From Crying to Praising

Psalm 77:1-6

“I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.

In this Psalm of Asaph as we follow the psalmist’s song that he has recorded according to his own experience, we see him crying. Crying unto God with his voice. “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.” (vs 2) At first he was so overwhelmed he could not speak (vss 3-4). He was afflicted and grieved because of it. He was overwhelmed and complained about it. He was sleepless and speechless because of it, but as he continues to use his memory he is able to praise his God (vs 13). “Who is so great a God as our God?” he asks. Knowing there is none. “Memory is a fit handmaid for faith” said Spurgeon, and it certainly is when we recall what God has done for us.

In verse 6, we read “I call to remembrance my song in the night.” He depends upon his memory to bring back a song. He did so deliberately, carefully remembering in detail. He did so despairingly as he was in great affliction and grief. Perhaps as it is with us at times, God had removed all other props which he could lean upon. All of his brooks had dried up which he could depend upon, so he did so desperately. In desperation he called on the Lord his God. Perhaps he had looked all around, and looked within and had found nothing to bring comfort and assurance in this time of trouble, now in desperation he looks up which is, no doubt, the direction we should first look, but often do not until other sources are sought.

This song had become a faint memory, one that was not fresh in his mind. Prosperity seems to make us somewhat careless and forgetful of God’s goodness toward us. So we must, as the psalmist did, “commune with mine own heart. And my spirit made diligent search.” (vs 6). It was a song in the night, it was sung in the night, not the morning after. In other words, during the troubled night he sang. Anyone can sing the morning after the trial has gone, and we should sing then too, but a song in the night is sung amid the trouble.

“I commune with mine own heart.” When grief prevails, it is a heart problem, self-examination as directed by the Holy Spirit is needed, we must be careful that it is not the accusation of the devil that brings the grief, for he accuses the brethren day and night. It must be a yielded submission to the Holy Spirit of God to “search me O God and know my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me.” “And my spirit made diligent search” he continues. He searched diligently his experience in the light of the Word of God. Diligence now has replaced carelessness. He has been “at ease” before God. Now he is “at attention.” He needs comfort in his time of trial, he seeks it from the Word of God and his experiences of the past. Now he goes the proper way. He goes from truth to experience not from experience to truth. He establishes the truth as the foundation to stand upon and builds his experience upon the truth, not the other way around. From experience to truth is improper and will bring about error because our experiences vary from one person to another but the truth is “forever settled in Heaven” and it does not change from person to person. It can be applied differently but it changes not as God Himself changes not. So the psalmist sought comfort in meditating upon the Word of God, He uncovered every thought in its light. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies? (vss 7-9) To get from sighing to singing, he used his memory. This is a great direction for us when we are experiencing a crisis. In any present crisis, we should consider what God has done for us and for others in the past.

Under His wings,

Pastor Ed Bowen

March 14, 2010