Maintaining a Strong Faith While in Exile
This Psalm is a Psalm that reminds us what it’s like to be captive. What was it like for the Hebrews in Egypt serving Pharoah as slaves? What was it like for the Israelites in Babylonian Captivity? What is it like for the Church to be in Babylon while in this world. There is a common thread through this Psalm that goes from Egypt to Babylon to our fallen world and then to us in our current setting…We are captives in a pagan hostile world.
The Hebrews in Egypt were unable to worship God as they had been called to do. The same was true for the Israelites and for even the Church…In this fallen world we cannot worship God completely as He deserves. Everything we do is tainted with sin and so is our service and love for God.
Can we love God in a foreign land? Can we think of Him and pray to Him without our souls groaning of despair. We too are weary as God’s Church as we are in captivity to this world, we too are in Babylon and so was Asaph. He felt the deep burdens and cares that this world brings. He felt the despair and his faith was affected.
Is your faith ever affected by the troubles of this world? Are you ever weary and worn out do to being captive in our own Babylon?
One challenge that we must understand is the dynamic of this world acting like its our home. There is a great danger for us when we accept this world as our forever home. Beloved, we are in captivity here. As the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, long for our true home, which is with Jesus in the new heavens and new earth. Don’t accept captivity as home reach for your true home.
1 John 2:15 (ESV)
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Hebrews 13:14 (ESV)
14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
Hebrews 11:8–10 (ESV)
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Asaph was also looking for a better city. I pray we too realize this is not our home look for a better city, one built by God.
Remember God’s mighty deeds in the past and while you are in exile, your faith and love for God will be kindled.
1. Restless Faith Points Us to A Better Home (77:1-9)
77 To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
Here in the first three verses, we have language that comes directly from the account of the Exodus when Israel is fleeing Pharoah’s army.
Exodus 14:10 (ESV)
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
I cry in Hebrew is very strong dynamic emphasis. The Hebrews cry out with all their might to God because Pharoah’s army is chasing them to kill them.
Asaph is praying for God’s people longing to escape exile cries out with a loud voice to God. He understood there was no escape for the Hebrews without God’s help and there is no escape from this Babylon we are in without God’s help.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
When I remember God, I am in turmoil. I pray too there is a level of turmoil in our hearts as we turn to God in prayer. We long for Him and we long for a better place. So too, in Christ we are continually shown a better home and yet we wait by faith but still we wait.
While we are in exile, we moan. We long for the day when our faith becomes sight. We long to see the Lord Jesus. We long to finally be home in the eternal presence of Christ.
The rest of this section is Asaph’s moaning to God longing for a better place.
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
We see his groaning and his restless faith as he uses words like forever, never again, forever and for all time. To the Psalmist and to us the Church it often feels like God has rejected us.
Realize, restless faith is faith nonetheless. All the questions of restlessness and longing are but the soul’s expression of the eternal life coming. Restless faith is working its way through to assurance and full trust in God while we are in exile. Restless faith is a wonderful thing to have while in exile. It keeps us from laying down roots in this world as we wait for the world to come.
2. Reassured Faith Settles Our Hearts While We Wait for the Better Home (77:10-20)
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Reassured faith begins by remembering the mighty works of God. We have seen this already in Psalm 74 and here Asaph gives us a wonderful reminder. Remember God’s mighty deeds in the past and while you are in exile, your faith and love for God will be kindled.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Asaph begins to think about and ponder God’s wonders of old. How God worked in the past for His people. While he feels like he is in exile, he begins to focus on how God worked to free His people.
He’s reminded of the Exodus and how God used Moses to free the Hebrews from the most powerful nation in the world.
We have far more to remember than Asaph did. We can remember the amazing works of Jesus Christ and our own exodus from slavery to freedom in Christ.
When we feel the weight of our exile review God’s mighty works of rescue. The Exodus is a wonderful section to read and remember. What is very important to understand while reviewing it is all the smaller accounts of rescue contained within the larger deliverance from Egypt.
