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Psalm 77

Psalm 77 carries unanswered distress into the remembrance of God's wonders, ending with his unseen path through the sea.

The psalmist cries to God through a sleepless night, too troubled to speak and unable to find comfort. The heading attributes the psalm to Asaph and names Jeduthun; the trouble itself is unnamed. Questions about God's compassion and promises lead into a resolve to remember his past deeds. The closing verses recall God's rule over the waters and his leading Israel through Moses and Aaron. The psalm ends without reporting a change in the speaker's circumstances.

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1For the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm by Asaph. My cry goes to God! Indeed, I cry to God for help, and for him to listen to me.
2In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night, and didn’t get tired. My soul refused to be comforted.
3I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah.
4You hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I can’t speak.
5I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
6I remember my song in the night. I consider in my own heart; my spirit diligently inquires:
7“Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he be favorable no more?
8Has his loving kindness vanished forever? Does his promise fail for generations?
9Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he, in anger, withheld his compassion?” Selah.
10Then I thought, “I will appeal to this: the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11I will remember the LORD’s deeds; for I will remember your wonders of old.
12I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings.
13Your way, God, is in the sanctuary. What god is great like God?
14You are the God who does wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples.
15You have redeemed your people with your arm, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16The waters saw you, God. The waters saw you, and they writhed. The depths also convulsed.
17The clouds poured out water. The skies resounded with thunder. Your arrows also flashed around.
18The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.
19Your way was through the sea, your paths through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known.
20You led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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Key verses
Psalm 77:1The repeated cry establishes that the psalmist directs his distress toward God, seeking both help and a hearing.
Psalm 77:2The outstretched hand and refused comfort show prayer continuing through a night when relief has not come.
Psalm 77:19God's path through the sea gathers the psalm's remembered wonders into an image of guidance whose footsteps remain unseen.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus supplies the remembered event: God leads his people through the sea under Moses and Aaron, while Isaiah shares the image of God's way through the waters. Lamentations shares the lament over apparent rejection and the questioning of whether God's compassion has ceased.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

Which question in verses 7–9 would you want to bring to God, and why?

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What do you notice about the psalm ending with a flock led through danger?

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Questions people ask about Psalm 77

Who wrote Psalm 77?

The heading identifies Psalm 77 as a psalm by Asaph and addresses it to the Chief Musician, with Jeduthun named. Asaph is associated with Israel's worship music in 1 Chronicles. The psalm does not identify the particular trouble behind its prayer, so its historical occasion remains uncertain.

What does Psalm 77:19 mean by God's footsteps being unknown?

The verse pictures God making a path through the sea while leaving no visible footprints. The next verse identifies his guidance through Moses and Aaron, linking the image to Israel's deliverance. God's action is evident in the people's passage, even though his footsteps cannot be traced.

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What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about anxiety →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).