Book III
While Book III contains threads of hope, it is often labeled as the “dark” book of the Psalter because of its focus on lament.
I love the singing of psalms. I am not a great singer, but I am a very loud singer. I was once in a Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat performance, just absolutely yowling gloriously at the top of my lungs. The director later lovingly encouraged me to moderate my joyful noises. But I think if we’re going to make some noise, we should do it with enthusiasm, and maybe…“play the tambourine” (Psalm 81:2).
Some of us are inclined to make a lot of noise, come rain or shine. My husband is more inclined to think, consider, and hold his tongue. Maybe you are more like that. But psalm singing is something everyone can get behind. There are so many kinds of psalms! There’s a psalm for every emotion.
The Psalms teach us to sing to the Lord on all occasions. It comes pretty easily to sing to Him on wedding days, over the births of new babies, and every Sunday when we gather to worship. But we also sing to Him at funerals, and when the world seems to be ending, and when the floodwaters rise. No matter our circumstances, we can always “Lift up a song” (v.2).
This section of Psalms is about a period of desolation and captivity for Israel. When reading it in times of peace, scholar Matthew Henry suggests we “bless God that we are not thus trampled on and insulted.” Amen. But these psalms are particularly appropriate when we are in hard times ourselves, to teach us where we look for help and encouragement for the Church.
Singing to God in hard times is good for the Church. It underscores our confidence in God’s providence in all circumstances, teaches our hearts to hope continually, and puts scripture in our mouths when words fail us. “Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob” (v.1) No matter what is going on in the world, the Church can sing for joy and shout in triumph over the finished work of Christ.
Like the Israelites, when things look bleak, we are continually called to praise the Lord. We praise Him in all circumstances. In our pain, we cry out to Him, “Restore us, God; make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved” (Psalm 80:3). Don’t waste the days of your suffering. These are the days you are most awake to the need of your Savior. Sing His praises when you are in the darkest places.
He is faithful. He was faithful to His people in Israel when these psalms were written. They were not in captivity and desolation forever. He is faithful to His Church today. His face shines on us, even when we are too grieved to notice.
Cry out to Him and sing to Him whether you are having the best or the worst day of your life. And, if you like, do it loudly, and throw in a tambourine!
Leave a Reply
53 thoughts on "Asking God for Restoration"
Sing His praises when you are in the darkest places!!! Thank you Lord for the sweet words of wisdom!!!
“In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
He is for you, He is for you”
❤️
I remember a particularly dark time in my life where all I could sing was “it is well with my soul”. A hymn written by a man in a time of utter loss and despair and yet he found a way to praise!
Thank you for your sweet words of wisdom ❤️. I am a bit behind But God has me right where I needed to be today. My sweet college daughter has been struggling as she has started her last year. We have both been reading the Psalms. She has the book and I am on the app. We have been proclaiming “mercies are new every day” for a week and your song recommendation of Good Morning, Mercy has been a salve for us today!! We will be singing this for weeks!!!! Thank Dear Sister for helping this mama help another young woman meet Our Heavenly Father with song❤️❤️
I tried following the link but it wouldn’t work :(
I have felt this so much the last few weeks—trusting him even when the process isn’t what we ever expected. Walking the journey of infertility and tomorrow is the day for having IUI done and we are putting our faith and hope in him!
Mia Faith- praying for you and your family.
Reading Psalm 79 with the details of dead bodies and desolate Jerusalem, I envisioned the Ukraine war, and such a psalm was written in a tragic time like that, and now. A note from my KJV study bible, “this psalm laments the destruction of Jerusalem at the time of Babylonian captivity. The psalm has two distinct parts: expression of lament to God (verse 1 -5) and petition to God for deliverance of His people and retribution on their enemies (verse 6- 13). Three motives for God to act are cited: the misery God’s people are experiencing, the tender mercies of God Himself, the humiliation brought to His name. This psalm was apparently written by eyewitnesses of the desolation of Jerusalem”. Keeping our praise to the Lord is keeping strength. Don’t let circumstances steal your praises to God. Praises have a very strange way to shift our mind from current situation and God hears our praises. Sometimes praises are very prophetic for us, when we praise and proclaim God’s name, it is implying the problems are dealt with, it’s a mission done, as God is outside time, while we are in it. Keep your praises.
@Mia Faith, Sarah D, praying for you dear sisters.
@Searching, thank you for your confirmation on Diana Fleenor. I am glad you also shared the sentiment. 2 years wow I can’t imagine it’s been that long but you are right.
@Tina, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Reading your post made me stop and ponder what lies I have led in all these years. Your post always gave me deep soul searching questions. Praise God for showing you the truth. What an honorable request your dad gave to you to look after your siblings. God is so good. Rejoicing with you Tina.
