June 4, 2026 - Psalms 76-80

So often, I have referenced Psalm 77 in which Asaph questions God and his faithfulness.  He wonders if God has forgotten how to be gracious.  He lies awake at night seeking God but cannot find him.  Sometimes, someone will declare, “It seems as if my prayers make it no higher than the ceiling.  I call out to God but do not hear from him.”  In moments like these it is easy to fall to despair.  However, Asaph discovered a solution:  “Then I said, ‘I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.  I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.  I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds'” (77:10-12).  It is good to remember and to rehearse all God’s wonderful and faithful acts on our behalf and to remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  For Asaph, if he could not find God in the present, he would look to the past and remember God’s goodness.  And he would remember that God does not change.  If he was good and faithful in the past, he will be the same today and tomorrow.  What great encouragement is ours when we remember all God’s blessings.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your blessings, see what God hath done;

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.   --Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1897)