me” contextually after you read verses (2-3) this rendering makes more sense.
b. 2nd-The Psalm are Hebrew poetry, which means they usually follow some type of literary pattern so that you recognize the genre. This song uses Parallelism. Parallelism comes in three primary forms: Synonymous, Anti-thetical and Synthetic. This is an example of Synonymous Parallelism.
Examples of modern parallelism
1. “You better stop crying, or I am going to give you something to cry about”(Synonymous Parallelism)
2. “I brought you in this world, and I can take you out” (Antithetical Parallelism)
3. “Keeping playing and see what happens” (Synthetical Parallelism)
What reason would the Hebrews use parallelism?
a. Recognition-So that you can recognize the Genre(History, Poetry, or Prophecy) that is important because they are interpreted differently.
b. Memory-These are songs/poems so redundancy can help with memory.
c. Emphasis-important ideas were stated the same with little differences so that you pay close attention to them.
-(v.1) Asaph in this verse is writing in his personal journal and he bears his soul out. He past looking like everything is alright. He is pouring out his soul to God hoping that the Lord’s hears him, but he is losing confidence.
-(v.2) “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord” Earlier in the sermon I said that his trial was either personal or corporate(for his people) this verse helps us a little bit. I think that Asaph is dealing with a personal trial. Notice the pronoun “my” trouble.
-(v.2) During Asaph late night prayer services the peace that passes all understanding never seemed to come to him. Notice that he says “in the night my hand was stretched out without weariness” this things was on his heart so heavy that he lifted up holy hands all night. He started prayer and left prayer with the same feelings of discouragement & pain (My soul refused to be comforted). Have you been there?? usually when I pray to the Lord it’s like aspirin to a headache, Motrin to swelling, Claritin to allergies. When I take my burdens to the Lord I start to feel better over time, but for this prayer request, the medicine is not working....Have you been there??
-(v.3) “When I remember God, then I am disturbed” This is very strange usually when we reflect on God comfort comes, but in this case his memory of God was bring him more pain.
How do we make sense of this?
a. Disturb-To groan or make noise
-I am postulating that Asaph is wrestling with the immutability of God. Let me show you this in the life of godly Job:
Job 23:1-13 (Help)
Job 23:1-13 (Help)
1 Then Job replied, 2 “Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning. 3 “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! 4 “I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments. 5 “I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would say to me. 6 “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me. 7 “There the upright would reason with Him; And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. 8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; 9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him. 10 “But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. 13 “But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does.
-Job is struggling he does not understand why God would continue to watch him waste away without helping him. Job says I have keep your word to the best of my ability. Why are treating me like an enemy? When look up you are not there, when I look down you are not there, when I look to the left I don’t see you, when I look to the right I cannot perceive you. What good God would leave his Son in such a bad situation. Now look at (v.13)
-He is unique “who can turn him?” he is unchangeable if he makes a decision his plan cannot not be stopped. and look at the rest “And what His soul desires, that he Does?” and yet he still calls you to pray.
God is touched with the feelings of our infirmities—meaning God cares about our struggles. So if that is true what’s going on while I cry out to him for deep emotional or physical pain. When that happens God lays aside his emotional attachment for you because what he is birthing in you supersedes his current emotional desire to save you out of your trouble. God has one primary objective in the life of believer “Conform you to the image of his Son”
-back in Psalm (v.3) Asaph when I remember God I am disturbed and my spirit grows faint(i get weaker). Asaph is wondering where the God who performed miracles, subdue kingdoms, provided free homes in Canaan has gone.
-You will notice in your margin the word “Selah” Most scholar’s believe that this is a rest or pause of the voices in the choir in so that only the music is heard, so that the preceding verse can be mediated on. We might call this a praise pause.
The dark night of the soul. This phenomenon describes a malady that the greatest of Christians have suffered from time to time. It was the malady that provoked David to soak his pillow with tears. It was the malady that earned for Jeremiah the sobriquet, “The Weeping Prophet.” It was the malady that so afflicted Martin Luther that his melancholy threatened to destroy him. This is no ordinary fit of depression, but it is a depression that is linked to a crisis of faith, a crisis that comes when one senses the absence of God or gives rise to a feeling of abandonment by Him…RC Sproul
Transition Statement—Asaph in this next set of verse seems to go a little lower in what we call Despair.
Verse 2-Despair
Verse 2-Despair
-Despair-the complete loss or absence of hope
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.
-(v.4) “You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak” Asaph is describing depression. He says I can’t sleep and I don’t feel like talking to anyone. I prefer to be myself. Even my praise is being affective.
