Psalm 77

I have been working on Psalm 77 for one of my classes and have really fallen in love with this Psalm. The author of this psalm uses the first 10 verses to proclaim the depth of his sorrow and his fearful questioning of God. God has seemingly abandoned the author (and presumably all of Israel) and the author of the psalm is experiencing great torment and pain.

Can you relate? I know that I have been in similar places before, where God's presence seems far off. The remedy for the author of the psalm is to remember. In the final verses the redemptive and creative acts of God, from creation to the salvific act of deliverance at the Red Sea, are recalled. As the author recalls God's work, the very presence of God seems to return. Remembering is a powerful act. Hindsight, as the saying goes, is 20/20. As we remember, we can see how God has been at work in our own lives and throughout the history of humanity.

Here is the Psalm:

¹My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
²In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness;
My soul refused to be comforted.
³When I remember God, then I am disturbed;
When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.
⁴You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I have considered the days of old,
The years of long ago.
⁶I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:
⁷Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
⁸Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
¹⁰Then I said, "It is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed."
¹¹I shall remember the deeds of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
¹⁵You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
¹⁶The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
¹⁸The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
²⁰You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.