Cast down but not cast off!

"O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?"

Days of affliction bring with them the snare of unwise exaggerations and untrue conclusions.
The day in which the Psalmist lived was undoubtedly a day of darkness and spiritual adversity which caused him to fall into this snare. He began to question God and in doing so came to an unwise, untrue and unscriptural assessment of his situation. He concluded that God had cast off His people and that for ever.
How far off the mark he was, yet many of us have followed in the same vein of reasoning when we have been cast down.
Whilst his reasoning and conclusion was wrong the Psalmist's response and approach to the situation was exemplary. Noticed how he prayed:

1: He had a predominant concern for God's Name.

2: He made an urgent prayer for God's power.

3: He made a strong plea on the basis of God's covenant.