27 June

Bible In 365 Days                                        

Psalms 74-77

Psalm 74

This is a great complaint, but it is a complaint of faith. Hardly a gleam of light is found throughout. The singer sits in the midst of national desolation and pours out his soul to God in passionate appeal for His help, and protest against His silence and inactivity. This is not the son of an atheist, but the wail of a believer. He has a past experience of God's power and a present conviction thereof. The signs of that power are in day and night, in summer and winter. The one place from which He seems to be absent is the place of His people's distress. The ground of the singer's plea is not the distress of these people finally. It is rather that the enemy reproaches the name of Jehovah and blasphemes it.

In that central complaint the name Jehovah, which is ever suggestive of the essential Helper, emerges, and there only, in the psalm. The master consciousness of the moment is of God the Mighty One, but there is that deeper knowledge of Him as the Helper of the needy. Again, we are thankful that such a psalm has a place here, for it is so true to much human experience. When the heart is hot and restless, and it seems as though God had forsaken His own, he is a wise man who turns to God in song, even though the song be only a complaint.

Psalm 75

If this, and the former psalm, were written by different men and at different periods, then the spiritual sense of the editor is most clearly revealed in their juxtaposition in this book. This is a complete and remarkable answer to that. In form the song is dramatic. It opens with a chorus which is an ascription of praise (Psalms 75:1). This is answered directly by God Himself. He declares that in the set time He judges. All the appearances of the hour may be perplexing, but the heart may know that He knows, and awaits only the right moment to act. Chaos may characterize the outlook, but order enwraps it all, for God has set up the pillars (Psalms 75:2-3). Then the solo of the confident soul breaks forth, and, addressing the wicked, charges them not to be confident, because God is the judge. In His hand He holds the cup of judgment. Ultimately He abases the wicked, and lifts up the righteous. Therefore the singer's song is ceaseless. In experience such a song as this always succeeds an honest declaration of perplexity made directly to God by a tried, but trusting, soul. The prophecy of Habakkuk is another perfect illustration of the fact.

Psalm 76

The singer celebrates a great victory, recognizing it as the work of God. The song has three movements. In the first, God is seen as the defense of the people (Psalms 76:1-3). In the second, His victory over their enemies is declared (Psalms 76:4-9). In the third, the truth is summarized, and appeal is made to His people and the surrounding nations to change their attitude toward Him (Psalms 76:10-12).

The national life gathers around Him. He is known by the nation; His dwelling place is in their city. The attack made upon them has been broken by the One who dwells in the midst of them. The issue of His judgment is manifest in the blotting out of the enemy. They have ceased to be, having been put to the sleep of death. God's judgments are purposeful, He arose to save the meek, and they are resistless; the enemies are no more. So perfect is His government that by judgment He compels evil to serve His purpose, making the wrath of men to praise Him. To such 'a God there should be allegiance sworn and rendered by His people, and the surrounding peoples should submit with gifts.

While the weapons of our warfare are spiritual, God is the same in might; and while He is in the midst our defense is sure. No weapon formed against the trusting people can prosper.

Psalm 77

This is a song of the healing of sorrow. It opens with the declaration of determination to cry to God, and then proceeds to explain the reason of this determination. Psalms 77:10 is the pivot on which the whole psalm turns, from a description of an experience of darkness and sorrow to one of gladness and praise. The first part tells of sorrow overwhelming the soul. The second gives a song which is the outcome of a vision that has robbed sorrow of its sting. In the first part, a great infirmity overshadows the sky, and there is no song. In the second, a great song pours itself out, and sorrow is forgotten. The difference is that between a man brooding over trouble and a man seeing high above it the enthroned God. In the first half, self is predominant. In the second, God is seen in His glory. A very simple method with the psalm makes this perfectly clear. In verses Psalms 77:1-9 the first personal pronoun occurs twenty-two times, and there are eleven references to God by name, title, and pronoun. In the second, there are only three personal references and twenty-four mentions of God.

The message of the psalm is that to brood on sorrow is to be broken and disheartened, while to see God is to sing on the darkest day. Once we come to know that our years are of His right hand, there is light everywhere, and the song ascends.