DEVOTIONAL

This Psalm was written by Asaph, a man who was wellacquainted with the word of God. He was a Levite, which means he was born into the role of a minister. He was also gifted in the areas of composing music and had the privilege of ministering in the presence of the King by singing in his Choir.

This is a Psalm of lamentation, a Psalm of great distress. It was a moment when he reflected back upon the great judgments of God, when the people had fallen into rebellion. Fear raged inside of him, like a great tempest, when God’s justice, His holiness, and His power crossed his mind.

It seems as if the Psalmist cries out to God over personal grievances not only concerning himself, but also for his nation.

For him, it was a time of great affliction. This was a cry of Godly conviction that expressed his weakness and his dependency upon the one true God. This is the God Who created the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom, who by His understanding stretched out the heavens, and who, in the fullness of the time, would enter into humanity in the person of Jesus Christ to be praised forever.

Asaph, though a teacher of the word and a composer of music, found himself in the valley of anguish, being tossed to and fro by the violent storms of life. In his fear, he began to recall God’s mercy and he cried out, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.”

As a small bird finds safety tucked away in the cleft of a rock during a fierce storm, so the Psalmist searches for the song of God’s mercy, the moment collected in the annals of his memory, when God awakened Him, calling Him by his name, saying, “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away with me.” It is here the tempest was calmed and the Psalmist found rest in the adversities of life.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, you will not be a stranger to the trials of life. Just as the vicious waves beat against the bow of a boat during a great storm, so you to will have to stand against waves of temptation.

There will be moments when these trials will eclipse the love of God from your sight and you will feel as if He is not there with you. When you find yourself caught in these great struggles of life, cry like Asaph, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.”

In the midst of the deepest valleys of life, remember God’s love song to you, when He called you by your name and said, “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away with me.”

Rodney Nantz