Sermons
The Day of Trouble
Series: PsalmsIn The Day of Trouble
Psalm 77
I. Introduction
Life’s not always sunshine and rainbows, is it? Sometimes it rains. Some days are gloomy. Everyone has these ups and downs, it’s a normal part of life. But for some people, the rain lasts longer than a single afternoon shower. Sometimes it seems to be overcast for days or weeks. Like the cartoon illustration, some people seem to have a little raincloud over their head that follows them around, blocking the sunlight of joy, peace, and happiness.
This is an experience we call depression, and it affects a lot of people at some time or another in their lives. Clearly some people struggle with it more than others for reasons I’m not sure we can understand.
The Bible actually has quite a bit to say about this, maybe more than most people realize. Quite a few of the Bible authors write about feeling discouraged and downcast. In our children’s Bible story books, the good people are usually illustrated with a smile on their face to let us know they are good. But being good doesn’t always come with a smile. Sometimes the faithful shed tears.
We might assume that the heroes of faith always felt the presence of God, but in fact the psalms are full of expressions of crying out to God and wondering when he will respond. The psalms capture moments of sheer joy and praise, but they also describe despair. Even the Son of God quotes from one such psalm when he cries out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus is not the only one to ask this question. For tonight’s lesson, we will return to our study of the psalms, and this time we’ll be in psalm 77, which describes someone in a state of depression, best I can tell. It doesn’t offer us a quick fix or easy remedy, but it does show us a way forward when we find ourselves in a rainstorm, and also answers the question, “where is God” in such times.
As dreary as the subject matter is, I find this a beautiful and encouraging psalm, and I hope you will as well.
Let’s read it first, then back up and take a closer look at what’s going on.
[Read Psalm 77]
II. Analysis
The psalm is written in four sections, with a pivot point at verse 10.
It begins with a statement of faith:
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
James says we must approach God in faith. The psalmist has put his trust in God. But that trust is being tested.
2 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.
The day of trouble has come. We don’t know what this was, and probably it’s for the best, because it can be whatever day of trouble we are facing. Day here probably does not mean a single 24-hour period, but rather a time of difficulty. Life will come with these times.
Eccl. 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
This is a fact, but it is one that challenges the faith of some. Trying to wrestle with the question “why?” In some cases, thinking about God and trying to understand the meaning of things can be painful.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
This moaning is a sound of deep distress and suffering. It can be an emotional pain, a fear, or a physical pain. Or all these combined.
In times like this we know to turn to God in prayer. But that doesn’t mean an instant relief. Sometimes even the relief of sleep is hard to find:
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Many people struggle with insomnia. Sometimes there’s no explanation. I’ve had a few nights of tossing and turning, usually from feeling guilty about something, and a few times from physical pain. It can make for a long night.
Job 7:4 When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn.
The blessing and the curse about being awake in the night is it gives us time to think. So we have to choose what we will ponder.
5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago.
At this point I’m not sure what he is thinking on. Maybe better times that are now long gone. Or maybe he is thinking further back than that, as we see as the psalm goes on.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
Now we are getting down to the heart of the matter. It begins by remembering a song. Perhaps a song of praise. But how does that fit with this time of trouble? That seems to lead to the following questions. These are questions about God. Who he is, where he is, why is he not helping.
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
Has God turned on me for good? David knew the answer to this:
Psa. 30:4-5 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
God will not turn away forever.
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God’s steadfast love come to an end? Jeremiah knows the answer to that:
Lam. 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
No, God doesn’t run out of love and mercy.
Are his promises over? No, we know that we will not live to see the end of God’s promises, as if they were for a bygone time but not for us.
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
We can be sure that God hasn’t forgotten to be gracious. I have a feeling the psalmist knew the answers to these questions even as he asked them, just like we do. But they are recorded for us for a reason. It shows that even people of faith wrestle with the problem of suffering. We may have these feelings. But let’s see how the author deals with them.
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
Here’s his solution. I’m going to think about what God has done. This is an important point. It’s normal to question why, and perhaps even to question God. It’s okay sometimes to have a pity party. But the key is not staying in that frame of mind. I think sometimes the problem is that people get stuck on in a rut of negative thinking. We can choose to direct our thoughts in a different direction. In order to answer his own questions about who God is, the psalmist determines to meditate on good things God has done.
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
When we think along these lines, we can’t help but be reminded that we serve an all powerful God. None of our troubles are too big for him. And we serve a God who saves his people. He is active.
But that might leave us wondering, where is God in the day of trouble. That’s where the thought goes next.
The author turns to a stormy time. This appears to be a poetic description of the crossing of the Red Sea. Remember the setting of that. The people had left Egypt and had come to the Red Sea, and then Pharaoh changed his mind about letting them go. In the distance came Pharaoh’s army.
The people panicked:
Ex. 14:10-15 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘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 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” 15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.
From the rest of the passage, it is clear that the crossing happened at night.
Ex. 14:21-22 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Something I had not thought much about before, but do you think this was a frightening experience?
16 When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
From what I can tell, these are just poetic details to paint the story for us. But they certainly put a vivid picture on it. But where was God in this story?
19 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.
I love that. God’s path was through the waters yet his footprints were unseen. He was there! He was with them, leading them like sheep. They may have felt afraid and alone, but he was with them. With the wind howling, the enemy on their heels, water piled up on either side, a pillar of fire lighting their way, God saw them through the storm and rescued them from danger.
In the morning, their enemies and the danger was gone.
Ex. 14:30-31 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
III. Conclusion
Here are some lessons we can learn from this.
A. The day of trouble is part of life
We can expect to have bad days. Jesus did. All people of faith have had trials.
B. Prayer is not a quick fix
In times of trial, we are told to pray. We are taught to trust in the power of prayer. But this doesn’t mean that God will act as quickly as we might like. And he may not take the suffering away. Paul had to live with his thorn in the flesh.
C. Do not dwell in despair
We see heroes of faith, men like Elijah, Jeremiah, Job, and David have moments of despair. They are not punished for this. But that’s not a place you want to stay.
D. Turn your thoughts to the Lord’s power and provision
Make a conscious effort, like the psalmist, to think about positive things that God has done.
E. Realize the Lord’s footsteps are unseen
We may not realize until afterward that God was with us all along. We are never truly alone.
2 Tim. 4:16-17 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
INVITATION
