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| I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
1 - Is it not a grand privilege that we can cry out to God in the midst of our trying times! But greater is the comfort that he hears us! He knows our situation, and his ear is not heavy that he can’t hear (Isaiah 59:1).
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| In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
2 - While in the midst of his trouble the Psalmist prayed all night. As he states “my sore ran in the night,” he intimates that his pain did not subside. As we see in the latter verses, his pain appears to be more emotional and spiritual than physical. All night he suffered, called on the Lord, and could seem to get no relief. It is interesting, however, that he says, “my soul refused to be comforted.” It appears that the Lord may have attempted to comfort him. Maybe in hindsight, as he writes, he understands that the Lord wanted to comfort him, but in his distress, he would not receive the help of the Lord. Many times we are resistant to the assistance we need because it is not manifested in the form we expect or request.
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| I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
3 - He pours out his heart unto God, and considering his suffering and distress is more than he can truly bear.
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| Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
4 - He is so overwhelmed with his problems that he can not rest, he can not speak, he can hardly function. The Psalmist is at his rope’s end.
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| I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
5 - In the midst of his trouble, pain, and supplication, the Psalmist stops to “consider the days of old.” He begins to think about the “years of ancient times.” He can’t help but remember the way that God has worked in days gone by. Maybe he called to remembrance the exhortation in Deuteronomy 32:7 (“Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.”) It seems as though he is calling to mind what God used to do, how he used to work, miracles he once performed. He considered the works of God from creation forward.
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| I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
6 - Further consideration is given not just to what God has done in the past, but also to what God had done for this man, Asaph. He remembers when he used to have a song, when he used to rejoice, when he used to have joy, but now things are so different.
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| Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
7 - In verses 7-9, Asaph wonders if maybe God just does not work like he used to work. Maybe he has forgotten his promises. Maybe he has cut us off. Maybe he will never hear my prayer. Maybe his mercies are over. Surely, this is not true! His mercy endures forever. 41 times, the Bible tells us that his mercy endures forever. He tells us 26 times in Psalms 136! He has not forgotten his people! He is not negligent of our prayers. He has not shut up the mercies of heaven. There is still a God who hears and answers prayers!
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| Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
8 - He searches diligently to determine what happened. Why have I lost my song? Where did I lose my joy? I used to sing in the night, but now I am sorely distressed! Diligently he sought to determine what was the reason for the marked change and loss of joy. May we learn this lesson! When we have no song, no joy, no strength, don’t just despair, but seek diligently to see where you lost it? Like the man who lost his ax head while splitting beams, we need to ask, “Where fell it?” (II Kings 6:6). Where did we lose it? Was it in a prayerless night? Was it in a week without devotions? Was it in the local bar or pub? Was it in laughter at the lewd jokes told by a coworker? Was it in many days without a burden for sinners? Where did we lose it? Search diligently for that joy, and cherish it!
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| Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. |
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| And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
10 - This verse is the turning point in this Psalm. The Psalmist says, “This is my infirmity.” This is my problem. My problem is not that I am in trouble, have pain, am depressed, have been mistreated… THIS is my infirmity. I have lost sight of God! I have at best a fractured relationship with him. I NEED GOD. I MUST HAVE HIM! Surely, I will remember him. I will return to the Lord. I will sing again. I will have joy again, but I will not have it until I resolve the problem… I am not where I need to be with God. If we could ever resolve this in our hearts, most of the issues we face would be resolved. We need God. We need his touch, his anointing, his power. Until we have it, we will continue to live short of our full potential.
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| I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
11 - In verses 10-12, Asaph takes on a plan of action. He knows what he will do. He begins with remembering. He considers the days of old. He calls to mind the many years of God’s work and his track record (v. 10). He remembers all the works of the Lord and the wonders and miracles he has performed (v. 11).
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| I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
12 - When he remembers, this provokes his thoughts and causes him to consider and meditate. He dwelt upon the works and wonders of God. A God who made everything in six days, breathed life into man, gave the law in power, parted the Red Sea, and rained manna down from heaven can do anything! The more he thought about the greatness of God, the more he forgot about the problems he had! In these verses he remembered, he remembered, he remembered, he meditated, and then he talked. After all that remembrance and meditation on the Lord, he was so zealous for God that he had to testify. He had to tell someone about how good God was. He had to tell them that God had not forgotten them, his mercies were not gone, he had not shut his ear in heaven. He is still the same God!
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| Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
13 - His tune has so changed from the earlier verses that he is now making declaration that there is not another god like our God! He has fallen in love with the House of God again. His confidence in God is there again. His joy has returned, and as best I can tell, his circumstance has not changed one iota! But when he really caught sight of the Lord in his glory, he lost sight of his problems. Quit telling God how big your problems are, and start telling your problems how big God is!
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| Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. |
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| Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. |
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| The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. |
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| The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. |
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| The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. |
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| Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. |
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| Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. |
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Matthew Henry Commentary
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