Then I said, I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the most high.
– Psalm 77:10
Part of me wants to read this whole Psalm just so you can feel the emotion and the depth of weariness and heartache that’s in the psalmist. Whole Psalm starts just saying, “I cry aloud to God. In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord. In the night…” Listen to this language. “My hand is stretched out with wearying. My soul refuses to be comforted.” He’s longing for comfort, but he’s not finding it. In verse nine, right before the verse I read says, “Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he shut up his compassion?”
Psalm 77:10 calls us to remember God’s faithfulness when we face adversity.
The psalmist is hurting. He’s totally at the end of himself and he’s struggling in his faith.
He’s weary in a way that I’m guessing all of us can identify with at different points. Some of you right now, some of you at points in the past or maybe at points to come in the future. So now listen to verse 10. As the psalmist writes, “Then I said, I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the most high.”
Basically what the psalmist is saying is I’m going to pause and I’m going to remember all the ways God has shown his faithfulness over years. It’s the next verse. Verse 11 says, “I’ll remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I’ll remember your wonders of old.” Verse 12, “I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds.” This is a good thing for us to do when we are weary and our faith is struggling and we’re longing for comfort.
Just pause for a moment. Stop and remember God’s faithfulness to his people, his wonders and his deeds throughout history, and then specifically in your life and my life, to think about the ways God has shown himself faithful before, and let God’s faithful, awesome wonders and deeds in the past be an encouragement to you in the present. Appeal to the years of the right hand of the most high, and remember that in the depth of your weariness and struggles, that the most high is still with you, and he’s for you, and he will show himself strong on your behalf as you trust in him.
Psalm 77:10 encourages us to praise God for His faithfulness towards us.
And so we pray, oh God, we praise you for years of faithfulness, for centuries of faithfulness to your people, for stories all throughout your Word of your deeds and your wonders of old and how you have always worked on behalf of your people. And not just in general, but in their suffering and in their struggles. You have shown yourself strong. On their behalf, you’ve shown yourself to be Psalm 46, a refuge and a strength and an ever-present help in trouble. And God, we praise you for your faithfulness in our lives specifically. We praise you for all your grace and all your mercy. For your faithfulness to all your promises to us.
And so when we struggle in this world, when we need comfort, and some of us are there right now, God, we pray that you would help us to remember your deeds, to remember your wonders of old, to ponder your work, to meditate on your mighty deeds and in this way to appeal to the years of your right hand. And God, to trust in you. We praise you for how you have shown yourself trustworthy all throughout the history of your people, and you’ve shown yourself trustworthy in our lives.
And so we pray that you’d help us to trust you today. God, we pray that no matter what we’re walking through, help us to trust you with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding and in all our ways to acknowledge you and to remember you and to trust that you will lead us. You’ll guide us. You’ll provide for us in every way you need. You are the most high, and we are so thankful that you are with us and for us.
Prayer for the Awan People of Pakistan
God, we pray for people who don’t know this, who don’t have this confidence, who can’t appeal in this way to your faithfulness because they’ve never come to know you through your son. Lord, we pray specifically for the Awan people of Pakistan, 5.8 million of them who need the good news of the gospel, the good news of your faithfulness to send your son to die on a cross for our sins.
God, we pray that the Awan people of Pakistan would be reached with your deeds, with your wonders, that they might know you as their Savior and the most high God who is with them and for them. We pray this for them even as we praise you for your faithfulness in our lives. Help us to trust in you today, to be full of faith in you today, in everything we do. In Jesus’ name, we pray, according to Psalm 77:10. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
