Meditation – Fostering a Posture of Prayer

Christ Restoration Church Sermons

Psalm 77
August 4, 2024
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“There is not one of the godly who does not daily experience in himself the same thing. According to the judgment of the flesh, he thinks he is cast off and forsaken by God, while yet he apprehends by faith the grace of God, which is hidden from the eye of sense and reason.”

~ John Calvin (1509-1564), French theologian, pastor and writer

“Our faith is not meant to get us out of a hard place or change our painful condition. Rather, it is meant to reveal God’s faithfulness to us in the midst of our dire situation.”

~ David Wilkerson (1931-2011), American evangelist and writer

“Our vision in the mountain should be our comfort in the valley. In days of rapture, we should store up the lights for days of depression. In solitude the memory of the sanctuary should gladden us. It matters little how dry and weary the land is, so long as we are sure that God is ours.”

~ Graham Scroggie (1877-1958), English pastor and author

“Remember that it is not hasty reading but serious meditation on holy and heavenly truths, that makes them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the mere touching of the flower by the bee that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time on the flower that draws out the sweet.”

~ Thomas Brooks (1608–1680), English preacher and author

“If I have observed anything by experience, it is this: a man may take the measure of his growth and decay in grace according to his thoughts and meditations upon the person of Christ, and the glory of Christ’s Kingdom, and of His love.”

~ John Owen (1616-1683), English pastor and theologian

“Meditation is the soul of religion… We ought, therefore, both for our own good and for the Lord’s honor to be much occupied with meditation, and that meditation should chiefly dwell upon the Lord Himself: it should be ‘meditation of Him.’ For want of it much communion is lost and much happiness is missed.”

~ C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), English pastor and author

Sermon Passage

Psalm 77 (NASB)

¹ My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will listen to me.
² In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out and did not grow weary;
My soul refused to be comforted.
³ When I remember God, then I am restless;
When I sigh, then my spirit feels weak. Selah
⁴ You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵ I have considered the days of old,
The years of long ago.
⁶ I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:

⁷ Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
⁸ Has His favor ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah
¹⁰ Then I said, “It is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

¹¹ I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;
I will certainly remember Your wonders of old.
¹² I will meditate on all Your work,
And on Your deeds with thanksgiving.
¹³ Your way, God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
¹⁵ By Your power You have redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

¹⁶ The waters saw You, God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The ocean depths also trembled.
¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
The skies sounded out;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
¹⁸ The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightning lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints were not known.
²⁰ You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.