1 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.
1 [[To the chief Musician, H5329 to Jeduthun, H3038 A Psalm H4210 of Asaph.]] H623 I cried H6817 unto God H430 with my voice, H6963 even unto God H430 with my voice; H6963 and he gave ear H238 unto me.
2 In the day H3117 of my trouble H6869 I sought H1875 the Lord: H136 my sore H3027 ran H5064 in the night, H3915 and ceased H6313 not: my soul H5315 refused H3985 to be comforted. H5162
3 I remembered H2142 God, H430 and was troubled: H1993 I complained, H7878 and my spirit H7307 was overwhelmed. H5848 Selah. H5542
4 Thou holdest H270 mine eyes H5869 waking: H8109 I am so troubled H6470 that I cannot speak. H1696
5 I have considered H2803 the days H3117 of old, H6924 the years H8141 of ancient times. H5769
6 I call to remembrance H2142 my song H5058 in the night: H3915 I commune H7878 with mine own heart: H3824 and my spirit H7307 made diligent search. H2664
7 Will the Lord H136 cast off H2186 for ever? H5769 and will H3254 he be favourable H7521 no more?
8 Is his mercy H2617 clean gone H656 for ever? H5331 doth his promise H562 fail H1584 for evermore? H1755 H1755
9 Hath God H410 forgotten H7911 to be gracious? H2589 hath he in anger H639 shut up H7092 his tender mercies? H7356 Selah. H5542
10 And I said, H559 This is my infirmity: H2470 but I will remember the years H8141 of the right hand H3225 of the most High. H5945
11 I will remember H2142 H2142 the works H4611 of the LORD: H3050 surely I will remember H2142 thy wonders H6382 of old. H6924
12 I will meditate H1897 also of all thy work, H6467 and talk H7878 of thy doings. H5949
13 Thy way, H1870 O God, H430 is in the sanctuary: H6944 who is so great H1419 a God H410 as our God? H430
14 Thou art the God H410 that doest H6213 wonders: H6382 thou hast declared H3045 thy strength H5797 among the people. H5971
15 Thou hast with thine arm H2220 redeemed H1350 thy people, H5971 the sons H1121 of Jacob H3290 and Joseph. H3130 Selah. H5542
16 The waters H4325 saw H7200 thee, O God, H430 the waters H4325 saw H7200 thee; they were afraid: H2342 the depths H8415 also were troubled. H7264
17 The clouds H5645 poured out H2229 water: H4325 the skies H7834 sent out H5414 a sound: H6963 thine arrows H2687 also went abroad. H1980
18 The voice H6963 of thy thunder H7482 was in the heaven: H1534 the lightnings H1300 lightened H215 the world: H8398 the earth H776 trembled H7264 and shook. H7493
19 Thy way H1870 is in the sea, H3220 and thy path H7635 in the great H7227 waters, H4325 and thy footsteps H6119 are not known. H3045
20 Thou leddest H5148 thy people H5971 like a flock H6629 by the hand H3027 of Moses H4872 and Aaron. H175
1 I will cry unto God with my voice, Even unto God with my voice; and he will give ear unto me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: My hand was stretched out in the night, and slacked not; My soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remember God, and am disquieted: I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah
4 Thou holdest mine eyes watching: 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 maketh diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will he be favorable no more?
8 Is his lovingkindness 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 make mention of the deeds of Jehovah; For I will remember thy wonders of old.
12 I will meditate also upon all thy work, And muse on thy doings.
13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: Who is a great god like unto God?
14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: Thou hast made known thy strength among the peoples.
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 trembled.
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 whirlwind; The lightnings lightened the world: The earth trembled and shook.
19 Thy way was in the sea, And thy paths in the great waters, And thy footsteps were not known.
20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock, By the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalm 78 Maschil of Asaph.
1 To the Overseer, for Jeduthun. -- A Psalm of Asaph. My voice `is' to God, and I cry, my voice `is' to God, And He hath given ear unto me.
2 In a day of my distress the Lord I sought, My hand by night hath been spread out, And it doth not cease, My soul hath refused to be comforted.
