Psa 77:5-8 | KingComments | STEP | The anguish of the God-fearing has been so great that he has not been able to sleep ( ). ‘You have done this’, he has said to God. It is not an expression of resignation, but more of an accusation. It was also a wrestling with the question: How could God redeem before, while He now rejects us? Therefore, there was disquiet and no trust. Because of his shaken trust in God, his disappointment in Him, his sleeplessness had been further proof that God did not care about him. Further on he will come to even stronger statements that indicate how much his trust in God had been shaken. He had kept his mouth shut about it. What should he say about his deep trouble, and to whom? After all, there was no one who understood him. In reflecting on his circumstances he had gone back in his mind to “the days of old, the years of long ago” ( ). This was not to remember how God had helped then. Then his trust in God would have been restored and praise would have risen to Him. That was not the case here. He had not come to God as His refuge in need. It seems that he had been thinking of the past with nostalgia because he had lived in prosperity and happiness. He has thought of his “song in the night” ( ). He remembered the times when he joyfully praised God. But what did the thought of past joys help in seeking a solution to present woes if you don’t end up with God? If we keep digging into the past to deal with problems in the present, we sink deeper and deeper into depression. We must learn to look up and ahead. Then we will see that God, Who was there yesterday, is also there today and will be there tomorrow. During the night he meditated with his heart on the vexing questions that had brought him to his state of disillusionment. He meditated on those questions with his “heart”. Every stone should be turned over, as it were, to find the answers to his profound questions of life. These are not theological questions, but experiential questions. They are about the experience of God’s presence in the life of the believer, while that believer doubts this very much because of the incomprehensible misery in which he finds himself. It is the wrestling of the prophet Habakkuk, who had to learn not to look at the circumstances, but to trust in God despite all adversity. He has asked six questions about God. These questions can be answered in a theologically correct way. But then we do not take the need seriously, and we demonstrate inability to suffer with the suffering. We could even say that a believer who knows Who God is should not ask such questions. Then we are blaming the believer, while God does not. In both cases we show our lack of self-knowledge. Nor is there any realization that only the grace of God has kept us from such circumstances and such questions until now. The six questions are: 1. “Will the Lord reject forever?” ( ). 2. “And will He never be favorable again?” ( ). 3. “Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?” ( ). 4. “Has [His] promise come to an end forever?” ( ). 5. “Has God forgotten to be gracious,”? ( ). 6. “Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion?” ( ). The first question of the troubled mind is whether “the Lord rejects forever” ( ). This question corresponds to two similar questions in Psalm 74 ( ). The question is not so much the rejection itself, but the question is whether God has definitively rejected. Is it over and out? Or is there still hope? Has the lovingkindness of God – literally Adonai, His covenant faithfulness ( ) – now ceased? This question expresses the deep lack of God’s nearness. It also indicates that he saw no solution. We can know that God will never reject anyone who has taken refuge in Him. We can remind a desperate believer of this time and again, without accusing him of unbelief. It is about a believer who, for whatever reason, feels rejected by God. He is desperately seeking God, but feels rejected by Him. The second question, whether the Lord would “never be favorable again” ( ), is directly related to the first. Whoever has the feeling of being ‘rejected forever’, no longer experiences the favor of God. This is mainly about God’s inner Self, what is in His heart. Whoever thinks that God is not any longer interested in him, has lost sight of what is in God’s heart. The cause of this is to float on the miserable feelings he has and the disappointing experiences he has had with God. Then a believer thinks that God is not favorable to him when things are not going well for him. The important thing is that we continue to trust God, even when everything in our lives is going against us. If we think that God is only good to us when things are going well, the thought can quickly arise that God is no longer good to us when things are going badly. The same applies to God’s lovingkindness, grace and mercy, about which the psalmist also has his questions. From doubting God’s favor toward the believer follows naturally the question whether “His lovingkindness ceased forever” ( ). That God is well-minded to the believer is evidenced by His lovingkindness. Lovingkindness is a feature of love ( ). In Psalms it is often said that His lovingkindness is forever ( ), which refers to the realm of peace. When everything is dark for the believer, he no longer thinks about that, but wonders if God’s lovingkindness – Adonai, that is the faithfulness to the covenant – has ceased forever. This is exactly the opposite of what the covenant is about. This covenant is the basis of the people’s existence. If there would be an end to the covenant, it would mean the end of the existence of the people. The question that connects to this is whether God’s “promise” has “come to an end forever” ( ). The psalmist wrestled with the promise of God's statements. Those who make their feelings the standard for their relationship to God also doubt God’s promises. There is no trust in the Word of God, which is unchanging for all generations. If we no longer find support in it, we become a plaything for our feelings. In his fifth question, the desperate believer suggests that perhaps God has “forgotten to be gracious” ( ). This question indicates how far the believer is from a proper view of God. How could God possibly forget to be gracious? That the believer experiences it this way indicates the depth of his depression. If there is no gracious God, the believer is doomed to die in darkness and hopelessness. His final question is whether God has “in anger withdrawn His compassion” ( ). Here He sees God as an angry God. But God is compassionate. Compassion means being moved by the suffering of another. However, God cannot show this because His anger is predominant. Here the believer has reached the lowest point of his depression. He imagines that God is angry toward him and therefore cannot show him compassion. It sounds logical, but it is human logic. We cannot have two opposing feelings at the same time, but God can be angry and compassionate at the same time (cf. ).

‏ Psalms 77:5-8

Has God Forgotten to Be Gracious?