Good Afternoon! As usual so many great insights! Praying for those requests! As far as praising and singing
I have to say I have NO problems with that! lol. My radio has stayed on continually with praise music 24//7 in the house, in the car, during my workouts, and shopping for decades! I too LOVE to sing loudly, and not a good singer! I have so many playlists as well it’s crazy- hymnals, current favs, fasting, new favs and even a funeral playlist, hahha. (well, I want them to know what to play! My fav is “I Can Only Imagine (of course!) and “Oh Glorious Day.
“Even If” is playing right now, which is one you all mentioned and a fav as well as “Praise You In The Storm,” and “Tell My Heart To Beat Again.”
Have a good day She’s. Hug’s Dorthy
Molly R – Thank you for sharing your revelation that we CAN call out to God – day or night. You “ Praised him for his steadfastness, despite my foolish inconsistent faith.” I needed to hear those words today.
I have another great song to sing in times of trouble, “Yes I Will” by Vertical Worship. Also, Dorothy, I’ll be praying for you today. ❤️
Lord, teach me to sing Your praises daily. I want to be thankful for You always. Amen
Thank you Rebecca, “Cry out to Him and sing to Him whether you are having the best or the worst day of your life.” is exactly what I needed to hear today. I’m so overwhelmed with all that is going on in my life right now. And it’s the 19th anniversary of my older son’s death (more years than he was alive). She Reads Truth and all of you, my sisters in Christ, are my refuge to remind me where to go when I need help. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being there and point me (and others) in the right direction.
Be blessed and sing praises to God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Psalms 81:11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
These words may have been written for the nation of Israel, but they are a warning and promise to us. We must welcome God back into our nation before it is everlasting too late!
Psalms 81:11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
I wish we could copy the links people are posting. Am I not doing something? Another song: thankful for the scars :)
I find myself remembering that during the time these “dark” psalms of lament and captivity were written, Daniel was alive and facing down hungry lions. Shaddrach, Meshach and Abendego were exhibiting faith in raging fire and Esther’s actions snatched life for her nation from imminent death. While their enemies were taunting them
“Where is their God?”- Psalms 82:5,10, God was always right there in their midst!Demonstrating to their captors just how powerful and provisional His love was for his people.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful story of reconciliation and acceptance of the truth that was there all along Tina!
Praying for all the requests. ❤️
@Mia Faith, praying for you and your family right now. I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this. Please know we have a family here.
@Sarah D,  Praying for you right now sweet girl.
That was for Jordyn C
I’d love to get your playlist. The link won’t take me there. Is the a name for the playlist or can I follow your name?
Tina- I love hearing your story of restoration with your stepfather. It is so beautiful how God restores things.
Sara D- Praying for your anxiety to ease and for peace to enter your mind.
Jordan- I love that you started a praise song list! One of the ones on repeat for me now is Tremble, by Lauren Dagle.
Restoration!! Yes, sisters, please pray for my family. Since the loss of our son to suicide (he loved and was serving Jesus…so I know I will see him again), our lives have been wrought with grief. Siblings (our children) turning away from and against the family. Anger, hurt, misunderstandings, separation, and so on. Just this week, one of our daughters closed her life to us. We are all hurting and on so much pain. Pray for reconciliation and mostly salvation for my children who don’t walk with God.
I woke up unexpectedly last night. It made me think of the others that woke suddenly, filled with anxiousness. Then I realized it had been a week or so of restless nights. I laid there annoyed, being so tired and craving rest. And then it hit me: It has been during this study; a slow, but steady feeling of anxiousness or apprehension filling me during the days and disrupting my nights! I rolled over and stared at the ceiling as the realization hit me: I needed to call on God – but, more impactful was the realization that I CAN call on God, day or night, in apprehension or praise. I confessed my lack of calling on Him and praised Him for his steadfastness, despite my foolish inconsistent faith. And, you guessed it, I fell right back to sleep, in peace – perfect peace. Great is Your Faithfulness, and your New Mercies that greet me even in the stillness before the morning!
I took the song recommendations and made a Spotify playlist. Here’s the link for anyone interested https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7G16tEGTSKdTHeeJstIOrV?si=FUouignoQ7ydjZ1cJPEWmQ&pt=26e728f398d2f33510272a80d6349832
Such encouragement and love here. Thank you all for.sharing openly and honestly. We all grow together in God’s love and sharing with each other.
