- From Psalm 75, “For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.”
- From Psalm 76, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise you.”
- I was looking at the contrast of these two verses. God is praised both by wonderous works and by wrath.
- We could relate both of those to the Exodus. God displayed wonderous works. He divided the Red Sea! He led His people by a pillar of fire to give them light and show them the way to go.
- The Egyptians pursue the Israelites into the sea. They are then drowned in the same sea. Miriam leads Israel in praise for the wrath of God throwing the horse and rider into the sea.
- Psalm 77 has some different themes. He is feeling overwhelmed. He knows the stories of the God of old, but they are feeling like distant memories. In his distress, he stretches out his hand to God. He’s reaching for God. He cries out with his voice.
- Do you reach out to God when you are in distress?
- Is God your go-to for help?
- Is God your go-to for comfort?
- The psalmist, when it seems like God has forgotten him, or them, he remembers who God is. The psalmist says:
- “Who is so great a God as our God?”
- “You are the God who does wonders.”
- “You have declared Your strength among the peoples.”
- “You have with Your arm redeemed Your people.”
- Psalm 77 ends with imagery of a shepherd and his flock. It’s one of the most common images in the Bible.
- God is leading His people like a flock. A shepherd guides, protects, provides for, and cares for his flock.
- God was caring for His flock, even if at the time they were climbing a rocky crag and things were tough.
- God, the shepherd, would never forget his flock. We need to reach out to Him, cry out to Him, look to Him alone for our salvation.
