This outline is a companion to a previous outline: In the Day of My Trouble - Psalm 77
In Psalm 77:4-9 the psalmist Asaph cried out and complained, saying, “Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.”
Through this cry and complaint, we understand that the psalmist had come to a place of utter discouragement and depression. In addition, we understand that the foundational reason for the psalmist’s discouragement and depression was that he had come to a place of doubting and questioning the gracious, merciful, and faithful nature of the Lord his God. Yet by the end of this psalm, the psalmist had come to a completely different place, to a place of comfort and courage through whole-hearted trust in and praise of the Lord his God. So then, what brought about this change? The turning point of the psalm is found in verses 10-12.