CHAPTER 77

A PSALM OF ASAPH: THE GREATNESS OF GOD

¹I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and He gave ear unto me. (This Psalm has a double meaning: 1. It refers to any Believer who calls on the Lord and 2. It is a prophetic portrayal of Israel in the last half of the Great Tribulation, when it seems that she will be completely destroyed by the Antichrist. No doubt, Israel will refer repeatedly to this Psalm during that particular time.)

²In the day of my trouble I sought the LORD: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. (Unfortunately, the modern Church is presently being taught to look elsewhere than to the Lord. But, let it be known, He Alone can help!)

³I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. (The meaning of this Verse is that Asaph felt God could have prevented him from getting into this trouble and, therefore, he complains. When he did so, his spirit was overwhelmed. Complaining is never in the Will of God!)

⁴You hold my eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. (Fear overwhelms him, and he registers doubt.)

⁵I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. (Israel will, in the days of Jacobs Trouble, do the same thing. They will remember Gods opening of the Red Sea, the waters of Jordan, and the fighting of their battles. They will hunger for Him to do it again.)

⁶I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with my own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. (Asaph now begins to search his own heart.)

⁷Will the Lord cast off forever? and will He be favourable no more? (At times, the Lord allows such to take place, all designed to teach us Faith and Trust.)

⁸Is His Mercy clean gone forever? does His Promise fail for evermore? (This will be the thoughts of Israel at the latter half of the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist will have turned on her, and she faces extinction!)

⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious? has He in anger shut up His tender Mercies? Selah. (Preoccupation with self only leads to these questions and to doubt. When an individual comes to this place, doubt has degenerated to despair. As stated, Israel will cry these words in the last half of the Great Tribulation. Their only hope is God, but it seems as though the heavens are brass, and He will not answer.)

¹⁰And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the Right Hand of the Most High. (Here, the Psalmist ceases his dejected self-occupation, and becomes occupied with God. Consequently, his despondency vanishes. This is the only cure for misery and despair.

He first of all says, I will remember, and speaks of the years of past blessings. He will account them and speak of them in his mind.)

¹¹I will remember the Works of the LORD: surely I will remember Your Wonders of old. (The Works of the LORD pertain to the things that the Lord has done in ones life. These things are to be remembered and accounted.)

¹²I will meditate also of all Your Work, and talk of Your doings. (Not only are we to remember what the Lord has done, but we should meditate on it, and then, at every chance, talk about Your doings. If we talk of Gods doings, then we cannot talk of doubt and unbelief.

Gods Word and Ways are timeless. As it worked for Asaph, it will work for anyone who will embark upon that which was tendered by the Holy Spirit.

1. Remember His ancient Works, and those done personally for us; 2. Meditate on His great Works; and, 3. Talk of His great Works.)

¹³Your way, O God, is in the Sanctuary: Who is so great a God as our God? (Occupation of heart with others outside the Sanctuary and occupation of heart with self inside the Sanctuary both produce misery, but occupation of heart with God inside the Sanctuary gives comfort and victory. Despite our circumstances, God is Great!)

¹⁴You are the God Who does wonders: You have declared Your Strength among the people. (The Strength of God is gained by the Believer evidencing Faith in Christ and what Christ has done at the Cross [I Cor. 1:18].)

¹⁵You have with Your arm redeemed Your People, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. (As the Lord has redeemed His People in times past, He most definitely will do so during the time of the coming Great Tribulation. In fact, this is a Prophecy which says that He will.)

¹⁶The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw You; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. (This speaks of the Red Sea, and the Lord opening that body of water on behalf of His Children, when they were delivered out of Egypt [Ex. 14:2131].)

¹⁷The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: Your arrows also went abroad. (Due to the fact that the Lord delivered His People in ancient times, He will also do so at the Battle of Armageddon, to which this Verse pertains.)

¹⁸The voice of Your thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the Earth trembled and shook. (This, as well, refers to the coming Battle of Armageddon.)

¹⁹Your Way is in the sea, and Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps are not known. (The sense of this Passage is that as footsteps are not left in the sea, neither is the Way of God so easily tracked. Gods Way is His Word. It is not mans way. Man does not understand it and, in fact, within himself, cannot understand it [Rom. 11:33].)

²⁰You led Your People like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (The names, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron, are significant. Moses and Aaron typify Christ as King and Priest. A flock thus doubly led is surely led. Jacob and Joseph [Vs. 15] express how doubly precious to God is the flock itself, because the sheep are the sons of these fathers so beloved of God.)