Asaph springs from questions and confusion in verses 1-11 (shared by the community) to clarity and certainty in verse 12, the center line in the Hebrew psalm. The psalm is meant to convey the community’s truth confessed here: God is our King and Savior, and we are God’s people (kingdom), whether we understand all the whys and hows of our present circumstances or not. This accounts for both the complaint (1-11 darkness) and the prayer (12-23 light), and why the destruction of Israel and the prophets bring with it the mocking of God.
Asaph’s revelation, “God is Israel’s king of old (‘my’ in implied plural); He gave Israel salvation (from Egypt, stated in verses 13-17),” should have been made in the time of the prophet Samuel. They approached Samuel, asking for a king. The Lord God told the prophet, “They have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods.” (1 Samuel 8:7-8) He warned them this would happen. They did not listen to them back then. So, they experienced the results.
How did Asaph arrive from darkness to light? Where did this confession come from? Apostle Paul wrote, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” (Romans 8:26-27)
Is it your time to allow Jesus to be your King and Savior? Have you had enough of being on the throne of your life? Are you ready to come out of the darkness and into the light?
