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Discouragement that Leads to Hope: Psalm 77
Some parts of Scripture are written as an appeal to nonbelievers–the Gospel of John, for example–while other parts, such as Psalm 77, are written for believers. The poetry of Psalm 77 is like a painting. It paints the intimate details of a believer’s heart as he, or she, struggles to maintain faith through a dark night of ongoing trial.
These words from the NIV are like colors:
I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me; in distress; I stretched out untiring hands; I would not be comforted (chose to pray rather than sleep away the pain); I groaned; I meditated; my spirit grew faint; you kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak; Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?
What Christian has never felt like this?
But the poet in Psalm 77, who could easily be Christ himself as he nears his death, chooses not to remain in this posture of unanswered, agonized beseeching. He steps forward. He resolves to do something about his mental state. He purposefully chooses to remember.
Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” (NIV)
What does this believer remember? God’s ways, his past miracles, his power among his believing people. Every Christian has a history with God Almighty. If not, then they are not Christian. All Christians have been saved by God. There is so much to remember! The older one grows, the greater in number are these memories of times when God stepped in to help and to save. For the poet in Psalm 77, it was the crazy crossing of the Red Sea that he remembers. For the guards at the tomb of Christ, it was that magnificent earthquake that released to freedom their no longer dead prisoner. For Jesus, it was when he came up from the waters of baptism and the dove of the Holy Spirit alighted on his head. For Peter, it was when an angel of the Lord silently broke the locks on the chains that bound him captive to the guards in Herod’s dungeon (Acts 12:1-11).
We all have memories. Psalm 77 encourages us as believers not to remain in our feelings of fear and despair, but to make an instant withdrawal from the savings account of our past dealings with God. God’s nature and his love never change; he is eternal; so is his love for us. Because we remember all the times that God saved us in the past, we know that he will not fail us now. Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Connections: Psalms 47 and 17
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PSALMS ARE NOT WRITTEN IN CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE. Readers hinder themselves when they only read Psalms in sequential order. If I may use a word like “fun” when describing the Bible, then it’s fun and exciting to find two psalms separated numerically that link in chronological sequence. By “chronological sequence,” I mean the sequence of events in Jesus’ life.
Using a psalm arrangement such as that found in 31 Days of Wisdom and Praise sometimes helps locate links that otherwise might be lost. One such link in this book is found on Day 17. On Day 17, Psalm 47 immediately follows Psalm 17. Psalm 17 (see link to the left) contains a prayer which prophetically describes Jesus’ thought life at some point near the time of his Passion. In verses 9-12, the reader can easily picture Christ as he is confronted in the Garden of Gethsemane and later assailed by a mass of accusers at his unjust trial. Then in verses 13-15 the prophetic voice of Christ through the psalmist asks God for help and expresses faith that God will perform his resurrection. Psalm 47 answers Psalm 17, though separated by thirty other psalms.
Psalm 47:1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted! (ESV)
While Psalm 17 is ascribed to David, a solo speaker, Psalm 47 is ascribed to the Sons of Korah. The reader perceives Psalm 17 in deep chords of stress and endangerment, while the group speakers of Psalm 47 appear barely able to contain themselves for joy and jumping gladness. In Psalm 47, God answers what the psalmist prays in Psalm 17, while the chorus of singers in Psalm 47 serve as witnesses and co-beneficiaries of God’s reply. The reader can easily picture the disciples’ astonishment, followed by joy, as they learn that Jesus their friend and teacher is no longer dead, but alive. The amazement and extreme jubilation carries over to the incipient church assembled to watch as Jesus ascends into the clouds. The church continues to express their reverence and jubilation over Christ their King throughout the remainder of the New Testament. Psalm 47 is an appropriate celebration of both Christ’s ascension and his second coming.
