When do you pray? I am not talking about the time of day, but what motivates you to pray? When do you pray? I find that there are four times that I tend to pray. First, there are routines in my life that involve prayer. I pray during my personal study of scripture. I pray at meal times, and at set times of the day. Second, prayer is sometimes a spontaneous eruption of joy. There are times when my heart is so full of joy and that my heart speaks praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Thirdly I find that I often pray publicly. As a pastor I am often asked to pray at events or gatherings and these prayers have their own unique place. Lastly, I find that I pray when I am in need. These are sometimes prayers of panic, worry, heart ache, or pain. Psalm 77 is one of these types of prayers. The Psalm is composed with four stanzas, and the first stanza describes the distress and panic of the writer.
“I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah (Psalm 77:1-3).”
These verses describe the dark night that the psalmist is suffering. The writer describes his soul as finding no comfort, of hands being stretched out, crying for help, and moaning. Why? What is the problem? What has caused this pain? We don’t know. Perhaps it was some national crisis or catastrophe that had befallen the children of Israel when the Babylonians came and sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and forcible enslaved thousands. Perhaps this psalm reflects the experience of the exile, the cajoling sneer and contempt of the captors’ taunts like those found in Psalm 137:1-4, “1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?” Maybe, the Psalm is a deep personal need due to a sickness, danger, or some other circumstance.
Have you ever prayed a prayer of need? You have if you have prayed for a loved one who is sick, a marriage that is struggling, or a financial situation that you don’t know how it will be solved. If you have ever really been in great need you can relate to the description given in verse 2 of Psalm 77, “In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.” When our hearts are filled with need and worry, sleep is hard to find.
In the second stanza the Psalmist doubts God. Notice the questions that are asked as you read Psalm 77:4-9. “4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago. 6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: 7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? 8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah.”
Do you ever have questions like these? When a person is in the depths of despair, discouragement, worry or pain, these are indeed the questions that we ask.
- God, are you angry with me?
- Do you love me? Do you still care about me?
- Have you forgotten me? Have you forgotten your compassion?
Maybe today this is what you think, and this is what you feel. That somehow God no longer loves you, or cares for you, or even thinks about you. If this is you, and you are hurting right now, I ask you know, trust and remember that God does not withdraw his love or care for you. God is present in your pain and in whatever darkness you are feeling today. God sees you and is holding your hand. This is the sense of verse 10 at the start of the third stanza.
Psalm 77:10-15, “10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty 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 might among the peoples. 15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.”
I love vs 10, though it is a little bit cryptic. I think what the Psalmist is saying is that he puts himself into the hand of God. “I will appeal to this (I will place my worry, I will put my needs) to the years (the providence) of the right hand of the Most High.” That is how I understand verse 10. The psalmist is placing his current situation into God’s hands. He is trusting the Lord. How does he do this? How does he put his hurt and pain into the hands of God? There are three things listed in this stanza that tells us how he trusts the Lord with his pain.
- 1. He places his pain in the hand of God by remembering what the Lord has done in the past. This is verse 11, “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” I do this both with reminders from Biblical events, but also those God moments in my own life. I remember and hang onto those times when God moved in my life to help me during times of pain or hurt.
- 2. He places his pain and hurt in the hand of God by meditating and considering what the Lord has done. This is verse 12, “I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” Meditating and pondering the works of God is very important. As I ponder God and ponder what he has done, there is an encouragement that comes from that knowledge and that activity. The image that comes to my mind is those speeches that are always given by general before the battle is to be fought. The movie Braveheart may be the most famous, but it is in nearly every movie that has a battle. One side is about to be destroyed, darkness has come on the land, and the general rides out before his men and reminds them as to why they are fighting and why they can win. It is that point in the movie when our own hearts are moved. I think this is much of what happens when we remember and meditate on the deeds of the Lord.
- 3. Lastly, the psalmist places his pain and hurt into the hand of God by confessing and praising that God is God. This is seen in verses 13 to 15, “Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.” Again, think of those movies when the general gives his speech. When he is done, the crowds shout and cheer and are ready to push back against the darkness, to continue the journey, to fight on for what is good and true. That is how I read these verses of praise and confession. They describe a heart that has become courageous.
We come to the conclusion of Psalm 77, the fourth stanza. It reads, “When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. 20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron (Psalm 77:16-20).” An important symbol in the Bible is the symbol of a sea or ocean. The sea is a symbol of chaos and pain. Thus when the Psalmist describes the waters trembling at God’s presence, he is not only referring to the story of Exodus when the Israelites crossed the red sea, but he is also talking about his own heart. “When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.” Life is often filled with turmoil and pain, the waters of chaos. We pray that God will remove such things form us, but notice what God does instead. He provides the a way through those waters of chaos. Reading again verse 19 thinking about your own heart that refuses to be comforted, “Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.”
This verse speaks truth about living life with God. God’s unseen footprints through the waters are seen everywhere. He is at work all around you, in every circumstance, in every breaking wave of worry and anxiety. He is there. God never left his people alone, and likewise he does not leave you alone, but guides you through all of life’s pathways, though his footprints are frequently unseen. Notice how the Psalm ends. “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” The good news that we have today is that we have one who is better than Moses and Aaron. His name is Jesus. He is the shepherd of our soul, he is the gentle and kind of heart, he is good and faithful, he has conquered death, he is preparing a place, he is holy and he is just. Trust him tonight in your own prayers of need.
Pastor Trent Eastman, July 1, 2020.
Concerning the Word of Life 