Thinking About Thanking

Text for the Sermon: Psalm 77:11-15

Prayer:

Holy Father, feed us from the feast of your Word, before we go to feast from the bounty of your blessings.  Increase in us our capacity to receive spiritual food and drink.  Enlighten the eyes of our hearts, make us to be a most thankful people for your glory, for you are the one from whom comes every good and perfect gift.

Introduction.

Let me do a quick hand poll, how many of you enjoy reading books about history?  How many of you enjoy watching the History Channel?  How about biographies or autobiographies?

I want to make a recommendation to all of you this morning to read one particular historical autobiography.  I can guarantee it would be a huge benefit and blessing to everyone.  It is the same historical autobiography that Asaph referred to in Psalm 77.  It is your own historical spiritual autobiography.  You should re-read it over and over again.

One of the greatest benefits of doing this is when you get in a dark or discouraging season.  It enables to go back and remember in the dark what you saw in the light.

That is the situation Asaph the author of Psalm 77 finds himself in.  Asaph was a prominent Levite singer, poet, and prophet who led worship under King David and King Solomon.  King David had assigned him to give thanks to the Lord and minister before the ark of the covenant (1 Chronicles 6:7, 37).  But in this psalm Asaph has lost his way, we is adrift without any anchor and the Psalm begins with disturbed and grief-stricken cries to God.

Asaph is a Levite, he is spiritual leader, he is a leader in the worship of the one, true, holy God of Israel, of Yahweh.  What a high and holy calling.  Yet Asaph is human, he is flesh like us.  He is in what he calls a day of trouble.  He is crying out and moaning to God, his soul refuses to be comforted, he is so trouble he can’t speak.

And then the lowest point of all.