The Waters Saw Thee, O God
Psalms 77:10-20
"And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember Thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all Thy work, and talk of Thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: Thou hast declared Thy strength among the people. Thou hast with Thine arm redeemed Thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: Thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of Thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightning lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known. Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron."
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him (Mark 4:39-41)!" "The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled (v. 16)" There is a wonderful line Alexander Pope mused about the miracle at Cana, Jesus's first miracle of turning water into wine; they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, a few words tell us of a thousand pictures, Pope wrote: "The conscious water saw its Master then blushed". Who is this man indeed? Nay, He was no mere man. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the Cosmos and He is our Holy Father. Asaph suggests to us, that the way is to remind ourselves of God's works and wonders, he sings back to the time of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, and perhaps even of Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha with the Jordan river. The Living Life writer notes that although it is likely that Asaph’s situation has not changed, his outlook changes drastically. Meditating on the LORD and what He has done sets us free. There are times when we can neither control nor understand our circumstances. However, we can capture our thoughts and bring them under the rule of Christ (II Cor 10:5). King Solomon tells us in his God-given wisdom, to remember our Creator (Ecc 12:1), with that, when faced with times of trouble, remember the handiwork of God in your own life, surely there has been an unmistakable instance of His grace in your story, not only ours but stories, testimonies, and experiences of countless others that we’ve heard of and praised God for, bring those up and see like Ananias come into the dwellings of our very spirits placing his hands on Saul, or us, I imagine saying, "Brother/Sister, the LORD–Jesus, who appeared to you along the road of life, as you were coming here at this point–has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit” and watch, as immediately, something like scales fall from our eyes, and we could see clearly again (~Acts 9:17–18). Similarly, wait and see that as we praise God, His light will dissolve the shadowy chains of doubt, disappointments, and frustrations that bind us. He is always with us, even to the ends of age. When, the great missionary to Africa, David Livingstone sailed for the first time, a group of his friends accompanied him to the pier to wish him "Bon Voyage." Some of them, concerned for his safety, reminded him of the dangers ahead. He was urged to remain in England. Livingstone, in response, opened his Bible, and read aloud from Matthew 28:20 the promise of Christ, "And lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the age." Turning to those who doubted, he said, "That, my friends, is the word of a Gentleman. So let us be going." God is here, I fear nothing, none but Him and nothing compares to the promise we have in Christ. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me (Psa 23:4)."
"And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember Thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all Thy work, and talk of Thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: Thou hast declared Thy strength among the people. Thou hast with Thine arm redeemed Thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: Thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of Thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightning lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known. Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron."
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him (Mark 4:39-41)!" "The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled (v. 16)" There is a wonderful line Alexander Pope mused about the miracle at Cana, Jesus's first miracle of turning water into wine; they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, a few words tell us of a thousand pictures, Pope wrote: "The conscious water saw its Master then blushed". Who is this man indeed? Nay, He was no mere man. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the Cosmos and He is our Holy Father. Asaph suggests to us, that the way is to remind ourselves of God's works and wonders, he sings back to the time of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, and perhaps even of Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha with the Jordan river. The Living Life writer notes that although it is likely that Asaph’s situation has not changed, his outlook changes drastically. Meditating on the LORD and what He has done sets us free. There are times when we can neither control nor understand our circumstances. However, we can capture our thoughts and bring them under the rule of Christ (II Cor 10:5). King Solomon tells us in his God-given wisdom, to remember our Creator (Ecc 12:1), with that, when faced with times of trouble, remember the handiwork of God in your own life, surely there has been an unmistakable instance of His grace in your story, not only ours but stories, testimonies, and experiences of countless others that we’ve heard of and praised God for, bring those up and see like Ananias come into the dwellings of our very spirits placing his hands on Saul, or us, I imagine saying, "Brother/Sister, the LORD–Jesus, who appeared to you along the road of life, as you were coming here at this point–has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit” and watch, as immediately, something like scales fall from our eyes, and we could see clearly again (~Acts 9:17–18). Similarly, wait and see that as we praise God, His light will dissolve the shadowy chains of doubt, disappointments, and frustrations that bind us. He is always with us, even to the ends of age. When, the great missionary to Africa, David Livingstone sailed for the first time, a group of his friends accompanied him to the pier to wish him "Bon Voyage." Some of them, concerned for his safety, reminded him of the dangers ahead. He was urged to remain in England. Livingstone, in response, opened his Bible, and read aloud from Matthew 28:20 the promise of Christ, "And lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the age." Turning to those who doubted, he said, "That, my friends, is the word of a Gentleman. So let us be going." God is here, I fear nothing, none but Him and nothing compares to the promise we have in Christ. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me (Psa 23:4)."
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