I cried out to God with my voice—
To God with my voice;
And He gave ear to me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing;
My soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remembered God, and was troubled;
I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah

4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old,
The years of ancient times.
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night;
I meditate within my heart,
And my spirit makes diligent search.

7 Will the Lord cast off forever?
And will He be favorable no more?
8 Has His mercy ceased forever?
Has His promise failed forevermore?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah

10 And I said, “This is my anguish;
But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the works of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
Who is so great a God as our God?
14 You are the God who does wonders;
You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16 The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were afraid;
The depths also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
The skies sent out a sound;
Your arrows also flashed about.
18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
20 You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalms 77:1-20 NKJ

In this Psalm, we see two things. God's way is in quietness, yet also through trouble.

IN THE SANCTUARY
Firstly, God's Way is in the Sanctuary (v.13). The Psalmist was having a hard time, and was in deep anguish. And in his anguish he asks lots of questions....

"Will the Lord cast off forever?... Will He be favorable no more?... Has His mercy ceased forever?... Has His promise failed forevermore?... Has God forgotten to be gracious?... Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?"

But then he turned his thoughts to the things God had done, and meditated on them. He quietened his spirit... like as if he went into the sanctuary.

Amazing things can be discovered in the Sanctuary. In Psalm 73 he was troubled by all the wickedness around him, and he didn't know how to deal with it, until he went into the Sanctuary...

"When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me—
Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end." (v16-17)

"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." (Isa 30:15)

AN EXTRA THOUGHT

But okay, well how does this sanctuary bit apply to us? This was all set in the OT... so what is *our* sanctuary?

Well, I see it as that quiet place of the heart, where we come to God in prayer. And Jesus has made it possible for us to come into the very throne room of God. David could only go into the holy place of the tabernacle. The holy of holies was only meant for the high priest, and that was only once a year.

However, because of Jesus, we are able to go much further into God's presence than David could. We, like the high priest, can now have access to the very holy of holies, and even more so than the high priest. We can enter there ANY time. Jesus has split that dividing curtain that kept us out. And He has taken away the terror of being in the very presence of Almighty God. We can come to God as our Father, and call Him "Abba" (in our language - Daddy). How awesome is that?

"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb 4:14-16)

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." (Romans 8:14-17)