3 I remember God, and make a noise, I meditate, and feeble is my spirit. Selah.
4 Thou hast taken hold of the watches of mine eyes, I have been moved, and I speak not.
5 I have reckoned the days of old, The years of the ages.
6 I remember my music in the night, With my heart I meditate, and my spirit doth search diligently:
7 To the ages doth the Lord cast off? Doth He add to be pleased no more?
8 Hath His kindness ceased for ever? The saying failed to all generations?
9 Hath God forgotten `His' favours? Hath He shut up in anger His mercies? Selah.
10 And I say: `My weakness is, The changes of the right hand of the Most High.'
11 I mention the doings of Jah, For I remember of old Thy wonders,
12 And I have meditated on all Thy working, And I talk concerning Thy doings.
13 O God, in holiness `is' Thy way, Who `is' a great god like God?
14 Thou `art' the God doing wonders. Thou hast made known among the peoples Thy strength,
15 Thou hast redeemed with strength Thy people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16 The waters have seen Thee, O God, The waters have seen Thee, They are afraid -- also depths are troubled.
17 Poured out waters have thick clouds, The skies have given forth a noise, Also -- Thine arrows go up and down.
18 The voice of Thy thunder `is' in the spheres, Lightnings have lightened the world, The earth hath trembled, yea, it shaketh.
19 In the sea `is' Thy way, And Thy paths `are' in many waters, And Thy tracks have not been known.
20 Thou hast led as a flock Thy people, By the hand of Moses and Aaron!
1 {To the chief Musician. On Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.} My voice is unto God, and I will cry; my voice is unto God, and he will give ear unto me.
2 In the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord: my hand was stretched out in the night, and slacked not; my soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remembered God, and I moaned; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
4 Thou holdest open mine eyelids; I am full of disquiet and cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old, the years of ancient times.
6 I remember my song in the night; I muse in mine own heart, and my spirit maketh diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
8 Hath his loving-kindness ceased for ever? hath [his] word come to an end from generation to generation?
9 Hath ùGod forgotten to be gracious? or hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
10 Then said I, This is my weakness: -- the years of the right hand of the Most High
11 Will I remember, -- the works of Jah; for I will remember thy wonders of old,
12 And I will meditate upon all thy work, and muse upon thy doings.
13 O God, thy way is in the sanctuary: who is so great a ùgod as God?
14 Thou art the ùGod that doest wonders; thou hast declared thy strength among the peoples.
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 trembled, yea, the depths were troubled:
17 The thick clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound, yea, thine arrows went abroad:
18 The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind, lightnings lit up the world; the earth was troubled and it quaked.
19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths are 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.
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 Yah'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.
1 <To the chief music-maker. After Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.> I was crying to God with my voice; even to God with my voice, and he gave ear to me.
2 In the day of my trouble, my heart was turned to the Lord: my hand was stretched out in the night without resting; my soul would not be comforted.
3 I will keep God in memory, with sounds of grief; my thoughts are troubled, and my spirit is overcome. (Selah.)
4 You keep my eyes from sleep; I am so troubled that no words come.
5 My thoughts go back to the days of the past, to the years which are gone.
6 The memory of my song comes back to me in the night; my thoughts are moving in my heart; my spirit is searching with care.
7 Will the Lord put me away for ever? will he be kind no longer?
8 Is his mercy quite gone for ever? has his word come to nothing?
9 Has God put away the memory of his pity? are his mercies shut up by his wrath? (Selah.)
10 And I said, It is a weight on my spirit; but I will keep in mind the years of the right hand of the Most High.
11 I will keep in mind the works of Jah: I will keep the memory of your wonders in the past.
12 I will give thought to all your work, while my mind goes over your acts of power.
13 Your way, O God, is holy: what god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who does works of power: you have made your strength clear to the nations.