Readers should remember that the psalms are prophetic. They use poetry, often written in first person, to foretell what will happen at a later date to Jesus, who is God’s anointed, and to Israel, which in the prophetic application of Psalms is Jesus’ church. Verses 5-9 celebrate the ascension of King Jesus and name him as God. Psalm 47 complements Psalm 2, which also names the Son as sharing divinity with God, “…You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” (Psa 2:7 ESV)
Running to God: Psalm 16
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The speaker of Psalm 16 has an amazing relationship with the Lord. He runs onto the stage in verse 1, makes a beeline to the Lord, and cries out, “Help me!” (Protect me, save me, guard me.) “Here’s the deal,” he says, “I’m hiding in you. You are my refuge, my safety, my one spot, my only hope.”
Then he grants the Lord everything, “You are the Lord. You are the One. I have nothing worth anything anywhere in all myself or my life apart from you.” Talk about putting your eggs into one basket! What a confession this is.
Scholars concede that verses 3 and 4 are difficult, as in not clear, not understood. Let’s just say that the psalmist makes reference to other people, whether for good or for bad, but dismisses them all and turns back to the Lord.
“You are the One. You are my reward and blessing.” The original of verse 5 reads, “You are my piece of inheritance and my cup.” Not a house, nor a piece of property, not a castle, nor acres and acres of land, but You, a person, you are my inheritance and my daily provision. “I will settle myself down in You and drink of You.” Crazy, huh? Can we even imagine relating to another person in this way? I can only think of someone who is madly in love. Verse 5 also says, “You make my lot secure.” That speaks of knowing someone who both owns the lottery and controls the machine that chooses the numbers. This person matches up the winning number with the ticket I hold in my hand. Can’t get any more certain than that.
I also like the Septuagint translation of the last part of verse 5, “You are he who restores my inheritance to me.” The word restore means to bring back what was lost, to bring back what was once beautiful, whole, powerful, good, and strong. Think about the entire Bible from start to finish. What was lost in Genesis? What gets restored in Revelation? Humankind’s innocence was lost in Genesis–peace, prosperity, walking and talking in the presence of God in a place that was paradise. All this is restored in Revelation. But not just people lost out when Eve surrendered to God’s enemy and ate the apple–God lost out. The Creator and his Son, who was always by his side, they lost what they created to an enemy who destroyed and ruined what they had made for their eternal enjoyment. The Bible tells the story of how all God’s creation gets restored to God. In verse 5 the psalmist speaks of his inheritance portion of all this. Then in verse 6 we see the psalmist surveying his inheritance. “Yep,” he says, “I got the best piece. My inheritance is really good, better than anything else.”
By now we might be wondering who this psalmist is. His tone is so certain, so sure, so totally convinced that he himself is the winner of all. Who talks like this? Verse 7 gives a clue. The psalmist is someone who is close to the Lord. All night long the Lord keeps him awake instructing him, giving him guidance and counsel; we might even say child-training him, educating him, discipling him. Verse 8 tells us the psalmist is someone who sees the Lord always directly in front of his face. He never loses sight of him, never loses track. Further, the Lord is at his right hand. The right side symbolically is the position of power, the leading side, the side of protection and favor. Such confidence in the Lord is amazing.
The psalmist’s confidence in his Lord translates into an overwhelming sense of gladness and joy that in verse 9 completely floods the psalmist’s heart and every other part of him. Even his body rests securely, not the least bit anxious about anything. Verse 10 is the most amazing statement of all. The psalmist speaks out his faith and confidence in God by saying, “You will not leave my soul in hell, neither will you allow your Holy One, me, to see corruption.” In other words, even when I die, the psalmist is saying, You, God, are not going to leave me dead, and you’re not going to allow my body to rot as every other living thing since creation itself does when it dies. I’m different. I’m special. You God will not allow my body to rot at death, nor will you let me stay dead.
There is only one human being in all of history who can make a claim like this one and have it come true–Jesus Christ, God’s Son. The apostle Peter said so in Acts 2:25-28. There he quotes Psalm 16:8-11 and applies these verses pointedly to Jesus shortly after all the apostles and many others witnessed his resurrection.
Psalm 16 closes in verse 11 with this great verse, quoted here from the NET Bible, “You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight.” What could be better than this?
Before I leave here, I just want to point out what strikes me about Psalm 16.
- When the psalmist runs to God for safety in verse 1, he is running for a reason. He’s in trouble.
