Psalm 77:7-9
“Will the Lord cast off forever?
And will He be favorable no more?
Has His mercy ceased forever?
Has His promise failed forevermore?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?
Selah”
If these questions were posed to us on a theology test, we would all answer “No, no, six times no.” We know that He promises:
Hebrews 13:5 “…For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
Lamentations 3:22-23 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning.”
Mark 13:31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
Ephesians 2:7 “. . . that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
His presence, mercy, promises, and grace are eternal. They will never change, wear out, or fail. No matter what our condition, as turbulent as it may seem, the promises of God are sure and steadfast. He will never change. But these questions are not posed as a quiz for the Bible student, but out of the difficulties the Psalmist is facing. We are not privy to the details that caused his condition, but by his own admission, his soul refuses comfort. It is quite common in times like that, to question the promises of God. When the tides of trial swell up against us, and we begin to go downward in sorrow, it can seem as though the promises of God have failed.
The Psalmist does more than state the problem, he also provides the solution.
Psalm 77:11 “I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.”
His trials had robbed him of sleep, but rather than letting worry consume him, he began to recall the mighty works of the Lord. He seems to have called to memory the Red Sea crossing. Thinking back to those who were boxed in, surrounded by mountains, armies, and the waters, it looked as if there was no hope. The promise of a land flowing with milk and honey seemed to be impossible, and the death of a nation imminent. That is, until the Lord showed up and meted out His promise to His people. The Psalmist was not a participant in that event, but since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, his strength was revived by calling to mind the faithfulness of God.
In your trial, don’t be consumed in mind by the storm you are facing, but rather flood your mind with stories of His faithfulness, and watch Him revive your strength as you await His deliverance.
Pastor Jim
Looking back, we see that the ministry of Elijah was remarkable. He came out of obscurity, and was powerfully used as the voice of God for a nation. His ministry impacted kings, and stirred revival in a morally collapsing Israel. As he aged, the world knew it was losing one of the greatest men who ever walked its soil.
Things in the kingdom of God run very differently than they do in the kingdoms of men. This is particularly true of exaltation. The word exalted means “to raise in rank or power, to be elevated or lifted above.” What exaltation is, and how to achieve it, are different in God’s Kingdom.
This is certainly not the only record of Ahab’s sin. He was a man who long ago had given up on any desire to live a life that honors the Lord. This passage does however illustrate, quite strongly, the question asked by Jesus, when He said, “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24)
This psalm is the personal testimony of a man who almost fell away from the Lord. When he speaks of slipping, he is not talking about a little slip, but rather about throwing in the towel, and giving up on following the Lord.
Israel was facing almost certain annihilation; the forces of Syria had mounted against them and poised to attack. The troops and resources of Syria far outweighed that of Israel; and in a word, things looked bleak. It was with this backdrop that we are introduced to an unnamed prophet, who brought an almost unbelievable message. The message was that God would deliver Israel from the threat and he would do it through the young and inexperienced leaders.
Elijah was a man devoted to God. Publicly and privately, he showed commitment and faithfulness to the Lord. His most recent experiences had led him to a face-to-face conflict with the one who most opposed the ways of God. After experiencing great personal victory, Elijah was plagued with a deep depression. He felt as though he could no longer continue serving the Lord, for the opposition was simply too great. Instead of surrounding himself with others who loved and served the Lord, Elijah isolated himself, and his depression grew deeper and darker. The farther he ran, the worse things became, until he found himself miles from home, cowering in a deserted cave, deep in the wilderness.
We have four boys who are separated by only five years. When they were little, we, like so many others families, spent a lot of our time visiting amusement parks. As the older ones grew, they were attracted to the bigger rides, and their younger brother wanted to do whatever they did. The problem was, many of the rides had a standard. If you were not a certain height, you could not ride. At times, this created quite a controversy. We tried everything to make him just a little taller, we spiked his hair, we bought shoes called “Heelies”, that had a wheel in the back, and provided a couple extra inches to his height. However, time and time again, when we reached the entrance, he was excluded. He simply did not measure up.
For thousands of years, men have stood in the valley of decision, unwillingly to make a complete commitment to the Lord. Fear, guilt, weakness, sin, and the influence of others, hold us back from surrendering to the Lord. The words of Elijah are as needful today as ever. He calls us to carefully consider the Lord, and make a decision to commit our lives to Him.
Sometimes, God chooses the most unlikely candidate as His teaching vessel. Here, and again in New Testament, we find poor widows, with almost no resources, being used to illustrate the principle of giving.
Jim Gallagher 