15 With your arm you have made your people free, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah.)
16 The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you, they were in fear: even the deep was troubled.
17 The clouds sent out water; the skies gave out a sound; truly, your arrows went far and wide.
18 The voice of your thunder went rolling on; the world was flaming with the light of the storm; the earth was shaking.
19 Your way was in the sea, and your road in the great waters; there was no knowledge of your footsteps.
20 You were guiding your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 77
Commentary on Psalms 77 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Comfort Derived from the History of the Past during Years of Affliction
“The earth feared and became still,” says Psalms 76:9; the earth trembled and shook , says Psalms 77:19 : this common thought is the string on which these two Psalms are strung. In a general way it may be said of Psalms 77, that the poet flees from the sorrowful present away into the memory of the years of olden times, and consoles himself more especially with the deliverance out of Egypt, so rich in wonders. As to the rest, however, it remains obscure what kind of national affliction it is which drives him to find his refuge from the God who is now hidden in the God who was formerly manifest. At any rate it is not a purely personal affliction, but, as is shown by the consolation sought in the earlier revelations of power and mercy in connection with the national history, an affliction shared in company with the whole of his people. In the midst of this hymnic retrospect the Psalm suddenly breaks off, so that Olshausen is of opinion that it is mutilated, and Tholuck that the author never completed it. But as Psalms 77 and Ps 81 show, it is the Asaphic manner thus to close with an historical picture without the line of thought recurring to its commencement. Where our Psalm leaves off, Hab. 3 goes on, taking it up from that point like a continuation. For the prophet begins with the prayer to revive that deed of redemption of the Mosaic days of old, and in the midst of wrath to remember mercy; and in expression and figures which are borrowed from our Psalm, he then beholds a fresh deed of redemption by which that of old is eclipsed. Thus much, at least, is therefore very clear, that Psalms 77 is older than Habakkuk. Hitzig certainly calls the psalmist the reader and imitator of Hab. 3; and Philippson considers even the mutual relationship to be accidental and confined to a general similarity of certain expressions. We, however, believe that we have proved in our Commentary on Habakkuk (1843), S. 118-125, that the mutual relationship is one that is deeply grounded in the prophetic type of Habakkuk, and that the Psalm is heard to re-echo in Habakkuk, not Habakkuk in the language of the psalmist; just as in general the Asaphic Psalms are full of boldly sketched outlines to be filled in by later prophetic writers. We also now further put this question: how was it possible for the gloomy complaint of Psalms 77, which is turned back to the history of the past, to mould itself after Hab. 3, that joyous looking forward into a bright and blessed future? Is not the prospect in Hab. 3 rather the result of that retrospect in Psalms 77, the confidence in being heard which is kindled by this Psalm, the realizing as present, in the certainty of being heard, of a new deed of God in which the deliverances in the days of Moses are antitypically revived?
More than this, viz., that the Psalm is older than Habakkuk, who entered upon public life in the reign of Josiah, or even as early as in the reign of Manasseh, cannot be maintained. For it cannot be inferred from Psalms 77:16 and Psalms 77:3, compared with Genesis 37:35, that one chief matter of pain to the psalmist was the fall of the kingdom of the ten tribes which took place in his time. Nothing more, perhaps, than the division of the kingdom which had already taken place seems to be indicated in these passages. The bringing of the tribes of Joseph prominently forward is, however, peculiar to the Asaphic circle of songs.
The task of the precentor is assigned by the inscription to Jeduthun ( Chethמb : Jeduthun), for ל (Psalms 39:1) alternates with על (Psalms 62:1); and the idea that ידותון denotes the whole of the Jeduthunites (“overseer over...”) might be possible, but is without example.
The strophe schema of the Psalm is 7. 12. 12. 12. 2. The first three strophes or groups of stichs close with Sela .
