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Psalms
Chapter
77
{Reversionism
Intensifies Suffering}
1a~~{Title}To
the one who directs the choir' {natsach} . . .
{this job alone means he understands suffering!}
1b~~To
Jeduthun . . .
{Y@duwthuwn - name means 'Praising' - he is
mentioned in I Chronicles 16:38 and following
he lived around 1000 BC}
1c~~A
Psalm {mizmowr} of Asaph.
{Note:
Asaph was a prophet, musician and poet - see I Chronicles 6:39. He
wrote the Psalms 50 and 73- 83 which are actually poetry. RBT thinks
that at one point Asaph was a mature believer. Something must have
distracted him from the daily intake of doctrine and he went into
reversionism. Most likely RBT thinks that Asaph got caught up in the
love of music. While music is not bad in itself, it is an example
here of anything that can distract a person from doctrine.}
1d~~I
'cry out in intense pain'
{tsa`aq - here indicates to cry out under intense suffering
imperfect stem indicates Asaph cried the entire poem}
to
'Elohiym/Godhead.
1e~~My
voice to 'Elohiym/Godhead . . .
and
He was 'caused to listen' to me.
{Note:
This means Asaph wrote this after he recovered from reversionism -
reversion recovery. And, why was God caused to listen? Because of the
consistency of His Integrity. If we follow His procedures for
reversionism recovery, God will hear our cry.}
2a~~In
the day of my 'extreme adversity'
I
did 'diligently keep on seeking' {darash}
the
Lord/ 'Adonay.
{Note:
Remember this adversity was brought on by his own free will action.
RBT says Asaph must have neglected doctrine and gone into reversionism.}
2b~~My
hand is stretched forth in the night,
{physically his posture was one of begging in prayer -
the 'oh God' . . . 'oh God help' on his knees posture}
and
{my hands} did not at anytime become slack.
{Note:
This is very similar to Exodus 14:26 where Moses stretched forth his
hand over the Red Sea.}
2c~~My
soul was unwilling
to
receive comfort/consolation.
{Note:
Why did his soul refuse to be consoled? Because he no longer had the
doctrine in his soul on which to rely. He was back to the state of a
baby believer who never had doctrine in his soul.}
3a~~I
will remember 'Elohiym/Godhead,
{an attempt to remember Someone forgot
during times of prosperity - failing the
prosperity test}
but
'was agitated emotionally' {hamah}.
{if you have no doctrine in your soul,
then your emotions take over}
3b~~I
kept on complaining,
and
my '{human} spirit' {ruwach}
fainted.
Selah.
{Selah means singers rest and instruments play on -
it is a picture of you resting while the Grace of God
continues on}
4a~~You
'hold my eyelids open'
{idiom: literally: You hold open the guards of my eyes'
Asaph is blaming God for his inability to sleep - but
is really his own worry, etc. from no doctrine on which
to rely}
4b~~I
am so terribly disturbed
that
I 'cannot speak coherently'
{dabar - Piel intensive stem}.
{Recalls
Historical Times}
5~~I
have evaluated/'intensively considered'
the
days of old . . .
the
years of ancient times.
{Note:
At this point he can not rely on doctrine so instead he looks at
things historically.}
{Recalls
Past Personal Times of Happiness}
6a~~I
will call to remembrance
my
'song accompanied by stringed instruments' {n@giynah}
in
the night.
{Note:
Many personal times of happiness are marked by song - for example
'this is our song'. Here he is trying to recapture happiness by
recalling past times of happiness but he has lost the capacity to be
happy after a long period of time of neglecting doctrine.}
6b~~I
complained with/in my own 'right lobe'/heart.
{Note:
No doctrine was in his right lobe to make sense of it all - no frame
of reference.}
6c~~And
I made diligent inquire
into
my {human} spirit.
{Verses
7-9: Three stages of Reversionism}
{Verse
7: Scar Tissue of the Soul}
7a~~Will
the Lord/ 'Adonay
'Thrust
me away' {zanach} forever?
{Note:
As the believer is going deeper and deeper into reversionism because
he has neglected doctrine, he thinks 'stupid' thoughts. He thinks in
his soul that it is God moving away from him, instead of the truth -
that he is moving away from God. Here he even doubts his own
salvation though he used to understand the doctrine of eternal security.}
{Total
Despondency and Despair}
7b~~And
will He not
'cause
to take pleasure in me' {yacaph ratsah}
any
more?
{Verse
8: Emotional Revolt of the Soul}
8a~~Has
His mercy/'many acts of grace'
ceased
forever?
{Note:
This believer no longer receives comfort from the promises of God in
his soul. His divine viewpoint is dwindling from the lack of
attention he has been giving to the study of bible doctrine.}
8b~~Has
His Word/Promise {'omer}
failed
'from one generation to another' {dowr dowr}?
{Verse
9: Reversionism}
9a~~Has
'El/God neglected/forgotten {shakach}
to
be gracious?
9b~~Or,
has He in His anger
closed
down His 'tender mercies'/compassions {racham}?
