Peter Barnes | Psalm 77:1-20
SERMON NOTES
REMEMBERING PAST MERCIES
Psalm 77:1-20; Romans 8:28-39
– in 1555 Bishop John Hooper, while in prison and awaiting trial and execution, recommended that his wife read this Psalm.
1. Keep praying in times of struggle.
– 77:1-9; Christ too cried out to the Father (Heb.5:7-8)
– he looks at the past and is depressed; he forgets that God does not change (Malachi 3:6)
– Isa.49:14-16; Martin Luther: ‘When God seems to be my enemy and to stand with a drawn sword against me, then do I cast and throw myself into His arms.’
2. Light comes from remembering God’s mercies.
– 77:10-20; the turning point in the Psalm is found in verses 10-12
– now he looks at the past and is encouraged (cf. Exodus 14-15)
– after the terrible Surrey Gardens Music Hall fire of 19 October 1856, Spurgeon was lifted out of the doldrums by hearing Phil.2:9-11