The poet is resolved to pray without intermission, and he prays; fore his soul is comfortless and sorely tempted by the vast distance between the former days and the present times. According to the pointing, והאזין appears to be meant to be imperative after the form הקטיל , which occurs instead of הקטל and הקתילה , cf. Psalms 94:1; Isaiah 43:8; Jeremiah 17:18, and the mode of writing הקטיל , Psalms 142:5, 2 Kings 8:6, and frequently; therefore et audi = ut audias (cf. 2 Samuel 21:3). But such an isolated form of address is not to be tolerated; והאזין has been regarded as perf. consec . in the sense of ut audiat , although this modification of האזין into האזין in connection with the appearing of the Waw consec . cannot be supported in any other instance (Ew. §234, e), and Kimchi on this account tries to persuade himself to that which is impossible, viz., that והאזין in respect of sound stands for ויאזין . The preterites in Psalms 77:3 express that which has commenced and which will go on. The poet labours in his present time of affliction to press forward to the Lord, who has withdrawn from him; his hand is diffused, i.e., stretched out (not: poured out, for the radical meaning of נגר , as the Syriac shows, is protrahere ), in the night-time without wearying and leaving off; it is fixedly and stedfastly ( אמוּנה , as it is expressed in Exodus 17:12) stretched out towards heaven. His soul is comfortless, and all comfort up to the present rebounds as it were from it (cf. Genesis 37:35; Jeremiah 31:15). If he remembers God, who was once near to him, then he is compelled to groan (cf. Psalms 55:18, Psalms 55:3; and on the cohortative form of a Lamed He verb, cf. Ges. §75, 6), because He has hidden Himself from him; if he muses, in order to find Him again, then his spirit veils itself, i.e., it sinks into night and feebleness ( התעטּף as in Psalms 107:5; Psalms 142:4; Psalms 143:4). Each of the two members of Psalms 77:4 are protasis and apodosis; concerning this emotional kind of structure of a sentence, vid., Ewald, §357, b .
He calls his eyelids the “guards of my eyes.” He who holds these so that they remain open when they want to shut together for sleep, is God; for his looking up to Him keeps the poet awake in spite of all overstraining of his powers. Hupfeld and others render thus: “Thou hast held, i.e., caused to last, the night-watches of mine eyes,” - which is affected in thought and expression. The preterites state what has been hitherto and has not yet come to a close. He still endures, as formerly, such thumps and blows within him, as though he lay upon an anvil ( פּעם ), and his voice fails him. Then silent soliloquy takes the place of audible prayer; he throws himself back in thought to the days of old (Psalms 143:5), the years of past periods (Isaiah 51:9), which were so rich in the proofs of the power and loving-kindness of the God who was then manifest, but is now hidden. He remembers the happier past of his people and his own, inasmuch as he now in the night purposely calls back to himself in his mind the time when joyful thankfulness impelled him to the song of praise accompanied by the music of the harp ( בּלּילה belongs according to the accents to the verb, not to נגינתי , although that construction certainly is strongly commended by parallel passages like Psalms 16:7; Psalms 42:9; Psalms 92:3, cf. Job 35:10), in place of which, crying and sighing and gloomy silence have now entered. He gives himself up to musing “with his heart,” i.e., in the retirement of his inmost nature, inasmuch as he allows his thoughts incessantly to hover to and fro between the present and the former days, and in consequence of this ( fut. consec . as in Psalms 42:6) his spirit betakes itself to scrupulizing (what the lxx reproduces with σκάλλειν , Aquila with σκαλεύειν ) - his conflict of temptation grows fiercer. Now follow the two doubting questions of the tempted one: he asks in different applications, Psalms 77:8-10 (cf. Psalms 85:6), whether it is then all at an end with God's loving-kindness and promise, at the same time saying to himself, that this nevertheless is at variance with the unchangeableness of His nature (Malachi 3:6) and the inviolability of His covenant. אפס (only occurring as a 3. praet .) alternates with גּמר (Psalms 12:2). חנּות is an infinitive construct formed after the manner of the Lamed He verbs, which, however, does also occur as infinitive absolute ( שׁמּות , Ezekiel 36:3, cf. on Psalms 17:3); Gesenius and Olshausen (who doubts this infinitive form, §245, f) explain it, as do Aben-Ezra and Kimchi, as the plural of a substantive חנּה , but in the passage cited from Ezekiel (vid., Hitzig) such a substantival plural is syntactically impossible. קפץ רחמים is to draw together or contract and draw back one's compassion, so that it does not manifest itself outwardly, just as he who will not give shuts ( יקפּץ ) his hand (Deuteronomy 15:7; cf. supra , Psalms 17:10).
