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In My Distress I Sought the Lord

For the choir director. According to [a]Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.

77 My voice rises to God, and I must (A)cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
In the (B)day of my distress I sought the Lord;
(C)In the night my (D)hand was stretched out [b]without weariness;
My soul (E)refused to be comforted.
I remember God and I am (F)disturbed;
I (G)muse and (H)my spirit faints. [c]Selah.
You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I (I)cannot speak.
I give thought to the (J)days of old,
The years of long ago.
I remember my (K)music in the night;
I (L)am musing with my heart,
And my spirit is searching:

Will the Lord (M)reject evermore?
And will He (N)not be favorable again?
Has His (O)lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His [d](P)word ended [e]from generation to generation?
Has God (Q)forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger shut up His (R)compassion? Selah.
10 Then I said, “(S)It is my [f]grief,
That the (T)right hand of the Most High has changed.”

11 I shall remember the (U)deeds of Yah;
Surely I will (V)remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will (W)meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
13 O God, Your way is (X)holy;
(Y)What god is great like God?
14 You are the (Z)God who works wonders;
You have (AA)made known Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have by Your arm (AB)redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and (AC)Joseph. Selah.

16 The (AD)waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
17 The (AE)clouds poured out water;
The skies (AF)gave forth a sound;
Your (AG)arrows went here and there.
18 The (AH)sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The (AI)lightnings lit up the world;
The (AJ)earth trembled and shook.
19 Your (AK)way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
But Your footprints were not known.
20 You (AL)led Your people like a flock
By the hand of (AM)Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 77 Title 1 Chr 16:41
  2. Psalm 77:2 Lit and did not grow numb
  3. Psalm 77:3 Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo, Musical Interlude
  4. Psalm 77:8 Promise
  5. Psalm 77:8 Lit to
  6. Psalm 77:10 Or infirmity, the years of the right hand of the Most High

To the director: To Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.

Remembering God in Times of Trouble

77 I cry out to God!
    I cry out to God and he hears me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
    my hands were raised at night
and they did not grow weary.
        I refused to be comforted.
I remember God, and I groan;
    I meditate, while my spirit grows faint.
Interlude

You kept my eyes open;
    I was troubled and couldn’t speak.
I thought of ancient times,
    considering years long past.
During the night I remembered my song.
    I meditate in my heart,
        and my spirit ponders.

Will the Lord reject me[a] forever
    and not show favor again?
Has his gracious love ceased forever?
    Will his promise be unfulfilled in future generations?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?
Interlude

10 So I say: “It causes me pain
    that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

11 I will remember the Lord’s deeds;
    indeed, I will remember your awesome deeds from long ago.

12 As I meditate on all your works,
    I will consider your awesome deeds.

13 God, your way is holy.
    What god is like our great God?
14 God, you are the one performing awesome deeds.
    You reveal your might among the nations.
15 You delivered[b] your people—
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph—
        with your power.
Interlude

16 The waters saw you, God;
    the waters saw you and writhed.
        Indeed, the depths of the sea quaked.
17 The clouds poured rain;
    the skies rumbled.
        Indeed, your lightning bolts flashed.[c]

18 Your thunderous sound was in a whirlwind;
    your lightning lights up the world;
        the earth becomes agitated and quakes.

19 Your way was through the sea,
    and your path through mighty waters,
        but your footprints cannot be traced.[d]
20 You have led your people like a flock
    by the hands of Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 77:7 The Heb. lacks me
  2. Psalm 77:15 Or redeemed
  3. Psalm 77:17 Lit. your fierce arrows traveled
  4. Psalm 77:19 Lit. steps are not recognized