Psalm 77

¹ My cry goes to God! Indeed, I cry to God for help, and for him to listen to me.

² In 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.

³ I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah.

⁴ You hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I can’t speak.

⁵ I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.

⁶ I 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?

⁸ Has his loving kindness vanished forever? Does his promise fail for generations?

⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he, in anger, withheld his compassion?” Selah.

¹⁰ Then I thought, “I will appeal to this: the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

¹¹ I will remember the LORD’s deeds; for I will remember your wonders of old.

¹² I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings.

¹³ Your way, God, is in the sanctuary. What god is great like God?

¹⁴ You are the God who does wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples.

¹⁵ You have redeemed your people with your arm, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

¹⁶ The waters saw you, God. The waters saw you, and they writhed. The depths also convulsed.

¹⁷ The clouds poured out water. The skies resounded with thunder. Your arrows also flashed around.

¹⁸ The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹ Your way was through the sea, your paths through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known.

²⁰ You led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Around Psalm 77

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

Report a mistake