BLOG

Psalm 77

Psalm 77 is part of the third book of Psalms, or the Leviticus Book of Psalms, which extends from Psalm 73-89. Leviticus itself, of course, deals with the sanctuary and its proceedings. Each psalm correlates with an event in the book of Leviticus.

Psalm 77 is actually the 76^th psalm, as seen in the Septuagint. This is because Psalms 9 and 10 are two halves of the same psalm, and so the current way of numbering the psalms is different from the original.

Of course, we know that 76 is the biblical number of cleansing. So in the Leviticus Book of Psalms, the 76^th psalm (i.e., Psalm 77) refers prophetically to the cleansing of the sanctuary.

This is also the 6^th of 12 psalms of Asaph. All but one (Psalm 50) are in the Leviticus Book of Psalms. Psalm 50 itself is from the Exodus Book of Psalms, and this particular psalm correlates with the day that God came down upon Mount Sinai to give the law on that first Pentecost. So even Psalm 50 has to do with the Sanctuary, for we know that this event was Israel’s opportunity to become God’s sanctuary (temple), had they been ready at that time to receive the Spirit.

Asaph’s genealogy is given in 1 Chronicles 6:33-43, where we see that he is the 13^th generation from Levi through “Gershom the son of Levi,” not to be confused with Moses’ son, Gershom (Exodus 2:22). Asaph’s ancestor, Gershom, was one of Levi’s sons (Exodus 6:16). Hence, Asaph was a Levite, but because he was not a descendant of Aaron, he was not a priest. He did, however, have a brother named Heman, who was a notable singer (1 Chronicles 6:33). Perhaps Asaph composed the songs (psalms) and his brother sang them in the temple.

Psalm 77 is a song of anguish. We are not told why Asaph was so troubled, but we do know that many songs throughout history have been written out of the deep emotions of suffering, pain, or loss. Psalm 77:2 says,

² In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; in the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; my soul refused to be comforted.

When Ezra compiled the canon of the Old Testament, he organized the psalms into five books, one for each book of the Torah. The psalms were also arranged in a particular order to correlate with events in each of the Torah books. Psalm 76 commemorates the judgment upon Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, after they “offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded” (Leviticus 10:1).

So we read in Leviticus 10:2, 3,

² And fire came out from the presence [paniym] of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me, I will be treated as holy, and before all the people, I will be honored’.” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.

The house of Aaron, being priests, were not allowed to mourn, “but your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which the Lord has brought about.”

Psalm 77 reflects the bewailing after the judgment in Psalm 76:7-9,

⁷ You, even You, are to be feared [respected as “holy”]; and who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry? ⁸ You caused judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was still ⁹ when God arose to judgment to save all the humble of the earth. Selah.

Leviticus 10:2 says that fire came out from the “presence” of the Lord. Psalm 76:7 asks, “who may stand in Your presence [paniym] when once You are angry?” The word paniym means “face, presence.” The word has implications that point to the face of Moses that was glorified by God’s presence when he came down from the Mount in Exodus 34:29.

This relates to the overcomers as well, as Paul shows us in 2 Corinthians 3:18,

¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Paul treats the glorified face of Moses as a type and shadow of Christ’s transfiguration on another Mount (Sion, or Mount Hermon), and from this he shows how these are examples of the promise of God to us as well.

Leviticus 10 and Psalm 76, 77 present to us a warning associated with this glorification. Glory does not come apart from a sobering reality that may bring about a time of trouble. Leviticus 10 gives us the prime example of a severe judgment upon priests who do not take God’s holiness seriously.

In the previous chapter (Leviticus 9), we see how God sent holy fire to consume the sacrifice, according to the word of the Lord, “that the glory of the Lord may appear to you” (Leviticus 9:5). After performing all the sacrificial requirements, “the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people” (Leviticus 9:23), and the fire fell from heaven.

The priests were supposed to keep the fire going, but overnight, they let the fire die out. So when the time came for the morning sacrifice, Nadab and Abihu lit their own fire, “strange fire,” as it were, and were then judged by the holy fire of God.

The lesson for the church as a whole is to see that whenever the fire of God comes in a “revival,” it is to be stewarded so that it does not die out. Unfortunately, every revival of the past has seen the fire die out, and men have offered strange fire as a substitute in an attempt to keep it going. The day is coming, however, when the fire of God will come again, a fire that will not die out, for it will come upon the overcomers to glorify their faces with the presence of God. Unlike Nadab and Abihu, they will carry the presence of God permanently, following the pattern of Jesus Himself.

Meanwhile, we read the words of Asaph in Psalm 77, as if he were speaking on our behalf. We reach out to God unceasingly, as he did. Paul writes in Romans 8:26,

²⁶ In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Perhaps the structure of Psalm 77 provides us with a clue as to how we are to pray. The first half focuses upon self; the second half focuses upon God. Dr. Bullinger outlines Psalm 77 this way:

Psalm 77:1-6 (Occupation with self)
Psalm 77:7-9 (Its sure result. Misery.)

Psalm 77:10-12 (Occupation with God.)
Psalm 77:13-20 (Its sure result. Happiness.)

In other words, Asaph shows that when he focused his attention on his own condition in his day of trouble and in the night of anguish, he remained miserable. “I am so troubled that I cannot speak,” he says in verse 4. In Psalm 77:7-9 says,

⁷ Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? ⁸ Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? ⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.

Verse 10 (KJV) says, “This is my infirmity,” that is to say, my problem is that I have questioned His promise and His compassion. I have focused on the problem (delayed promises) rather than on the solution. Hence, verses 11 and 12 bring in a new focus:

¹¹ I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; surely, I will remember Your wonders of old. ¹² I will meditate on all Your work and muse on Your deeds.

The day will come when the promise of God will be fulfilled. Delays will cease. The holy fire of God will accept the living sacrifices being offered to Him today in preparation for His glory. This time, the glory fire will not cease. We will not have to find matches to light the fire. The sanctuary of God will be cleansed, and His glory will begin to spread until it fills the earth as the waters cover the sea.