Oh Ladies! Such truth spoken today! You have all enriched my morning! His mercies are new every morning! The hard places in life can still be sweet when we give them over to God. Yes! That right there! Steve and I have had some hard places in the past year. Medical diagnosis’s we never expected. But God. Oh but God. And I know many of you have seen hard times as well. I continue praying and praising! Hugs to all ❤️
As Asaph cries out to God for restoration and help, it is a reminder that we too can cry out to God in our times of need and He will hear. As Asaph prays – “Help us”, “Restore us”, “Return to us”, each plea is followed by him proclaiming who God is – “O God our Savior”, “O God”, “O God Almighty”. These psalms give account to all the troubles and trials God’s people have faced, but as they are brought into remembrance of what God has done for them in the past, it gives them hope for the future which causes them to praise God’s name. What a pattern we are given to follow – look back, remember, have hope, praise God! God has all that we need, He is all that we need. There is honey in the rock that would satisfy, but we must partake of it! Psalm 81:16 brought a song to mind – Honey in the Rock by Brooke Ligertwood – A beautiful reminder of all that we need is found in Jesus!
Thank you all for the song suggestions – especially songs I hadn’t heard before: Hallelujah Even Here and He Will Hold Me Fast.
@Sarah D. – praying for you this morning, that God will pour His perfect peace upon you and take away all your anxieties. Hope all goes well at work and that you have a blessed day.
@Tina – thank you for sharing your story – praise God for bringing you to the place your are today!
Happy Thursday to all my SRT sisters! May God richly bless your day!
❤️
*lead them to the destruction and captivity they were in. It made me think of my own life. And how my disobedience has cause me to be in circumstance where I am crying out to the Lord. While he still relents and rescues and restores me, he is faithful, I desire to become more faithful, and open my eyes and ears on where I can become more consistently obedient.
I loved reading his God gives us a blueprint for our pan rescue. The last psalm touches on the lack of obedience and faith the Israelites had and that, that led thé
Amen and Amen!
I loved the She Reads Truth podcast this week and how it made such a point that God works in our suffering. He shows up even in our hard times. What a gift to have a gracious God that lives us through every season!
Praying for you @Sarah D that the Lord would alleviate your anxiety, provide and make a way for you to find a new job soon, and give you peace during this hard season <3
To add to songs others had mentioned, I’ll add “Praise You in this Storm” by Casting Crowns! Such a good reminder to praise Him in the good times and draw near to Him in our suffering. I pray the Lord shines His face upon each of us in a unique way today <3
Hi SRT sisters, asking desperately for prayer. I feel like my mindset and thought process has been a lot better these past couple weeks, but this morning I’m feeling so anxious and just started crying before going in to work soon. I continue to physically feel anxious at work everyday. It’s been the busy season, so it’s basically just back to back calls (it is a call center job). I’m so tired and even though my management is great, I wish God would open a door to a better job, because I am so tired. I don’t want to keep feeling this way. I’m trying my best to mediate in God’s word and be content, going to counseling and doing practical things to help. Trying to stay strong. Would love your prayers ladies, this has been such a hard time in my life. I know that God works in this. Praying I would be content in all circumstances and know that affliction produces perseverance. God is with me in these circumstances.
Wow! Thank you for sharing @Tina! Isnt that the story of so many of us with God, our Father!!! He makes things beautiful on our crazy journey and restores what was broken, breathing meaning and life into the brokenness.
Oh TINA! Amen and Amen ❤️
❤️
It’s not easy to go against your emotions and choose to praise… our instinct’s job and God-given purpose is to protect us/guide us when we need to protect ourselves. So choosing to walk in the Spirit and go directly against our “self protect” mode in fear and stress is a HARD, intentional thing to do.
And..
When we do, we literally begin living in His Spirit and experiencing the joy and peace and presence of that Spirit. We usher into the presence of God Himself. All throughout scripture He guides us in the power of praising Him. It’s not in arrogance- it’s because He KNOWS it shifts our minds to the highest source of Power. It opens the gates to let history and what He’s done in the past to come rushing in. It reminds our hearts that He is good and worthy and true.
It stops us from making an idol of the issue at hand and giving it the power, and puts God back into the seat of Worship and throne of ultimate power.
Remembering to sing to God, rather then beg, in the darkness, can be hard. But it’s definitely rewarding when once again we can sing praises as the clouds loft, seeing the results of His grace acting through our faith.
In these prayers of restoration, we see that because God is:
-The God of our salvation, we can have faith during confusing times (Psalm 79)
-The Shepherd of Israel, we can be saved from our enemies (Psalm 80)
-Our Strength, we can worship Him alone (Psalm 81)
-The Judge of the earth, we can trust His righteous judgments (Psalm 82)
When I face difficult and confusing times, my soul sings the old hymns, especially
-Be Still, My Soul
-It Is Well
-Great Is Thy Faithfulness
-Be Thou My Vision
-My Jesus, I Love Thee
Modern songs I love to think on during difficult times are:
-Even If by MercyMe
-He Will Hold Me Fast by Keith & Kristyn Getty
Thank you Tina! Your love, your journey is one to cherish and your sharing it has moved my heart to praise God for his faithfulness to you and all of his children! Be blessed❤️
Amazing praise-inducing songs that God’s used to shift my perspective MANY days/nights..