'I
rest'/Selah
{Selah means singers rest and instruments play on -
it is a picture of you resting while the Grace of God
continues on - here Asaph is worn out!}.
10a~~And
I said, This makes me sick!
{Note:
The 'this' here is reversionism and all its symptoms - he has become
physically ill. Today we believe that stress and negative mental
attitudes can affect your physical health.}
{Start
of Reversion Recovery}
10b~~Oh
for the years . . .
of
the Right Hand
of
the Most High.
{Note:
He is thinking back to the years he was strong in doctrine and God
blessed him so. He is remembering when he was Occupied with Christ
and the comfort he received in time. RBT says that the ECS here is
called the 'Right hand of the Most High.}
11a~~I
will be caused to remember
{how? By going back to the daily intake of the Word}
the
works/'grace deeds' of Jehh/Yehh/God {short form of Jehovah}.
11b~~Because
. . .
I
will remember Your wonders of 'former times'.
{Reversion
Recovery}
12~~I
will 'talk to myself'/meditate/'concentrate on'
on
all of Your grace wages/payoffs
{and no one ever earns or deserves it - they just receive grace},
and
turn/convert my complaining
into
Your 'doctrinal viewpoint'/actions/functions.
{Note:
In essence he is saying he is going to rebound and start coming back
to bible class.}
{Occupation
with the Person of Jesus Christ}
13a~~O
'Elohiym/Godhead . . .
in
Holiness . . . Your Way.
13b~~Who
. . . {is so a} great 'El/God
like
our 'Elohiym/Godhead?
14a~~You
and Only You . . . the 'El/God.
{Note:
'El is the singular form of 'Elohiym. So it is referring to only one
member of the Godhead. Here it is referring to God the Father - the
author of the Divine Plan in Eternity Past.}
14b~~The
One Who manufactures {`asah - out of grace}
a
wonderful thing.
{pele' - singular - referring to his Divine Plan of Grace -
and in particular here coming up His deliverance of the
Exodus Generation by the parting of the Red Sea}
14c~~You
have caused to make known
Your
strength/Omnipotence {`oz}
{RBT says His strength in conjunction with His Grace is implied}
among
the people.
15~~You
have
redeemed
Your people . . .
{here referring to redemption from the Egyptian slavery
as opposed to redemption from the Slave Market of sin}
with
Your Arm . . .
{reference to Jesus Christ (Manifest Member of the Godhead)
as the Arm of God - parting the Red Sea}
the
sons of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah/'I
Rest'
{Selah means singers rest and instruments play on -
it is a picture of you resting while the Grace of God
continues on} .
16a~~The
waters saw You
O
'Elohiym/Godhead.
{plural this time - referring to the fact that all members
of the Godhead were involved in the Red Sea incident}
16b~~The
waters 'twisted, turned and danced'
{on
their victims}
for
you.
{referring to the waters of the Red Sea coming back
on the Egyptians and the Pharaoh - see Exodus 14 and 15}
16c~~They
{the Jews} were afraid.
{they were afraid of the Egyptian army}
16d~~The
depths {waters}
also
were agitated;
{the Jews were afraid of the Egyptians,
yet the very thing of which they were afraid
was removed from before them}
{Note:
This line of thought continued in verse 20}
{Verses
17-19: The Thunderstorm Analogy Parenthesis}
{GAP
and Scar Tissue}
17a~~(The
'dense clouds {filled with rain}' {`ab}
{`ab - is the type of cloud with lots of rain in it}
poured
down water.
{Note:
'Clouds with water' is used in the bible for bible teachers WITH
doctrine in their souls - here Moses and Aaron. They are prepared to
teach the people. 'Clouds without water' are false teachers in Jude
12 and II Peter 2:17. The Exodus Generation had a number of 'water'
tests and most of that first generation failed.}
17b~~The
'dry clouds in the vicinity' {shachaq}
gave
out a voice/noise {Thunder}.
17c~~Your
arrows/projections {lightening}
also
go 'here and there' {halak}.
{Note:
Means the message was sent out accurately, it still did not 'hit its
mark' because the Jews were not receptive to the message.}
{GAP
and Emotional Revolt}
18a~~The
voice/noise of Your thunder
{thunder you can hear very clearly}
was
in the whirlwind {galgal}.
{Note:
The Jews without doctrine are like a whirlwind, blowing here - an
unstable believer.}
18b~~The
lightnings lightened the world.
{the flashes illuminate the inhabited earth,
but they do not pay attention.
18c~~The
land trembled and shook.
{instability of the Jews - like an earthquake}
{GAP
and Reversionism}
19a~~In
the {Red} Sea . . . Your Way.
{the way of Grace - the way to freedom -
the way that God opened up for the Jews}
19b~~And
Your paths in mighty waters,
and
Your footprints are not understood.)
{Note:
Thousands upon thousands of Jews marched through the Red Sea. If
they looked down all they could see would be footprints of those Jews
who went ahead of them. This should remind them of the Grace
Deliverance of the Lord. But they could not understand the
implications without doctrine in their souls.}
20~~You
have led Your people
like
a flock
{of stupid, helpless, and hopeless sheep}
by
the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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