Asaph asked God two questions in verses 1 and three more in verses 10-11; the verses in between are concealed, pain-provoked complaints. Asaph is having a crisis of faith. He does not hold back. He vomits his soul. Anger, heartache, fear, guilt, and embarrassment intertwine with doubt, denial, logic, and faith. God’s silence is always a fearful pain, reflecting the image of one ugly soul.
Asaph’s veiled complaint in verse 9 ignores the fact that the Lord God had sent the prophets Habbakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, warning that if there was no repentance, he would send the Babylonians to destroy them. They did not repent. The Lord God kept his word. If they did not listen then, why would God listen to them now and send a message via a prophet after the Babylonians destroyed them? Are we not the same?
If there is no acknowledgment of fault, then how can there be a change? If we do not confess our sins, how can we be forgiven of sins? If we do not humble ourselves, how can God raise us up? If we do not ask to be forgiven, how can we be forgiven?
1 John 1:8-10 states, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
Hebrews 10:22-23 states, “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