- The psalmist, God’s Son, has total confidence and assurance in who God is. He knows that God is able to help him and is eager to do so.
- The psalmist knows who he himself is. He is someone whom God very certainly wants to help.
- The psalmist speaks to God from a point in time far before the historical events that equate with this psalm, the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. In other words, this is prophecy. Christ the Son existed eternally before he became human, before his incarnation. This is how through the human penman he was able to foresee and foretell his future through this psalm.
- This one is important for us as readers. What is true of Christ in this psalm is also true of all those who give allegiance to him as their King. Just as the psalmist places his trust 100% in God as his Lord and benefactor, so believers must place their trust 100% in Christ as the King whom they follow and rely upon in everything. The New Testament teaches this everywhere.
- All the blessings the psalmist receives from God, God also gives to those who own Christ, to those who by their allegiance to him are found to be in him.
Romans 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (ESV)
Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Romans 8:38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
7. Therefore, we can read Psalm 16 with Christ as speaker, or we can read it with ourselves as speaker. It works both ways.
Rejection: Psalm 43
Where do you turn when the one you love rejects you? Turn to Jesus–He knows.
Anyone here who has never experienced rejection? How about rejection from someone you trusted, or even loved? A spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling, a best friend, a co-worker, the boss who hired you, the nation where you were born? Jesus is human. Jesus experienced rejection.
Psalm 43 prophetically records Jesus’ feelings of rejection by God his very own Father.
1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!
2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:1-5 ESV)
Some see in this poem a song of joy and hope, while others see an extension of the sad strains of Psalm 42. I bundle it with Psalms 42, 22, 13, and others like these.
God’s main focus in all of Scripture is his Son. Jesus said so. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,” (John 5:39 ESV). The Old Testament had the job of predicting and setting the stage for the New. Psalms announces the human life of the divine Son. When the psalmist speaks, he prophesies, and the voice he prophesies is the voice of Christ.
Verses 1 and 2 of Psalm 43 indicate that an ungodly nation rejected Jesus and he was oppressed by unjust and deceitful enemies. We previously learned this in Psalm 13. There we see God being very slow to hear the psalmist’s plea for help. Verse 2 of Psalm 43 takes the psalmist one step further. Here he accuses God of rejecting, or spurning, him. This is not quite as strong yet as Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” where “forsaken” means left me behind, abandoned me.
We get the picture. Not only did God’s holy, anointed Son receive the blows of his own people, but while they were doing this, God himself rejected, turned away from, and abandoned him. How must Jesus the man have felt? Shouldn’t the Bible, if it is God’s word, predict this? Who would think? Who would expect? The Bible must tell us these things if we are to place our trust in this person hanging naked and dead upon a cross, then buried in the ground.
Jesus’ disciples had lost faith after his crucifixion. They were afraid and confused. They hadn’t yet heard of his resurrection when Jesus anonymously came by two of them on the road and walked with them awhile. Jesus pinpointed their lack of faith, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25 ESV) Then he explained to them what the Old Testament had predicted concerning his death and resurrection, “26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:26-27 ESV). Their faith was strengthened. They went running all the way back to where they had just left and shared with the other disciples what they had learned. Prophecy bolsters faith. Knowing this, God included Psalms in Scripture.
Psalms: Poetic Prophecy
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Media service providers love to bundle–TV, internet, land lines. Why do some Old Testament scholars deny God that privilege? God bundles. Psalms can be grouped according to themes. This is not news. But God does more than repeat themes and scatter them throughout Psalms. He loves to string psalms like pearls on a single strand.
The major thread running through Psalms is the story of God’s Son, especially what happened to him on the cross. When God foretells a story centuries before its occurrence, the foretelling is called prophecy.
Acts 2:23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. (ESV)
25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption,
Why did God prophesy the events of his Son’s life centuries before they occurred? I can think of a few reasons. Perhaps collectively we can think of more:
- to prove the presence of the supernatural
- to provide supernatural credentials for his incarnate (born as a human) Son
- to provide a road map of education and warning for the Son’s journey through human existence
- to prepare a people ready to receive his Son
- to bolster the faith of his Son during a very rocky ride
- to bolster the vision and understanding of the first disciples, the first followers of Christ
- to bolster the faith of the first disciples-turned-missionaries
- to convince all that God is for us, not against us, as we discover that the very human voice of the psalmist is my voice, and your voice, and the voice of people everywhere
God told the events ahead of time, so that we who were to follow could see, understand, and believe.
