Psalm 77:1-20 I Seek Him
Asaph sings of a time when God seems to be silent. Even so, he remembers God’s love and in times of trouble he seeks God.
We have read several of psalms written by Asaph already. Reading the psalms he wrote and how he cries out about the absence of the hand of God, I assumed he lived in a much later time than David. The psalm we read last time (Psalm 76) spoke of events in the time of King Hezekiah. But after doing a search on Asaph, I find he was one of the men David appointed to the Temple as a singer.
This blew my mind! Surely God was not thought to be silent or absent in David’s time. So why would Asaph’s psalms be focused on God’s silence? Why did Asaph have to look all the way back to the time of Moses to see the hand of God on His people?
My bible helps tell me that Asaph was prophetic. This may explain why he sang of times of God’s silence. God would be silent in years to come. Israel was united at the time of David but it would not always remain so. Solomon was the last king to preside over a unified nation. And he ushered back in the idols from before with his foreign wives. The songs of Asaph then spoke of a time after Solomon.
God held out His arms to His children for a LONG time before taking them ‘across His knee’ for correction. That is when He stepped back and stopped showing them His presence. This was also a time when the Temple was torn down and the people torn from their homes; both Israel and Judah. These are the days Asaph is singing about.
Asaph isn’t giving up on God. He keeps praying, keeps seeking, keeps singing, and keeps hoping for his answers. So strong is his desire to hear from God that he can’t even close his eyes. “You hold my eyelids open” (verse 4). He can’t find rest from the troubles of his day. Instead, he looks back and remembers the things God did for His people already. This knowledge brings him comfort and hope.
Looking back at the wonders of God gives Asaph hope that God will again speak to His people. God will NOT abandon His people forever! When their lesson is complete they WILL hear from Him again. God will send His Own Son after the silence Asaph sings of. We know this because we are living in that time.
In our own lives we can go through times when it feels like God is silent. I know I have experienced these times. I had to do exactly what Asaph did; continue to seek Him, call out to Him, and trust Him to answer when the time was right. Not on my timetable but on His. There IS hope! God will NOT be silent forever!!!
Father God, thank You that You hear my prayers even when You don’t speak right back. Those moments of silence are some of the deepest learning times for me. I don’t enjoy them but I recognize Your hand in them. Keep me coming to You Lord. Thank You for always being with me, even when I don’t feel it. I will walk by faith. Faith in Your promise to NEVER leave or forsake me.
