Okay, let's turn back in our
Bible to Psalm chapter 77, 77th Psalm. If I was to title this message,
it would be, The Day of My Trouble. And I want to try to bring a
message from the first verse down to verse 15. And let us
begin first reading in verse 1. I cried unto God with my voice,
even unto God with my voice, and he gave ear unto me. This
first verse is a summary of this psalm. It is the burst of joy
that comes from this writer's heart. He says, I cried unto
God with my voice, even unto God with my voice, and he gave
ear unto me. This verse is a summary. of a
sinner and a Savior. And that's what this whole song
or this whole psalm is about. I cried, he says, bow down thine
ear, O Lord, and hear me. I am poor and needy. And that
sinner cried unto his God. This psalm is about the Savior
who heard the cry of this poor sinner. He saw that I was poor
and needy, and he listened to my cry. This psalm is a psalm
of great affection. I cried. I was hungry, and he
gave me bread. I cried I was thirsty, and he
gave me water. I cried that I was naked, and
he clothed me with his righteousness. I love the Lord, because he hath
heard the voice of my supplications. This poor man cried, and the
Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Psalm
34 6. Now, the rest of this psalm,
I'll give an introduction. It is written, if you'll look
up at the heading, to the chief musician, Jeduthun, a psalm of
Asaph. Asaph was a musician in the temple
of God. This psalm is Asaph's testimony. As a musician in the temple,
he was also a sinner. And he cried unto the Lord. And
the Lord heard his cry. And this sinner who was a musician
wrote this psalm. It is a psalm also of every believer. It is a psalm of experience.
This psalm is a psalm or a song of the experience of a believer. This is not something that happened
30 years ago and he made a decision. or he made a profession and then
now he's gone on past this. This psalm is an experience that
happened to a believer. And I want to do three things
if the Lord would help us tonight. I want to look at the six questions
that we often identify with. Read them with me again there,
beginning in verse 7. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favorable no more? Have you ever asked that question
for yourself? Will he ever be favorable no
more? Do we not remember the times
in our lives when we have experienced the favor of the Lord upon our
lives and upon our hearts? And then we go into darkness.
And we ask ourselves, will the Lord be favorable no more? Verse 8, is his mercy clean gone
forever? Doth his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his
tender mercies? We are often troubled, and might
I say that these verses are verses that show our unbelief. They
are. But they are also the experience
of every believer. Look with me over at Psalm 102. Here again is another psalm.
Look there at the heading, a prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed
and pours out his complaint before the Lord. Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not thy face from me in
the day when I am in trouble, and climb thine ear unto me In
the day when I call, answer me speedily. Now back to our verse. We're back to Psalm 77. In verse two, 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. And I studied this
verse, when my soul ran in the night, and the best I can understand
by studying this, what this sore here is not talking about a physical
leopard sore, it's talking of his arms. And reading this verse
and looking into it, what he's saying is, his hands were extended
all through the night and he was crying unto his God. We are reading of a man who was
in trouble. He says, my soul refused to be
comforted. Isn't that a strange thing? But
is it not also true with God's sheep? the true believer. I will not be comforted with
a decision. I will not simply be comforted
by lighting a candle or singing a song. I want to know. I want to know the issues. I want to know the truth. And I want to know that I have
peace with God. I refuse in a time of trouble
to be comforted without something solid. And I believe that's what
our psalmist here is saying. And look, what else he says,
I remembered God and was troubled. Is that not often like we are? And what verse in this whole
chapter speaks more to our unbelief than this one? I remembered God
and was troubled. How we remember that God is just,
but how easy we forget that he's the justifier. How easy it is
for us to remember God and remember his law and to remember Sinai
Yet we forget Calvary, where mercy and truth kissed each other. And then we remember that He
is the God of the earth. Yet we forget that He is also
the Good Shepherd. I remembered God and was troubled. I complained and my spirit was
overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine eyes waking.
I am so troubled. And listen to this verse. I am
so troubled that I cannot speak. We're talking about real trouble.
