12 February 2020

The Redeemer's Voice

Psalm 77 by Asaph is a great example that in our distress it is good to remember who God is and all He has done.  We easily forget to relate God's awesome deeds in times past to our current situation.  Because God is faithful the provision, protection, and help in the past enables us to trust Him in the present.  Perhaps we can't predict how or when God will do His wonders, but He will.

Asaph wrote in Psalm 77:11-15, "I will remember the works of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. 12 I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? 14 You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. 15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah"  Instead of racking his brain to figure out how he could change his circumstances for the better, Asaph meditated on all the times God delivered His people in the past.  He compared the ways of God to powerless idols and fatally flawed mythological gods, and with the true God there was found no equal or real comparison.  Who is a great redeemer like the God of Israel, a Saviour who does miraculous wonders?

Asaph continued in Psalm 77:16-20:  "The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were afraid; the depths also trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. 18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 19 Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known. 20 You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron."  If you have ever been outside in a powerful lightning storm or rattled by a strong earthquake, these natural events can be harrowing and strike fear into the most courageous hearts.  Before the presence of the Almighty it was the water, wind, lightning, thunder, and earth which trembled with fear.  When a way of escape and deliverance from the pursuing army was impossible God was the Way, leading His redeemed people through the Red Sea.

The last verse provides a surprising shift from the verses previous:  the great God which defeats enemies, delivers from death, and causes the elements to tremble with reverence, is a gentle Good Shepherd towards His chosen people.  The earth rightly trembles before its Creator, the One who reaches down as a loving father who takes the hand of his frightened child and says with a smile, "Don't be afraid!  Here I am, and I won't leave of forsake you."  Isn't it amazing the God whose voice is like thunder speaks in a soft and still voice which calms troubled souls who trust Him?  God continues to deliver, lead, and save His redeemed as He always has.

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