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Remembering God’s Help for Israel

For the music director, on Jeduthun.[a]

Of Asaph. A psalm.[b]

77 I cry out with my voice to God;
with my voice to God, that he may hear me.
In the day I have trouble, I seek[c] the Lord.
At night my hand stretches out continually;[d]
my soul refuses to be comforted.
I remember God and I groan loudly;
I meditate and my spirit grows faint.
You hold open my eyelids.
I am troubled and cannot speak.
I think about the days from long ago,
the years of ancient times.
I remember my song in the night.
With my heart I meditate,
and my spirit searches to understand.
Will the Lord reject us forever,
and will he never be pleased with us again?
Has his loyal love ceased forever?
Is his promise[e] ended throughout generations?
Has God forgotten to have compassion?
Or has he closed off his mercies in anger? Selah
10 So I said, “This pierces me—[f]
the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will remember the deeds of Yah.[g]
Surely I will remember your wonders[h] from long ago.
12 I will also muse on all your work,
and meditate on your deeds.
13 O God, your way is distinctive.[i]
Who is a great god like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;[j]
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 With your arm you redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 Waters saw you, O God;
waters saw you and they trembled.
Surely the deeps shook.
17 The clouds poured out water.
The skies thundered.[k]
Your arrows also flew about.[l]
18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;[m]
lightnings lit the world;
the earth shook and quaked.
19 Your way was through the sea,
and your path[n] through many waters.
Yet your footprints were not discerned.[o]
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 77:1 One of David’s musicians (1 Chr 16:41)
  2. Psalm 77:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  3. Psalm 77:2 Or “make supplication to”
  4. Psalm 77:2 Literally “it does not grow weary”
  5. Psalm 77:8 Hebrew “word”
  6. Psalm 77:10 Or “this is my sickness”
  7. Psalm 77:11 A shortened form of “Yahweh”
  8. Psalm 77:11 Hebrew “wonder”
  9. Psalm 77:13 Or “holy” or “set apart”
  10. Psalm 77:14 Hebrew “wonder”
  11. Psalm 77:17 Literally “gave voice”
  12. Psalm 77:17 Literally “walked back and forth”
  13. Psalm 77:18 Or “in your chariot wheel”
  14. Psalm 77:19 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
  15. Psalm 77:19 Hebrew “were not known”

Psalm 77

For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of Asaph.

I cry out to God; yes, I shout.
    Oh, that God would listen to me!
When I was in deep trouble,
    I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
    but my soul was not comforted.
I think of God, and I moan,
    overwhelmed with longing for his help. Interlude

You don’t let me sleep.
    I am too distressed even to pray!
I think of the good old days,
    long since ended,
when my nights were filled with joyful songs.
    I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
Has the Lord rejected me forever?
    Will he never again be kind to me?
Is his unfailing love gone forever?
    Have his promises permanently failed?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude

10 And I said, “This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
    I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
    I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

13 O God, your ways are holy.
    Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of great wonders!
    You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude

16 When the Red Sea[a] saw you, O God,
    its waters looked and trembled!
    The sea quaked to its very depths.
17 The clouds poured down rain;
    the thunder rumbled in the sky.
    Your arrows of lightning flashed.
18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
    the lightning lit up the world!
    The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road led through the sea,
    your pathway through the mighty waters—
    a pathway no one knew was there!
20 You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
    with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.

Footnotes

  1. 77:16 Hebrew the waters.