Raise a Hallelujah (Bethel)
The Blessing (Kari Jobe)
It is Well (Bethel Music)
In Jesus Name (Katy Nichole)
God You’re So Good (Passion)
Graves into Gardens (Elevation)
Goodness of God (Bethel)
Makes/Adds to a sweet little playlist…❤️
Father let my heart sing Your praise even when my mouth can’t find the words. In Jesus name, Amen
God’s love and mercy – always there, even when other things have commanded our attention and drawn us (or at least our focus) away from Him. His mercies – are we thankful? His miracles performed in our lives – do we recognize them?
KRISTEN – thank you for the reminder that He is there each morning with new mercies for what we will face each day.
TINA – praising the Lord with you for the healing, restoration and revelation of truth!
Praying for:
HELEN L – all the challenges mentioned
HEIDI – confirmation, wisdom, encouragement, provision, patience
OLUSEYE ASHIRU – same! Many prayers have been lifted up in the wee hours or during restless nights
Songs that came to mind – Good morning, Mercy (Jason Crabb) and Honey in the Rock (Brooke Ligertwood/Brandon Lake).
If you need a place to start singing, turn on the song Hallelujah Even Here. It is what is getting me through the rough times.
“Sometimes choosing just to sing, is the thing that changes everything”… gets my soul on board as Katherine Wolf said.
What wise, wise words, Tina. I have been where you were way too often. I would believe what I thought was true when in reality I was wrong. Those people hadn’t said that. They weren’t thinking that. She didn’t look at me that way. I was believing lies of my own conjuring. I imagined instead of admitting I had no evidence of what I was accusing others of doing, thinking, saying. Foolishness for me and so unfair to them! My low opinion of myself was projected onto others. BUT GOD. He led me to see myself as He sees me and that made all the difference. Yes I praise Him whether I am on the mountain top or in the deepest valley. And I make sure that I’m walking in Truth, not vain imaginings.
TINA – amen and amen ❤
“Don’t waste the days of your suffering. . . . Sing His praises when you are in the darkest places. He is faithful. . . His face shines on us, even when we are too grieved to notice.”
The hard places in life can still be sweet when we give them over to God (honey from the rock).
@Tina, Praise God for His kindness, goodness, and His overwhelming compassion! His mercies are new every morning! Great is His faithfulness! Thank you for your prayer for us! In agreement with this Amen!
This. This right here, had tears rolling down my cheeks!
It sooo hit home.
‘Like the Israelites, when things look bleak, we are continually called to praise the Lord. We praise Him in all circumstances. In our pain, we cry out to Him, “Restore us, God; make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved” (Psalm 80:3). Don’t waste the days of your suffering. These are the days you are most awake to the need of your Savior. Sing His praises when you are in the darkest places.’
What years and times I have wasted wallowing. Holding onto stuff, stuff I imagined. Stuff that wasn’t true…
BUT GOD..
OH,BUT GOD..
For nearly 50years, I believed the lie that I was a second rate member of the family. That I didn’t quite make the cut because I had a different father to my younger siblings. So at functions, I would be polite to my step father but not seriously engage in meaningful conversation.
In these last years and most importantly in his last month of life I visited weekly and phoned most days to check in on him. We spoke until he was tired, often. It was during our last conversation face to face, that I realised, I had believed a lie a young rebellious teenager had formed in her mind, and never let go of.. this lie, though, I lived, I had not lived to my potential because of it.. I was always cautious with people. I would often not trust. I would not let others in totally for fear of more heartache..
These are all legitimate reasons for things, I guess, that are set in truth, but WHAT A WASTE…FOR A LIE!
BUT GOD..
Because He is faithful and true, He didnt let dad’s end come without putting things right and straight .. for me..
I praise you God for your provision of final peace of heart, for the Hope that comes with knowing I was accepted and loved. And that to dad, I WAS one of the children. A pain in the butt, but none the less, the one he charged with looking after the younger ones. The one whose hand he held in prayer and with a resounding chorus of Amen, we hugged..
BUT GOD..
Restored.
Renewed.
Realigned.
God sure did restore to me what, for decades had been stolen, though, I know He turns His face to shine on me often, He turnd his face once more to save me, and bring me hope.
Thank you Lord God. Thank you..
AMEN..
Sisters, Praying God turn His face to absolutely shine on you and yours today.. I pray this, wrapped in love and hugs always..❤