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Rick McNally / Thursday, July 17, 2025

Psalm 77:4–6 (ESV)

• ⁴ You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 
• ⁵ I consider the days of old, the years long ago. 
• ⁶ I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search:

You Hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Here in the beginning of the second stanza, he reminds us of the entire first stanza.  He feels as if God is keeping him awake; he cannot get rest and sleep.  Sometimes rest and sleep are just what we need; sometimes what’s more important is looking at things correctly.  This is where this is heading.

Not only is sleep an issue, but also the ability of speech is impaired.  So without the benefits of sleep and conversation with others, he focuses on his knowledge of the past and the works that God has done.

I consider the days of old, the years long ago.

The call for the memory of the days of old is the difference between life and half-life.  Some would say scripture is just an old book and dismiss it.  Not every old book is good for us, but what if there was an old book that God was in the middle of writing for his people, written by the people who were encountering God?  Then, such an old book would be helpful.  Perhaps even enlightening.

The phrase “days of old” finds its way into scripture in about 11 places.  Here are a few examples:

• Deuteronomy 32:7 / Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.
• Psalm 44:1 / O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:
• Psalm 143:5 / I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.
• Isaiah 63:9 / In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
• Isaiah 63:11 / Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit?

I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.

This phrase “songs in the night” seems to indicate a deep relationship with God. In Psalm 42:8, he states, “and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.”  A musician would definitely see God’s presence through the medium he primarily thinks in, as David is a purveyor of song — to him, the Messiah is a person with a song to sing and share as well.  He is saying, “let me remember Messiah, let me take time to think on him in the depths of his heart.”

He can’t sleep, he can’t speak — so he might as well think on things ancient, and God’s dealings with mankind.

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

The metaphor “diligent search” gives the idea of digging all around, to search through a house for something.  The Psalmist’s poor heart has him seeking for the riches of an answer only God can give.  In Proverbs, it is used like this: “if you seek [wisdom] like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

We can find God in the diligent examination of the Word of God.  I have no doubt that God can find us in other ways, in simpler ways, but if we desire to understand our lives, we will have to learn to dig into how God dealt with people in the days of old.

God already knows us and has searched us (Proverbs 20:27); it is time for us to return his favor.  When we ignore his scripture, it is like ignoring a love letter or throwing away the mail without opening it.  God loves us and wants us to talk.

Sometimes he keeps us awake to do so.

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Application — help us in this age of distraction not to distract ourselves from thinking about you, and what you have done, and what you are doing.  Let us not just curl up in sorrow, but rather make diligent searches into your word to find your voice and find your comfort.