Psalm 77
לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ עַֽל יְדוּת֗וּן לְאָסָ֥ף מִזְמֽוֹר
BSB
In the Day of Trouble I Sought the LORD
For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
1I cried out to God;
I cried aloud to God to hear me.
2In the day of trouble I sought the Lord;
through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary;
my soul refused to be comforted.
3I remembered You, O God, and I groaned;
I mused and my spirit grew faint.
Selah
4You have kept my eyes from closing;
I am too troubled to speak.
5I considered the days of old,
the years long in the past.
6At night I remembered my song;
in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:
7“Will the Lord spurn us forever
and never show His favor again?
8Is His loving devotion gone forever?
Has His promise failed for all time?
9Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has His anger shut off His compassion?”
Selah
10So I said, “I am grieved
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11I will remember the works of the LORD;
yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
12I will reflect on all You have done
and ponder Your mighty deeds.
13Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14You are the God who works wonders;
You display Your strength among the peoples.
15With power You redeemed Your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah
16The waters saw You, O God;
the waters saw You and swirled;
even the depths were shaken.
17The clouds poured down water;
the skies resounded with thunder;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.
18Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19Your path led through the sea,
Your way through the mighty waters,
but Your footprints were not to be found.
20You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Introduction
Psalms 77
This psalm, according to the method of many other psalms, begins with sorrowful complaints but ends with comfortable encouragements. The complaints seem to be of personal grievances, but the encouragements relate to the public concerns of the church, so that it is not certain whether it was penned upon a personal or a public account. If they were private troubles that he was groaning under, it teaches us that what God has wrought for his church in general may be improved for the comfort of particular believers; if it was some public calamity that he is here lamenting, his speaking of it so feelingly, as if it had been some particular trouble of his own, shows how much we should lay to heart the interests of the church of God and make them ours. One of the rabbin says, This psalm is spoken in the dialect of the captives; and therefore some think it was penned in the captivity in Babylon. I. The psalmist complains here of the deep impressions which his troubles made upon his spirits, and the temptation he was in to despair of relief (Psa 77:1-10). II. He encourages himself to hope that it would be well at last, by the remembrance of God's former appearances for the help of his people, of which he gives several instances (Psa 77:11-20). In singing this psalm we must take shame to ourselves for all our sinful distrusts of God, and of his providence and promise, and give to him the glory of his power and goodness by a thankful commemoration of what he has done for us formerly and a cheerful dependence on him for the future.
To the chief musician, to Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
Cross-references: Ps 77:1 · Ps 77:11