Confidence in God In the day of distress.
(vv. 1-3) In deep distress as to the low condition of God’s people, the psalmist cried to God. In the day of trouble the godly man still looked to God and stretched out his hand to the Lord in the night (JND). He remembered God, though for a time he found no rest for his soul, as apparently God was silent. Thus his spirit was overwhelmed.
(vv. 4-6) The following three verses reveal the cause of the pressure upon his spirit. He was seeking to find some solution for his exercise in the experience of others in the days of old. Then, passing from the experiences of others he made diligent examination of his own experiences; only to find that self-occupation brought no relief.
(vv. 7-9) At length the psalmist recognized that the low condition of God’s people was the result of their own failure. He saw that they were undergoing the chastening of the Lord. But, he asks, will the Lord because of their failure, cast them off forever? Can it be possible that God will be favorable no more? Has the failure of His people withered up the mercy of God? Will God fail to carry out His promises because His people have sinned? Can the breakdown of man alter the grace of God, or “shut up his tender mercies?” The psalmist raises these suggestions only to dismiss them as untenable.
(vv. 10-12) The realization that it is impossible for the sin of God’s people to be greater than the grace of God comes as balm to the troubled soul of the psalmist. He sees that the suggestion that it is possible for God’s people to be cast off arises from the weakness of his mind that has judged of God’s ways towards His people by the way they have acted towards Him. Hence he arrests these thoughts and, instead of recalling his own experiences and the years of ancient times, he now remembers “the years of the right hand of the most High,” “the works of the LORD,” and His “wonders of old.” He says, “I will meditate also upon all thy work, and talk of thy doings.”
(vv. 13-15) Furthermore, he discovers that whatever affliction the people of God may be passing through on earth because of their failure, God has a way which can only be known in the sanctuary. When perplexed by the prosperity of the wicked, the soul found the answer to its difficulties in the sanctuary (Psa. 73:17). So, when puzzled by God’s apparent silence while His people are in trial, he again finds an answer to his exercises in the sanctuary. There he learns that God has a settled way that governs His acts; that God is great and does wonders. In accordance with His way God makes known His strength among the peoples in order to redeem His own.
(vv. 16-20) The closing verses present these acting’s of God on behalf of His people, proving the truth of the lessons learned in the sanctuary. God’s ways at the Red Sea declared His strength among the peoples and showed how He redeemed His people from the power of the enemy, and led them through the wilderness like a flock.
Thus in spite of all the power of the enemy, and the trials of the wilderness, God has a “way” that He is taking with His own in this world in perfect accord with His “way” that is settled in the sanctuary. In the midst of all the confusion and scattering among the people of God, His people may not always be able to trace His footsteps, nonetheless faith knows that God has a way that He is taking for His own glory, and His people’s blessing. Thus faith is encouraged—to trust God in the darkest day as in the brightest.
The principles of the psalm can surely be applied with much comfort in any day of rush and confusion among the people of God. In the presence of much failure the devil might seek to tempt the believer to think that God is indifferent to the trials of His people, and has cast them off. Nevertheless faith knows that no amount of failure can thwart the purposes of God’s grace. Moreover in the presence of God we learn that God has a way in accordance with which He is acting for His own glory and the blessing of His people. We are encouraged to know that however great the confusion, yet God has a way through it all―a path through the wilderness―by which to lead His flock. Good then for us to stretch out our hands to Him, even though at times we may have to do so in the dark.