The Exodus story begins when the new Pharaoh, who did not know Joseph, enslaved the Israelites and forced them into hard labor (Exodus 1:8-14). Despite their cries, the Israelites’ bondage only increased over time.
Sometimes when we cry out to God our bondage only seems to get worse.
After 400 years of slavery, God heard their cries and raised up Moses to confront Pharaoh and demand he let God’s people go (Exodus 3:7-10).
When Pharaoh stubbornly refused, God unleashed 10 devastating plagues on Egypt designed to utterly crush their resolve and to be judgement upon a pagan nation (Exodus 7-12). The final plague was the death of every firstborn son, leading to Pharaoh finally relenting and allowing the Israelites to leave.
However, after they had gone Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after them. With the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh behind, it seemed like certain death for the Israelites. But God miraculously parted the sea, allowing the Israelites to pass safely to the other side (Exodus 14).
While we are here in exile, in our own Babylonian Captivity do you long for the other side?
When the Egyptians tried to follow, the waters closed over them, drowning the entire army.
This extraordinary series of events highlights several key truths about God and His dealings with His people:
- God hears their cries and is moved with compassion to save them (Exodus 2:23-25).
- God is all-powerful, sovereign over nature, rulers, and nations.
- God is faithful to keep His promises and deliver His people.
- God alone is worthy of worship, not the false gods of Egypt.
The Exodus marked the birth of Israel as a nation as they followed God to the Promised Land. God would continue to demonstrate His mighty hand on their behalf throughout their wilderness journeys.
His powerful deliverance cemented His covenant relationship with Israel as their mighty Savior and King.
The Exodus revealed God’s character in a definitive way. As Moses declared, “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11).
The Exodus displays God’s unmatched power and unfailing love for His people, themes that echo throughout the rest of Scripture. God is always delivering His people from bondage. Have you noticed as you read the Bible God is always Deliverer of His people.
Divine Provision in the Wilderness
God provided miraculously for the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. Though they faced harsh conditions, God sustained them in remarkable ways that revealed His power and care.
Manna from Heaven
After crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites traveled through the Desert of Sin. With no food available, they complained bitterly to Moses and Aaron (Exodus 16:2-3). God responded by sending manna, a bread-like substance that appeared on the ground each morning.
The Israelites gathered just enough for that day, and any extra decayed overnight (Exodus 16:4-5, 19-20). This taught them to rely on God’s provision daily. For 40 years, the manna sustained them in the wilderness (Exodus 16:35).
Water from a Rock
At Rephidim, the Israelites again grumbled about having no water (Exodus 17:1-3). The Lord instructed Moses to strike a rock with his staff, and water gushed out to meet the people’s needs (Exodus 17:5-6).
God miraculously brought forth water from the rock twice more during Israel’s wilderness wanderings (Numbers 20:2-11). He abundantly provided for them.
Protection from Enemies
When the Amalekites attacked Israel at Rephidim, God empowered Joshua and the Israelites to defeat them in battle while Moses interceded (Exodus 17:8-13). God also promised to send an angel to guard them from harm (Exodus 23:20-23).
For 40 years, He protected them from hostile nations like the Amalekites and Canaanites as they traveled in the wilderness.
Asaph remembers and begins to worship God while in exile. He does so by recounting God’s wondrous deeds in the Exodus.
16 When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Our Exodus and Redemption, however, does not come through Moses but a better Moses and our redemption is fulfilled in Christ…
Sometimes our restless faith may seem like 400 years of crying out to God for deliverance but we must remember as Asaph shows us. Remember God’s past deeds of deliverance. Most importantly for us is we must remember the mighty deeds of Jesus Christ.
His work of deliverance is an eternal deliverance. He has freed our souls from exile/Babylonian Captivity.
Now we are waiting for entire redemption one day when there is a great shout and all the dead in Christ will rise. While we wait, remember this is not our home we are in exile, God is faithful, Worship Him while you wait and your faith will be reassured.
Remember to let your restless faith point your way to a better home. Then allow your reassured faith to remind you that your new home is promised by God…He will do it!!
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