-(v.5-6) in (v.3) Asaph says “I remember” in (v.5) he says “I have considered” in (v.6) Asaph says “I will remember my song in the night; I will mediate with my heart, and my spirit ponders”
-Like us when a biblical writer restates something multiple times there is a reason. Asaph in his depression he could not keep his mind off his situation, and his feeling of being abandon by God. His situation got so bad that he made up a song to sing at night.
-(v.6) “I will remember my song in the night; I will mediate with my heart, And my spirit ponders:” During the night hours Asaph would sing his song diligently contemplating why he is suffering so much without any relief in sight. Wondering had he done something to deserve this pain. Have you been there??
-Asaph then gives us a glimpse into the things that he is wrestling with in his mind via rhetorical question.
-(v.7) These are the words of a song that Asaph made to comfort himself. His pain and self-pity was so great that he began to question God’s essential character.
-This is the same man that wrote this song:
7 Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord. 8 Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. 9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. 10 Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. 11 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. 12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, 13 O seed of Israel His servant, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! 14 He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 15 Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, 16 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. 17 He also confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, 18 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, As the portion of your inheritance.” 19 When they were only a few in number, Very few, and strangers in it, 20 And they wandered about from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people, 21 He permitted no man to oppress them, And He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, 22 “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” 23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. 24 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place. 28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the Lord in holy array. 30 Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” 32 Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. 33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord; For He is coming to judge the earth. 34 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 35 Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name, And glory in Your praise.” 36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.
-David choose Asaph to composed the first song after the ark returned to Jerusalem. This man Asaph is a spiritual heavy weight.
What happened to him?
-(v.7) Will Lord reject forever? And will he never be favorable again? Using anti-thetical parallelism by contrasting rejection & favor. He wrestle with this question: Lord is your abandonment of me permanent. This lets us know right off the top how Asaph feels alone in his suffering, and he feels like he has suddenly been cursed by God.
-(v.8) “Has his lovingkindness ceased forever, has His promise come to an end forever?” Asaph is starting to struggle with one of the essential characteristics of God
1 john 4:8 help
1 john 4:8 help
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
-Notice John says “for God is love” it is not something he does. True Love finds it’s origin in God himself. He is the source of all love.
-(v.8) Asaph made a song pondering “has is lovingkindness ceased forever?” it makes perfect sense why he is stuck in depression. Just think for a minute about the depression you would fall into if you started to believe that God has ceased to love you anymore....Have you been there before?
-(v.8) “Has his promise come to and end forever?” Has God gone from a promise keeping Father to a deadbeat Dad who makes promises that he does not keep......I told y'all God has thick skin.
-(v.9) “Has God forgotten to be gracious?” Now Asaph is riding the thin line of honest inquiry to disrespect. Look he says “has God forgotten” there is a hint of sarcasm and anger in this question. He is essentially calling God “incompetent” have you been there?? it’s like the Mom that is several hours late picking her child from Daycare. Daycare workers asked nicely “did you just forget to come?”
-(v.9) “Or has He in anger withdrawn his compassion?” Asaph last question tells us what I believe is his final conclusion. He recognizes that: God is a loving-kind God, he recognizes that God is a gracious God and full of compassion, He recognizes that God keeps all his promises, and he recognizes that God is not incompetent. His only conclusion is that last phrase in (v.9)
-(v.9) “Has he in his anger withdrawn His compassion?” meaning he must be mad at me and this suffering is judgement for something I have done. I feel cursed!! Have you been there before?
Transition Statement-Something happen to Asaph, during the midnight hour his viewpoint began to change
Verse 3: Dominion
Verse 3: Dominion
-(v.10) “Then I said, “it is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed” In the midnight hour something changed. This text based on the commentaries is a very difficult text to translate from the Hebrew into English. The NASB, NIV, and the RSV do the best job of translating this text. The translation of the NASB makes the most sense when you read the subsequent text.
-(v.10) you will notice that at the end of (v.9) there was a Selah which serves as time for the music to play while you focus on the previous verses.
-(v.10) “Then I said, “it is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed” You will notice that Asaph says that his grief had been changed; Not his situation but his grief has changed. Then he tells us who changed it. He says that the right hand of the Most High has changed it. You will remember that this is transition verse and Asaph wants us recognize that the Most High had given him new eyes to see.
What’s happening here?
-Asaph perspective in changing on his situation. And that changed in his perspective came from God. God caused Asaph to look at this pain, trial, and problems from a different with different eyes.
-Asaph was looking at his situation in (v.1-9) from an earthly perspective, with human eyes, through his human emotions. From and earthly perspective to him it looked like God he left him and abandon him. He lost hope.
-Asaph in (v.10) I believe the Spirit whispered to Asaph have you look at things from this perspective. God lifted him up above the trees so he could see the forest. God gave him eyes to see past the tangible into the supernatural, and finally God gave him the strength to take charge of his emotions and lived by the Spirit.
-How else can we ever grow in our trust in God’s promises if there are not times where it seems like he has broken them.
-The Lord is taking Asaph to the next level of faith. Many believers never reach this level. This is the level where we learn to not be lead by our emotions, but be lead by the Spirit. Your emotions will abandon you when it’s dark. They will whisper all the questions that came in (v.7-9)
Kingdom principle: God has an eternal perspective, and we have an earthly perspective. Pray during your trials for God to reveal his perspective, and while you wait trust him in the dark.
Now look at how Asaph memory of God’s past history encourages him
-(v.11-12) “I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember your wonders of old. I will mediate on all your work and muse on your deeds” To a look at what was turning his grief to joy: he uses “remember” 2x in (v.11) and then “mediate” and “muse” in (v.12) So 4x he uses four synonymous words to describe his current mindset.
Let’s take a look at what he was meditating on:
-(v.11-12) Asaph says the “deeds & wonders” of the Lord, then he gets specific and starts to remember not just the things God, but the things God has done specifically for me and my people.
-(v.13) “Your way, O God, is Holy;” Asaph begins to understand a principle. Our God is Holy!!! And he says to us:
Leviticus 19:2 (help)
Leviticus 19:2 (help)
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
-(v.13) “Your way, O God, is Holy” in the first 2 verses of the song Asaph has lost his way his purpose and his direction. Now he sees clearly from above the forest. All of Asaph current trials are designed to make him “HOLY!”
-(v.13) “What god is great like our God?” This is called a descriptive praise: Now compare this question to the other question he had in (v.7-9) went from questioning God’s compassion, care and concern for him and his people, but now he is bragging about God....What happened to him?
-(v. 14) “You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples” Asaph says you are a God that performs miracles, and then he adds a key point. You not only do miracles, but you do miracles intentionally corresponds to the plans you have for your covenant people.
-(v.15) “You have by Your power redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph” Asaph is praising God right now for his “redeeming power” this tells us that the first thing that Asaph joy and comfort was his memory of God’s “redeeming power” in the salvation of his people. The word “redeem” carries the idea of buying back something. Please don’t forget that Asaph current earthly situation has not changed. He is experiencing joy from his reflection on the Exodus
Then there is “Selah”
-(v.16-18) In these scriptures he goes from “descriptive psalms” to “declarative psalm” Descriptive psalms describe who God is, and Declarative Psalm describe what he does.
16 The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The deeps also trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; The skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows flashed here and there. 18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.
-Asaph point in this scripture is the My God move heaven and earth in order to take care of and redeem his people. Waters were in anguish, The deeps of the Red Sea trembled. God also put on a heavenly light show of thunder, lighting, and earthquakes. This is clearly memory of the “Red Sea Crossing” Asaph is preaching now. His memory is ungirding his faith, so that his trials are starting to pall in comparison to his “Great God”
19 Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints may not be known. 20 You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
-(v.19) Asaph is beginning to understand the ways of the Lord. What he is saying in this text is that sometimes the Lord takes you in directions that do not make any sense. During the exodus God told Moses to go a specific direction, which lead them into a trap. The Red sea blocked their front, and the Egyptians Army blocked their backs they had no place to go. Notice Asaph words “Your way was in the sea, And your paths in the mighty waters” Sometimes God leads you through the Seas in order for you to understand his ways and his powers.
-(v.20) Asaph finishes this psalm with a powerful definitive statement. There is no equivocation is his voice. He is confident. By the end of this lament he is praising. He look back and affirmed that absolute faithful care of the God. The two powerful symbols God used to lead his people where “The pillar of fire by night” and “the cloud by day” Asaph has gone from discouragement & despair to Dominion.
Illustration
8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly. 9 Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 10 As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14 “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” 15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. 16 “As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.
-Asaph mediated on this story and he probably could not help but think that “if God my God thought enough his people to cause the waters of the Red Sea, and protect 6m Hebrews as they walked on the dry sea floor, then certainly he can take care of me” That act of care was not done just so that later on he would abandon us in the wilderness. He is faithful. Asaph learned that when it is dark and you cannot see God he is up to something.
Application
-Asaph has taken Dominion of his:
a. Eyes- he sees from God’s perspective not his own
b. Flesh-He understands that his temporary pain is bearing a greater eternal weight in glory---it is making him more holy
c. Emotional-Asaph went from an emotional wreck to a confident prophet. By faith he made a decision to be led not by his emotions & pain, but by the promises from the Word.
It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is the skilful singer who can sing when there is not a ray of light by which to read,— he sings from his heart, and not from a book that he can see, because he has no means of reading, save from that inward book of his own living spirit, whence notes of gratitude pour forth in songs of praise…Charles Spurgeon
-Asaph learned who to sing in the dark!!!!
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