In the Dark (Psalm 77)

What would a psychiatrist make of Asaph, the composer of several psalms in the Psalter, including Psalm 77? One negative psalm may be regarded as a one-off experience, but if we read the psalms of Asaph we will see that he tends to mention the dark side of religion. The psychiatrist may want Asaph to change his approach. But what if Asaph is right, and his experience is the normal for believers in the God of salvation?

The psalm begins with a strong affirmation of confidence that God answers the prayers of his people. It closes with a reference to what God did at the Exodus when he led his people to the promised land after he had delivered them from Egypt. How and why did the psalmist get from stating a positive affirmation about prayer to thinking about what the Lord had done many centuries before? Hopefully we can find the answer to that question.

The certainty

We can see Asaph’s statement of certainty in verse 1. Why did Asaph cry aloud? I doubt if he thought that he had to shout as loud as he could because the Lord was unable to hear him. The loud cry seems to be connected to his confidence – he was not embarrassed to pray because unlike the gods of the heathen he know that his God was able to answer prayer. On many occasions he had led the praise of the people of God as they gathered in public worship and prayed to their Lord. The psalms tell us to sing loudly because of the greatness of the God of Israel and the same reason could be given for praying loudly.

On what basis did Asaph believe that the Lord would hear his prayer? There are two answers to this question. One is that he was in a covenant relationship with the Lord who was committed to take care of him in a spiritual way and in a providential way. The other is that the Lord had given many promises to his people about many things, including answers to prayer.

Asaph lived under a previous administration in which God’s people had much less to go than we have. We live in the period when the ascended Jesus reigns on high and in which he has told us to pray in his name, which is another way of saying that we can pray with a certain amount of assurance because we know the authority that he possesses. It is our privilege to draw near to the throne of grace to find grace to help in our times of need. We can sing the psalm with greater assurance than Asaph had.

The consternation

In verses 2-4, Asaph states his current situation. He was in a state of spiritual confusion. Although he was in that state, he was not there because he had sinned against God and become indifferent to his demands. Rather the opposite was true. He was very committed to a life of earnest prayer.

What was it that was making him to be so distressed? Strangely, it was the thought of God. His problem was that since the Lord had not answered his prayer he assumed that the Lord was now against him. Why could he not be comforted? Because the Lord had not yet answered his particular request.

Things had become so bad that his only response to thoughts of God was a moan. Gone were the days when he rejoiced in the Lord. As a dedicated believer he engaged in spiritual exercises, but he discovered that meditation did not lead to joy but to an overwhelming sense of oppression, so strong that he fainted. Even sleep had deserted him and he could not meander off into a world of dreams. But he also knew that the reason why he could not sleep was because his eyelids were held open by God. What comfort was the promise that God gives sleep to his beloved? He could not join David in singing Psalm 4.

Even thoughts of the Lord’s previous dealings with him in gracious ways now distressed him. Because he could not sleep, he thought of those past experiences when the light of God’s face shone into his heart. He could recall times when he sang in the night. Those previous occasions when he could not sleep were happy times, very unlike the spiritual state he was now in.

The resolution

Asaph did not let his sad assessment prevent him from asking some very hard questions about God. In fact, he asked five hard questions, although they are similar to one another (vv. 7-9). Since his method is included in a psalm designed for the praise of God, it means that asking such questions is not an irreverent response. Rather we can say that it is a realistic response. Even more, we can say that it is a righteous response.

It is appropriate to assume that the Lord by the Holy Spirit has been working in the mind and heart of his devoted servant and led him to ask these questions. They are not thoughts of rebellion. Rather in his providence, the Lord has led Asaph down a route of discovery, on a journey to find out more about the God he desires to worship with his whole heart.

Asaph was rigorous in his consideration of God as he probed along the lines of his five questions. What ideas come to mind as we think about his five questions? One, will the current period of lack of fellowship with God be Asaph’s future? Two, is Asaph’s covenant relationship with God come to an end (his reference to steadfast love is a reference to the covenant)? Three, will God never fulfil another of his promises in Asaph’s experience? Four, is God inconsistent and fickle and no longer gracious? Fifth, is God’s anger more powerful than his compassion?

What is our response to Asaph’s method of dealing with the silence of God at that time in his life? When things are difficult in providence, can we speak honestly with the Lord as Asaph did? Does our theology allow us to ask such questions?

The solution

Where could Asaph go to get answers to his questions? He could not go to future events on earth because he had no idea what they would be. But he could go to the past, indeed to the greatest event in the past that he knew about – the Exodus. We may wonder why he did not go back to the time of creation, but perhaps he knew that initially the creation was one of a perfect world, and that its subsequent problems were expressions of divine judgement. And he sensed that his dilemma was not connected to his sins.

His description of the Exodus includes several features. It was an amazing miracle (vv. 11-12), it was an expression of divine holiness (v. 13), it was designed to exalt the name of God (v. 14), and it was an act of redemption of slaves (v. 15). The miracle did involve cosmic disturbances (vv. 16-18). It was obvious that God was involved, and yet his footsteps were unseen (v. 19). Nevertheless, the Lord had the shepherds who afterwards would take his people to the chosen destination (v. 20).

No doubt, it would be good for us to think about what God did at the Exodus where he handled the deliverances of thousands. Yet we have a better place to consider and that is what God at Calvary. Let us think briefly how the details of the psalm point forward to there, and how it can lead us back to there.

Calvary overall was an amazing miracle composed of many miracles. The One who suffered on the cross had already performed a great miracle when he added a human nature to his divine person. Moreover, although he was on the cross, he was sinless, which also was a great miracle.

Moreover, Calvary was an expression of divine holiness. How was the holiness of God revealed there? One obvious answer was in the way payment was made to the righteous demands of his law. Would the sinless Sufferer escape paying the penalty? We know that he did not. It is all very solemn, but we can see the involvement of divine holiness.

In addition, Calvary would bring about the exaltation of the name of God. Because of what occurred there, there would be everlasting praise of his great name. Indeed, his name will be exalted in a way that could not have happened if Calvary had not occurred.

At the same time, Calvary was the redemption of the slaves of sin. Jesus died to set his undeserving people free from the penalty of sin and eventually from the power and presence of sin. The cross was an incredible achievement even although it took place in the darkness that no one could penetrate.

We can also see that Calvary was a place of cosmic disturbances – the sun did not shine at noonday, there was a great earthquake, the veil of the temple was torn in two. Truly, God was involved, although his footsteps of God could not be seen. And afterwards God provided a shepherd for his people, but in contrast to the shepherds after the Exodus who were merely human our Shepherd is the God/man himself.

Application

How does this help us in our times of darkness? We are to remember that God can deal with any situation no matter how difficult it might seem. We are to recognise that our troubles may not be connected to our sins, but that the Lord has his own reasons for allowing the situation. We should remind ourselves that the Lord can get great glory to his name by spoiling our fears, no matter how unlikely that may seem at present. We are to tell ourselves that since he has redeemed us he will not forget us. In addition, we should get comfort from knowing that it is not possible for us to see his footsteps at any time, that nevertheless he is there and that he is working all things for our good. And we should never forget he has arranged for us to have the best of Shepherds, his own Son.