Psalms 77

1 I cry aloud to God; I cry aloud, and he hears me.

2 In times of trouble I pray to the Lord; all night long I lift my hands in prayer, but I cannot find comfort.

3 When I think of God, I sigh; when I meditate, I feel discouraged.

4 He keeps me awake all night; I am so worried that I cannot speak.

5 I think of days gone by and remember years of long ago.

6 I spend the night in deep thought; I meditate, and this is what I ask myself:

7 "Will the Lord always reject us? Will he never again be pleased with us?

8 Has he stopped loving us? Does his promise no longer stand?

9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has anger taken the place of his compassion?"

10 Then I said, "What hurts me most is this - that God is no longer powerful."

11 I will remember your great deeds, Lord; I will recall the wonders you did in the past.

12 I will think about all that you have done; I will meditate on all your mighty acts.

13 Everything you do, O God, is holy. No god is as great as you.

14 You are the God who works miracles; you showed your might among the nations.

15 By your power you saved your people, the descendants of Jacob and of Joseph.

16 When the waters saw you, O God, they were afraid, and the depths of the sea trembled.

17 The clouds poured down rain; thunder crashed from the sky, and lightning flashed in all directions.

18 The crash of your thunder rolled out, and flashes of lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

19 You walked through the waves; you crossed the deep sea, but your footprints could not be seen.

20 You led your people like a shepherd, with Moses and Aaron in charge.

Psalms 77 Commentary

Chapter 77

The psalmist's troubles and temptation. (1-10) He encourages himself by the remembrance of God's help of his people. (11-20)

Verses 1-10 Days of trouble must be days of prayer; when God seems to have withdrawn from us, we must seek him till we find him. In the day of his trouble the psalmist did not seek for the diversion of business or amusement, but he sought God, and his favor and grace. Those that are under trouble of mind, must pray it away. He pored upon the trouble; the methods that should have relieved him did but increase his grief. When he remembered God, it was only the Divine justice and wrath. His spirit was overwhelmed, and sank under the load. But let not the remembrance of the comforts we have lost, make us unthankful for those that are left. Particularly he called to remembrance the comforts with which he supported himself in former sorrows. Here is the language of a sorrowful, deserted soul, walking in darkness; a common case even among those that fear the Lord, ( Isaiah 50:10 ) . Nothing wounds and pierces like the thought of God's being angry. God's own people, in a cloudy and dark day, may be tempted to make wrong conclusions about their spiritual state, and that of God's kingdom in the world. But we must not give way to such fears. Let faith answer them from the Scripture. The troubled fountain will work itself clear again; and the recollection of former times of joyful experience often raises a hope, tending to relief. Doubts and fears proceed from the want and weakness of faith. Despondency and distrust under affliction, are too often the infirmities of believers, and, as such, are to be thought upon by us with sorrow and shame. When, unbelief is working in us, we must thus suppress its risings.

Verses 11-20 The remembrance of the works of God, will be a powerful remedy against distrust of his promise and goodness; for he is God, and changes not. God's way is in the sanctuary. We are sure that God is holy in all his works. God's ways are like the deep waters, which cannot be fathomed; like the way of a ship, which cannot be tracked. God brought Israel out of Egypt. This was typical of the great redemption to be wrought out in the fulness of time, both by price and power. If we have harboured doubtful thoughts, we should, without delay, turn our minds to meditate on that God, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, that with him, he might freely give us all things.

Footnotes

• [a]. [Some ancient translations] deep thought; [Hebrew] song.
• [b]. [Verse 10 in Hebrew is unclear.]

Chapter Summary

To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph. Jeduthun was the name of the chief musician, to whom this psalm was inscribed and sent; see 1 Chronicles 25:1, though Aben Ezra takes it to be the first word of some song, to the tune of which this was sung; and the Midrash interprets it of the subject of the psalm, which is followed by Jarchi, who explains it thus, "concerning the decrees and judgments which passed upon Israel;" that is, in the time of their present captivity, to which, as he, Kimchi, and Arama think, the whole psalm belongs. Some interpreters refer it to the affliction of the Jews in Babylon, so Theodoret; or under Ahasuerus, or Antiochus; and others to the great and last distress of the church under antichrist; though it seems to express the particular case of the psalmist, and which is common to other saints.