With ואמר the poet introduces the self-encouragement with which he has hitherto calmed himself when such questions of temptation were wont to intrude themselves upon him, and with which he still soothes himself. In the rendering of הלּותי (with the tone regularly drawn back before the following monosyllable) even the Targum wavers between מרעוּתי (my affliction) and בּעוּתי (my supplication); and just in the same way, in the rendering of Psalms 77:11 , between אשׁתּניו (have changed) and שׁנין (years). שׁנות cannot possibly signify “change” in an active sense, as Luther renders: “The right hand of the Most High can change everything,” but only a having become different (lxx and the Quinta ἀλλοίωσις , Symmachus ἐπιδευτέρωσις ), after which Maurer, Hupfeld, and Hitzig render thus: my affliction is this, that the right hand of the Most High has changed. But after we have read שׁנות in Psalms 77:6 as a poetical plural of שׁנה , a year, we have first of all to see whether it may not have the same signification here. And many possible interpretations present themselves. It can be interpreted: “my supplication is this: years of the right hand of the Most High” (viz., that years like to the former ones may be renewed); but this thought is not suited to the introduction with ואמר . We must either interpret it: my sickness, viz., from the side of God, i.e., the temptation which befalls me from Him, the affliction ordained by Him for me (Aquila ἀῤῥωστία μου ), is this (cf. Jeremiah 10:19); or, since in this case the unambiguous חלותי would have been used instead of the Piel : my being pierced, my wounding, my sorrow is this (Symmachus τρῶσίς μου , inf. Kal from חלל , Psalms 109:22, after the form חנּות from חנן ) - they are years of the right hand of the Most High, i.e., those which God's mighty hand, under which I have to humble myself (1 Peter 5:6), has formed and measured out to me. In connection with this way of taking Psalms 77:11 , Psalms 77:12 is now suitably and easily attached to what has gone before. The poet says to himself that the affliction allotted to him has its time, and will not last for ever. Therein lies a hope which makes the retrospective glance into the happier past a source of consolation to him. In Psalms 77:12 the Chethîb אזכיר is to be retained, for the כי in Psalms 77:12 is thus best explained: “I bring to remembrance, i.e., make known with praise or celebrate (Isaiah 63:7), the deeds of Jāh , for I will remember Thy wondrous doing from days of old.” His sorrow over the distance between the present and the past is now mitigated by the hope that God's right hand, which now casts down, will also again in His own time raise up. Therefore he will now, as the advance from the indicative to the cohortative (cf. Psalms 17:15) imports, thoroughly console and refresh himself with God's work of salvation in all its miraculous manifestations from the earliest times. יהּ is the most concise and comprehensive appellation for the God of the history of redemption, who, as Habakkuk prays, will revive His work of redemption in the midst of the years to come, and bring it to a glorious issue. To Him who then was and who will yet come the poet now brings praise and celebration. The way of God is His historical rule, and more especially, as in Habakkuk 3:6, הליכות , His redemptive rule. The primary passage Exodus 15:11 (cf. Psalms 68:25) shows that בּקּדשׁ is not to be rendered “in the sanctuary” (lxx ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ ), but “in holiness” (Symmachus ἐν ἁγιασμῷ ). Holy and glorious in love and in anger. God goes through history, and shows Himself there as the incomparable One, with whose greatness no being, and least of all any one of the beingless gods, can be measured. He is האל , the God, God absolutely and exclusively, a miracle-working ( עשׂה פלא , not עשׂה פלא cf. Genesis 1:11)
(Note: The joining of the second word, accented on the first syllable and closely allied in sense, on to the first, which is accented on the ultima (the tone of which, under certain circumstances, retreats to the penult ., נסוג אחור ) or monosyllabic, by means of the hardening Dagesh (the so-called דחיק ), only takes place when that first word ends in ה - or ה - , not when it ends in ה - .))
God, and a God who by these very means reveals Himself as the living and supra-mundane God. He has made His omnipotence known among the peoples, viz., as Exodus 15:16 says, by the redemption of His people, the tribes of Jacob and the double tribe of Joseph, out of Egypt, - a deed of His arm, i.e., the work of His own might, by which He has proved Himself to all peoples and to the whole earth to be the Lord of the world and the God of salvation (Exodus 9:16; Exodus 15:14). בּזרוע , brachio scil. extenso (Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34, and frequently), just as in Psalms 75:6, בּצוּאר , collo scil. erecto . The music here strikes in; the whole strophe is an overture to the following hymn in celebration of God, the Redeemer out of Egypt.
