Awaken Day 9 Song In The Night: Digging Deeper

Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
The Questions
1) What is the psalmist’s circumstances and emotional state?
2) What is the tone of the psalmist’s questions in verses 7-9?
3) What is the transition point for the psalmist? What is he remembering?
Psalm 77
I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.
My hands were continually lifted up
all night long;
I refused to be comforted.
3 I think of God; I groan;
I meditate; my spirit becomes weak. Selah
4 You have kept me from closing my eyes;
I am troubled and cannot speak.
5 I consider days of old,
years long past.
6 At night I remember my music;
I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.
7 “Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?
8 Has his faithful love ceased forever?
Is his promise at an end for all generations?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Selah
10 So I say, “I am grieved
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will remember the Lord’s works;
yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.
12 I will reflect on all you have done
and meditate on your actions.
13 God, your way is holy.
What god is great like God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you revealed your strength among the peoples.
15 With power you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 The water saw you, God.
The water saw you; it trembled.
Even the depths shook.
17 The clouds poured down water.
The storm clouds thundered;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
lightning lit up the world.
The earth shook and quaked.
19 Your way went through the sea
and your path through the vast water,
but your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Original Intent
1) What is the psalmist’s circumstances and emotional state?
Asaph, the author of this psalm, was one of three Levites whom David had assigned to be a singer in the Tabernacle. Our modern-day correlation might be a worship leader. Despite his leadership position, Asaph wrestled heavily for an extended period with a heaviness that sapped his delight and joy. Depression had settled around Asaph, wearying him with chronic emptiness, wracking his mental, emotional, and physical state. He couldn’t find comfort, even though he called on the Lord for relief. His spirit was weak within him, even though Asaph meditated on God. We have no reason to believe that Asaph was only “going through the motions” of seeking after God, but that his heart truly was seeking after God. This was a time of true desperation for Asaph, he found solace in nothing.
2) What is the tone of the psalmist’s questions in verses 7-9?
Hurt and painful circumstances weigh down heavily on our souls having a blinding effect on our perspective. Sometimes the ache runs so deeply, we simply cannot see anything else. The past looks enchantingly better and the future feels impossible, this is the seedbed for doubt and anger. Here is where we find Asaph. “Will the Lord spurn forever? Has His steadfast love ceased? Have His promises ended? Has God forgotten how to be gracious?” (verses 7-9) Asaph’s intention isn’t mockery, it’s honesty. His persistent pain has driven him, the esteemed worship leader, to question his God, his faith, and all the beliefs he has held dear.
3) What is the transition point for the psalmist? What is he remembering?
Verse 9 ends with the mysterious Hebrew word “Selah”, which most theologians agree gives some nod towards “intentional pause for peace and stillness”. Asaph’s grief has not instantly disappeared, but he has made an intentional choice to pause and be still, assessing himself and His God. Verse 10 continues with this subtle shift as Asaph has made a clear decision, he admits his grieved feeling that the Lord has changed, but he plods forward insistently determined to remember and reflect on the Lord and all He has done. Asaph acknowledges the reality of his feelings, and then chooses to set them aside that he might intentionally remember the works and character of God. Remarkably, the shift alters the rest of the psalm. At the beginning, Asaph spoke of himself, his feelings, his grief, and his pain, but following his decision to gaze at the Lord, the poem continues with words that focus on God, His power, His redemption, His gentleness, His strength, His protection. With a perspective shift, Asaph no longer feels the need to grieve, but rather to rejoice!
Everyday Application
1) What is the psalmist’s circumstances and emotional state?
Asaph’s brutal, open honesty both frightens and comforts us. Scripture makes no attempt to airbrush the reality of real grief, genuine heartache, and pain running far deeper than some nice words can cover or even a few days can soothe away. But Asaph’s honesty brings me such comfort because, Sisters, I have been in his shoes. The days of loneliness have bled into months and years and into a season of sadness for me at points in my journey. Asaph reminds me I’m not the only one! Some of you sitting on the other side of this screen today need to hear that truth too. You’re not the only one.
2) What is the tone of the psalmist’s questions in verses 7-9?
Hear this, Beloved Daughter, the Lord is not afraid of your doubt. He will not sit in condemning judgment over you for your fearful grappling with faith questions. As you walk through the storm you don’t know how or if you’ll survive, His heart can handle your honest questions, so ask them. Write them down, weep over them as you scream them aloud as Asaph did (verse 1), and surround yourself with truths that are true even if you don’t feel them as Asaph did. “Steadfast love” was his description for a love he felt had run dry. “Faithful promises” was his depiction of a God who had run out on him. “Gracious”, “compassionate”, both truths of God’s character, even though he clearly felt like these had been replaced with anger. Truth will always win over lies, Sister. Wrap yourself in it when lies threaten to have full sway. Fight back with truth.
3) What is the transition point for the psalmist? What is he remembering?
At the beginning of the Asaph’s song, he tried to remember God and His actions in his own life. He recalled previous “songs in the night” from other times in his life, but he could not be comforted. At the end, after Asaph’s focus shifted, he intentionally chose an action fully outside of himself to meditate on and remind himself of unshakeable truths concerning God’s steadfast character. He focused on the biggest event in all of Old Testament history, the mega-event that was sung about and chronicled all throughout Old Testament poetry, song, and story. The parting of the Red Sea where God rescued His people from slavery and certain death. For us, even when we can’t be comforted by God’s actions in our own lives because depression or hurt has blinded us, we can do what Asaph did and focus on the one event that changed all of history. The crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ where He laid Himself down giving His life in exchange for ours that we might be freed from slavery to sin and its damning effect of eternal death. Here, with this perspective, we will always find life-giving, unshakeable hope!
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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