Dr Paul Allen

Psalm 77: When we are hit with suffering of all kinds, we find ourselves desperate for comfort. And we won’t find it in shallow platitudes or empty promises. God offers comfort in many ways, but one of the primary ways is through his word. The more we know God’s word, the more we know him. And the more we know him, the more we find him to be everything he promises. He is a father to the forsaken and forgotten. He is a refuge for those in distress. He is a healer of the brokenhearted and a defender of the oppressed. And he is the one who turns our mourning into joy. Throughout Scripture, we see stories of God’s sovereign hands at work. Sure and steady, he directs human history to fulfil his redemptive plan. When Joseph is sold into slavery, and Esther is taken to a king’s harem, God’s unseen hand is orchestrating it all. When it seems like evil wins, his justice reigns. When all seems hopeless, his promises prove true. He is a good and trustworthy God. When we saturate ourselves in Scri...

In Psalm 77, Asaph cannot sleep. Feeling his eyes glued open in the dead of night (Ps. 77:4), he begins asking himself a series of intensely troubling questions. Before looking at these questions, it is helpful to consider the context of this psalm. Psalm 77 is part of Book III (Pss. 73–89), which in the landscape of the Psalter can be seen as the “dark valley.” Israel is in exile, and the psalmist observes that the wicked (the Babylonians) prosper (Ps. 73:3), the Jerusalem temple is now rubble (Ps. 74:7), and there is no Davidic king reigning—the crown lies in the dust (Ps. 89:39). A heavy shadow has settled over the place that once basked in the brightness of the rule of Solomon and his kingdom, which once stretched from “sea to shining sea” (Ps. 72). Asaph is the choirmaster who authored Psalms 73–83, and clearly, he does not shy away from playing the blue note. The minor key is dominant for the psalms of Asaph. The minor key (at least in our cultural associations) is tied with feel...