You turn through this book of Psalms and you will find over
and over and over again where God's people are often troubled. We are often troubled. And these
are real troubles. And these are not things that
just happened years ago. They continue and then stay among
God's people. They have troubles. They are
troubled, oftentimes, with unbelief. I have considered the days of
old, and the, verse 5, I have considered the days of old the
years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song
in the night. I remember, I think he's saying
here, I remember when I could sing in the night. I commune
with mine own heart and my spirit make diligent search. And here
he says, will the Lord cast off forever. Now let's look at these
verses. Will the Lord cast off forever? Turn to Psalm 94. And what we're
going to do is simply go through each one of these questions and
we're going to turn to the Scriptures. Psalm 94, verse 14. The Lord will not cast off his people,
neither will he forsake his inheritance. Will the Lord be favorable no
more? Turn with me over to Jeremiah
31. And look at verse three. And again, our question, will
he be favorable no more? The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Again, I will build thee. I will
be favorable, and thou shalt be built. The Lord will be favorable. Is His mercy cling on forever? Turn to Psalm 107 verse 1 with
me. Oh, give thanks. And to the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. I will be merciful
to whom I will be merciful. Does his promise fail forevermore? Turn over to Psalm 89. Verse 29, His seed also will
I make to endure forever, and His throne as the days of heaven.
If His children forsake my law and walk not in my judgment,
if they break my statutes and keep not my commandments, then
will I visit their transgression with a rod and their iniquity
with stripes. Nevertheless, My lovingkindness
will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Hath God forgotten
to be gracious? How long wilt thou forget me,
Lord? How long will thou hide thy face
from me? Psalm 116, verse 5. Gracious is the Lord. Not simply the Lord is gracious,
but gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yea, our God is merciful. And then the last question we
often ask, hath his anger shut up his tender mercies? Turn with
me to Psalm 30. Verse four. Sing unto the Lord, all
you saints of His, and give thanks at remembrance of His holiness. For His anger is but for a moment. Hath His anger shut up His tender
mercies? His anger is but for a moment. And not only is His anger but
for a moment, but the 103rd Psalm tells us that He is slow to anger. So not only is He slow to anger,
But when he's angry, it's but for a moment. Now, we have gone
through these passages of Scripture, and we have read the answer to
these six questions. But what is our assurance to
the answer of these questions? Look back at our chapter 77 or
Psalm 77, And I'll read again verse 9.
Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his
tender mercies? Selah. And right there he pauses. And I believe that right here
that he is in the very depths of his darkness. He's at the
very bottom. And I said, verse 10, this is
my infirmity. This is my sin. This is my sickness. This is my problem. I have called
unto God, questioned God's mercy and His grace and His love and
His longsuffering. that he says, but I will remember
the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember. How will he remember? Who will
he remember? How will he remember? Turn with
me to John 14. And let's look at verse 26. How will the sinner, whom the
Lord has been merciful to and saved, how will he remember? The comforter, verse 26, but
the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things. and bring all things
to your remembrance. Whatsoever I have said to you,
peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not
as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. We read often in the scripture
when we are cast down, we go to the word and we read these
psalms and we read these things and we're troubled and we're
looking and we're searching and we're trying to find comfort
and rest. Do you know how the Lord brought
comfort and rest to this psalmist? He reminded him of the Redeemer. Look with me down at verse I'm lost, I'm sorry. Verse 14. Thou art the God that
doest wonders. Thou hast declared thy strength
among the people. Who is the strength? What is his strength among the
people? Is it not our Lord? Look at verse 15. Thou hast with
thine hand, with thine arm, redeemed thy people. There are three times he says,
I will remember. I will remember. I will remember. It is God the Holy Spirit that
reminds him of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Asaph here, what he
is referring to and what he is remembering is God's salvation. He is remembering when God redeemed
Israel. When did God redeem Israel? Turn
with me to Exodus 14. I'm sorry, Exodus chapter 12.
Verse three. This is what Asaph remembered. This is what God, the Holy Spirit,
reminded this man when he was in trouble. Speak ye unto all
the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month
they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the
house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. Verse five, Your
lamb shall be without blemish. A male of the first year, you
shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats. And you shall
keep it up until the 14th day of the same month. And the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening." Verse 11. And thus you shall eat it with
your loins girded, and your shoes on your feet, and your staff
in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's
Passover. For I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, and I will smite all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt,
while I execute judgment. I am the Lord. How can Asaph, how can this psalmist,
how can I know that God will be merciful, that God will be
gracious, that God will not forget me? Verse 13, And the blood shall
be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. And when
I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall
not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt.