Ps. 77. Curse and Blessing of Remembering

Blessing and curse of a good memory… something with remember

Anyone ever lied awake at night, mind racing? … thinking over every mistake you made that day? … Every mistake you’ve ever made? … worried about what will happen tomorrow? Fearing the next difficult thing you have to face? What do you do when that happens? Ever have to have an intervention with yourself? Just me? Last night?

I will argue as Asaph does, that the problem in discouragement is memory… the dissapointing and discouraging thoughts focused on ourselves come some easily to our minds, and play on repeat… but the solution to our discouragement is also memory… remembering Who your God is and what He has done

What does the psalmist do?

Let’s jump right in?

1-3. Crying out

4-9. Questioning

10. Transition

11-15. Remembering

16-20. Illustrating

Read. Pray.

The flow of this gradually shifts from depression, confusion to acclimation

-Like a pot of cold, lifeless and cold when the heat is turned up soon rages into a boil

-You will also notice there is a shift from concern with self to God

-Will let the Selah’s drive our outline… don’t always understand their purpose

1-3. In a sense he is saying what many of us have said in times of distress, “I cry out to God, I know He hears me… but why doesn’t He do anything? I’m done, I can’t take anymore. God do you even care?

Spurgeon on this Psalm, quote in Boice 639?

v.4. Look where his state begins 1-4: how much he is thinking about himself?

v.5. What makes it worse he longs for the good old days… feeling sorry for himself

v.6. Then he begins talking to himself… “let me really think about this… meditate… align my heart to what I know to be true…”

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problem of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you... The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself… And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do. Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Spiritual Depression

Then my spirit made a diligent search: if we just did this more often, get off the broken record of thinking about ourselves… search diligently!

He asks 6 questions he knows the answer to but must ask himself!

-By asking them he is answering them… knowing the answer is no!

7-9. Ever had this conversation with yourself? Had to ask questions of God you know the answer to?

Doubts are better put into plain speech than lying diffused and darkening, like poisonous mists, in his heart. A thought, be it good or bad, can be dealt with when it is made articulate. Formulating vague conceptions is like cutting a channel in a bog for the water to run. One gets it together in manageable shape, and the soil is drained. - Alexander Maclaren

Application: here is a great lesson when you get into a mental, emotional, spiritual funk… put your own conclusions into words… talk to yourself… “could God ever forget about me?” “Would He ever leave or forsake me?” “Do I really believe that He can’t redeem this?”

-We often think it is sinful to doubt or ask questions… it is sinful when you give no response to your doubts or answers to your questions and you treat them as fact?

v.10. The Hebrew is unclear on whether he speaks with confidence or doubt here… doesn't matter… the response is still the same, that’s what matters

11-12. Here is where the psalmist rights the ship, steering away from the storms of his own mind, instead of listening to himself, preaching to himself… he steers his thoughts toward the Lord and sees sun and clear skies

-We need to do the same… so many of us get into a storm and keep steering into it instead of repenting and turning toward the calm waters

-How? by an intentional mental process of: remembering, pondering and meditating

13-15. What He praises God for: (exhortation rather than exegesis, we have the same things to remember).

-If we know God is unchanging, what has been true in the past, is true now and will be true in the future

13. Holiness and greatness… no one like our God!

14. Wondrous deeds and might… He is not just great in His nature, but great in His actions… He is great and does great things

15. Redeeming His People… His most wondrous deed is saving sinners… the holy and mighty God is a loving God, who loves His people

This is message, the good news. There is a holy God, none like Him… no all gods are not the same… none compare to Him… He is almighty, creating the world and orchestrating its events… He needs nothing but took pleasure in sending His Son to redeem prodigal sons and welcome them home as children

-Israel continually told of their redemption, as should we

16-20. I love this perspective… we normally think of the parting of the Red Sea from the perspective of Moses and the Israelites… but he tells of God’s hand in the events, from the perspective of divine orchestration

-Read Exodus 14:13-22, then read 16-20 from God’s perspective, commenting

(Not go into every detail, just expound on and declare the works of the Lord)

What if we did the same thing we our salvation event? View/tell the cross account from God’s perspective?

-You darkened the skies, blotted out the sun...

-You poured out your wrath upon your innocent Son

-You tore the temple veil

-You breathed life back into Immanual

-You rolled away the stone

-You led your people like a flock out of their graves so that they might be a people set apart for you

John 10:24-33… are you among the sheep? Do you follow him or do you want to remain in Egypt?

Conclusion:

There are many things we can learn from this Psalm:

We are not the only ones who doubt and feel discouraged

The remedy is not to focus more on ourselves but on our God

When your thoughts/memories fail you, bring to mind who your God is and what He has done for you

Have you noticed that when you remember your current problems God seems so far away, but when you remember God’s greatness, His power and His love toward you, your problems are put into perspective