Psalms 77
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I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
11 I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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Commentary
There are many sad things about self-pity. One is that nobody else knows about it. Self-pity eats us up silently. Unchecked it can do us serious harm—much more than the events that brought it on in the first place.
Consider Elijah. God had demonstrated tremendous support for the prophet as together they decimated Baalism with all the false prophets, and brought all Israel back to God. It seemed like nothing was impossible with God. Yet, hours later the valiant prophet fled from a single woman. Imagine what effect that knowledge had on the thousands who had just returned to Elijah’s powerful God! If God had not intervened, there is no way of knowing how far into the wilderness the prophet would have run, and when, if ever, he would have returned.
Through the first ten verses our psalmist wallows in self-pity using “I” “me” and “myself,” more than ten times. Fortunately the last few “I’s” draw him out of his pit. They draw his attention to God and there his depression ends. As he meditates on God’s work he forgets his petty problems.
Gordon Christo