The anguish of the God-fearing has been so great that he has not been able to sleep (Psa 77:4). ‘You have done this’, he has said to God. It is not an expression of resignation, but more of an accusation. It was also a wrestling with the question: How could God redeem before, while He now rejects us? Therefore, there was disquiet and no trust. Because of his shaken trust in God, his disappointment in Him, his sleeplessness had been further proof that God did not care about him.

Further on he will come to even stronger statements that indicate how much his trust in God had been shaken. He had kept his mouth shut about it. What should he say about his deep trouble, and to whom? After all, there was no one who understood him.

In reflecting on his circumstances he had gone back in his mind to “the days of old, the years of long ago” (Psa 77:5). This was not to remember how God had helped then. Then his trust in God would have been restored and praise would have risen to Him. That was not the case here. He had not come to God as His refuge in need. It seems that he had been thinking of the past with nostalgia because he had lived in prosperity and happiness.

He has thought of his “song in the night” (Psa 77:6). He remembered the times when he joyfully praised God. But what did the thought of past joys help in seeking a solution to present woes if you don’t end up with God? If we keep digging into the past to deal with problems in the present, we sink deeper and deeper into depression. We must learn to look up and ahead. Then we will see that God, Who was there yesterday, is also there today and will be there tomorrow.

During the night he meditated with his heart on the vexing questions that had brought him to his state of disillusionment. He meditated on those questions with his “heart”. Every stone should be turned over, as it were, to find the answers to his profound questions of life.

These are not theological questions, but experiential questions. They are about the experience of God’s presence in the life of the believer, while that believer doubts this very much because of the incomprehensible misery in which he finds himself. It is the wrestling of the prophet Habakkuk, who had to learn not to look at the circumstances, but to trust in God despite all adversity.

He has asked six questions about God. These questions can be answered in a theologically correct way. But then we do not take the need seriously, and we demonstrate inability to suffer with the suffering. We could even say that a believer who knows Who God is should not ask such questions. Then we are blaming the believer, while God does not. In both cases we show our lack of self-knowledge. Nor is there any realization that only the grace of God has kept us from such circumstances and such questions until now.

The six questions are:

1. “Will the Lord reject forever?” (Psa 77:7a).

2. “And will He never be favorable again?” (Psa 77:7b).

3. “Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?” (Psa 77:8a).

4. “Has [His] promise come to an end forever?” (Psa 77:8b).

5. “Has God forgotten to be gracious,”? (Psa 77:9a).

6. “Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion?” (Psa 77:9b).

The first question of the troubled mind is whether “the Lord rejects forever” (Psa 77:7a). This question corresponds to two similar questions in Psalm 74 (Psa 74:1 ; 10). The question is not so much the rejection itself, but the question is whether God has definitively rejected. Is it over and out? Or is there still hope? Has the lovingkindness of God – literally Adonai, His covenant faithfulness (Psa 77:8a) – now ceased?

This question expresses the deep lack of God’s nearness. It also indicates that he saw no solution. We can know that God will never reject anyone who has taken refuge in Him. We can remind a desperate believer of this time and again, without accusing him of unbelief. It is about a believer who, for whatever reason, feels rejected by God. He is desperately seeking God, but feels rejected by Him.

The second question, whether the Lord would “never be favorable again” (Psa 77:7b), is directly related to the first. Whoever has the feeling of being ‘rejected forever’, no longer experiences the favor of God. This is mainly about God’s inner Self, what is in His heart. Whoever thinks that God is not any longer interested in him, has lost sight of what is in God’s heart.

The cause of this is to float on the miserable feelings he has and the disappointing experiences he has had with God. Then a believer thinks that God is not favorable to him when things are not going well for him. The important thing is that we continue to trust God, even when everything in our lives is going against us. If we think that God is only good to us when things are going well, the thought can quickly arise that God is no longer good to us when things are going badly. The same applies to God’s lovingkindness, grace and mercy, about which the psalmist also has his questions.

From doubting God’s favor toward the believer follows naturally the question whether “His lovingkindness ceased forever” (Psa 77:8a). That God is well-minded to the believer is evidenced by His lovingkindness. Lovingkindness is a feature of love (1Cor 13:4a). In Psalms it is often said that His lovingkindness is forever (Psa 136:1-26), which refers to the realm of peace.

When everything is dark for the believer, he no longer thinks about that, but wonders if God’s lovingkindness – Adonai, that is the faithfulness to the covenant – has ceased forever. This is exactly the opposite of what the covenant is about. This covenant is the basis of the people’s existence. If there would be an end to the covenant, it would mean the end of the existence of the people.

The question that connects to this is whether God’s “promise” has “come to an end forever” (Psa 77:8b). The psalmist wrestled with the promise of God's statements. Those who make their feelings the standard for their relationship to God also doubt God’s promises. There is no trust in the Word of God, which is unchanging for all generations. If we no longer find support in it, we become a plaything for our feelings.

In his fifth question, the desperate believer suggests that perhaps God has “forgotten to be gracious” (Psa 77:9a). This question indicates how far the believer is from a proper view of God. How could God possibly forget to be gracious? That the believer experiences it this way indicates the depth of his depression. If there is no gracious God, the believer is doomed to die in darkness and hopelessness.

His final question is whether God has “in anger withdrawn His compassion” (Psa 77:9b). Here He sees God as an angry God. But God is compassionate. Compassion means being moved by the suffering of another. However, God cannot show this because His anger is predominant.

Here the believer has reached the lowest point of his depression. He imagines that God is angry toward him and therefore cannot show him compassion. It sounds logical, but it is human logic. We cannot have two opposing feelings at the same time, but God can be angry and compassionate at the same time (cf. Hab 3:2c).