When He directed His lance towards the Red Sea, which stood in the way of His redeemed, the waters immediately fell as it were into pangs of travail ( יחילוּ , as in Habakkuk 3:10, not ויּחילו ), also the billows of the deep trembled; for before the omnipotence of God the Redeemer, which creates a new thing in the midst of the old creation, the rules of the ordinary course of nature become unhinged. There now follow in Psalms 77:18, Psalms 77:19 lines taken from the picture of a thunder-storm. The poet wishes to describe how all the powers of nature became the servants of the majestic revelation of Jahve, when He executed judgment on Egypt and delivered Israel. זרם , Poel of זרם (cognate זרב , זרף , Aethiopic זנם , to rain), signifies intensively: to stream forth in full torrents. Instead of this line, Habakkuk, with a change of the letters of the primary passage, which is usual in Jeremiah more especially, has זרם מים עבר . The rumbling which the שׁחקים
(Note: We have indicated on Psalms 18:12; Psalms 36:6, that the שׁהקים are so called from their thinness, but passages like Psalms 18:12 and the one before us do not favour this idea. One would think that we have more likely to go back to Arab. sḥq , to be distant (whence suḥḳ , distance; saḥı̂ḳ , distant), and that שׁהקים signifies the distances, like שׁמים , the heights, from שׁחק = suḥḳ , in distinction from שׁחק , an atom (Wetzstein). But the Hebrew affords no trace of this verbal stem, whereas שׁחק , Arab. sḥq , contundere , comminuere (Neshwân: to pound to dust, used e.g., of the apothecary's drugs), is just as much Hebrew as Arabic. And the word is actually associated with this verb by the Arabic mind, inasmuch as Arab. saḥâbun saḥqun ( nubes tenues , nubila tenuia ) is explained by Arab. sḥâb rqı̂q . Accordingly שׁהקים , according to its primary notion, signifies that which spreads itself out thin and fine over a wide surface, and according to the usage of the language, in contrast with the thick and heavy פני הארץ , the uppermost stratum of the atmosphere, and then the clouds, as also Arab. a‛nân , and the collective ‛anan and ‛anân (vid., Isaiah, at Isaiah 4:5, note), is not first of all the clouds, but the surface of the sky that is turned to us (Fleischer).)
cause to sound forth ( נתנוּ , cf. Psalms 68:34) is the thunder. The arrows of God ( חצציך , in Habakkuk חצּיך ) are the lightnings. The Hithpa . (instead of which Habakkuk has יחלּכוּ ) depicts their busy darting hither and thither in the service of the omnipotence that sends them forth. It is open to question whether גּלגּל denotes the roll of the thunder (Aben-Ezra, Maurer, Böttcher): the sound of Thy thunder went rolling forth (cf. Psalms 29:4), - or the whirlwind accompanying the thunder-storm (Hitzig); the usage of the language (Psalms 83:14, also Ezekiel 10:13, Syriac golgolo ) is in favour of the latter. On Psalms 77:19 cf. the echo in Psalms 97:4. Amidst such commotions in nature above and below Jahve strode along through the sea, and made a passage for His redeemed. His person and His working were invisible, but the result which attested His active presence was visible. He took His way through the sea, and cut His path ( Chethîb plural, שׁביליך , as in Jeremiah 18:15) through great waters (or, according to Habakkuk, caused His horses to go through), without the footprints ( עקּבות with Dag. dirimens ) of Him who passes and passed through being left behind to show it.
If we have divided the strophes correctly, then this is the refrain-like close. Like a flock God led His people by Moses and Aaron (Numbers 33:1) to the promised goal. At this favourite figure, which is as it were the monogram of the Psalms of Asaph and of his school, the poet stops, losing himself in the old history of redemption, which affords him comfort in abundance, and is to him a prophecy of the future lying behind the afflictive years of the present.