Why poetry? Why write prophecy as poems? Is there a better media than poetry to convince us “stubborn of heart” people that Christ, God’s chosen and anointed, was and is every bit as human as we are? Poems can be a subjectively accurate display of the heart, feelings, mind, and thoughts of the person speaking them.
God loves people so much that he sent himself in the person of his Son to bring life to us–to raise us from the dead. And with his Son, even before his Son’s arrival, he sent these magnificent poems to display the utter humanity of his Son in a way that an itinerant preacher/healer could not do in real time. Think of Jesus and his disciples so pressed upon by the anxious crowds that they had time neither to eat nor sleep. Think about the thousands of people Jesus healed, the thousands (?) of miles they walked, the hundreds of sermons he preached in three years, the hours and hours of private praying he did. Who would be there to write down his meditations and prayers? God provided. He sent a prophet-poet named David centuries ahead of time to record the thoughts, feelings, and prayers of his yet-to-be-incarnated Son. In this way God foretold the life of his Son.
Who in the culture of that day would have expected that God’s Son, his anointed, the mighty King to be (see Psalms 2 and 110), would live a life of poverty and suffering? Who in their wildest dreams would even dare to imagine that God would reject his Son unto death? Who would possibly dare to claim that the nakedly shamed and beaten Jesus of Nazareth was…Messiah? Impossible! No one but God would think these things. Therefore God predicted in advance through the prophecies of Psalms and other books, such as that written by Isaiah, so that at the right moment, we could recognize the divine Christ in his human form when he came.
In the voice of the suffering psalmist, I hear my own voice. As I do, I realize the fact that God ultimately wrote these words and included them in his book. This tells me that just as God sees the psalmist, God sees me, he sees you, he loves me, and he loves you. And just as the psalmist turned to God through all his trials, cried out to him for help, and praised him, God wants me to do the same. God is love.
Psalms Are Interactive
Human hands wrote the Psalms. Even so, God stands behind them all. He has complete charge. He makes the rules for his own Psalms. He states this principle elsewhere in the Bible. “All writings are inspired by God.”[1]
Psalms are amazingly interactive. When the reader brings her heart to bear upon her reading, God often responds by personally placing a word, a line, or a thought from one of the psalms directly into the intelligent or feeling portion of her comprehension. By this I mean that God brings the poem home into the reader’s heart and mind, applying what she is reading to her personally. It’s amazing and fun when this happens. Reading Psalms is like reading no other book.
This means that a psalm can change its emphasis with each reading. Just because you’ve read one once doesn’t mean you’ve finished reading it. Just as audience response affects performers on a stage, or a teacher interacts with her students, or a choir interacts with the music they are singing, or an orchestra interacts with the score or a conductor, so God himself can interact with those who read his Psalms. God is alive and present as you read.
This doesn’t mean I’m saying that Psalms can mean any old thing whatsoever that readers desire. The meaning must always stand within the nature, or character, of God. But critics often suggest that each line of the Bible has one exact meaning. They define that meaning as whatever they think the original human author meant when he physically wrote the words. Additionally, they enjoy limiting the meaning of portions of the Bible, including Psalms, to what they might imagine it meant to its original readers. I say “imagine,” because these critics weren’t there either when the Bible was written, or when a supposed “original” group of readers or listeners saw or heard it read.
For you who are reading this blog, that’s neither here nor there. For now, I just want to encourage you to pick up Psalms and read them for yourselves. You might be amazed to discover that God may choose to speak directly into your heart, which he often does for readers of Psalms. It’s totally delightful when this happens, even when he addresses the hurting and painful spots in your heart, like a doctor or a surgeon might your body. Always remember, God is love, and he loves you. He wants you to grow to love him, as well. Reading Psalms can help you do this.
[1] 2 Timothy 3:16. See also John 10:35.
One Small Voice 