Psalm 77
לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ עַֽל יְדוּת֗וּן לְאָסָ֥ף מִזְמֽוֹר
KJV
To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.
1I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
2In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
3I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
4Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
6I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
7Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
8Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
9Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
10And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
11I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
12I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
13Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
14Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
15Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
17The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
18The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
19Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
20Thou leddest thy 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