Psalm 77: He led His people like a flock

We do not know the occasion of this song except to say that it was a time of trouble. It is

another Psalm of Asaph, and like other songs of Asaph, is a bit melancholy. He wonders

if God has completely forgotten His people. Nevertheless, he seems to comfort himself

in the knowledge that God has been faithful in the past to lead His people like a flock.

(1) <To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.>

• The Psalm is credited to Asaph but is dedicated to Jeduthun. You may recall that

Jeduthun, together with Asaph and Heman, were the principal worship leaders

under David. Jeduthun was a notable figure in David’s kingdom of whom we

know very little. He had also six sons who prophesied on their harps. (1 Chron.

25:3)

• He, along with Heman and a man named Gad, were described as “the king’s

seer.” (2 Chron. 35:15) Early in the Kingdom period there was more of a

distinction made between seers and prophets. We should probably think of a seer

as being a type of prophet who received visual revelation from God. The Hebrew

word is chozeh, which means someone who is gazing.

• Prophets of course also receive verbal revelation. The ordinary word for a prophet

in Hebrew is a nabi, a word which has to do with something that drops or bubbles

up. Well-known prophets who could also be referred to as seers would include

men such as Moses, Samuel, David and Ezekiel.

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• The fact that Jeduthun was called “the king’s seer” undoubtedly meant that his

counsel was sought by David to help guide him in his decision-making.

I cried to God with my voice, even to God with my voice; and he gave ear

unto me. (2) In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was

stretched out in the night, and ceased not; my soul refused to be comforted.

(3) I remembered God, and was troubled; I meditated, and my spirit was

overwhelmed. Selah.

• Asaph knew the best remedy in trouble was to cry out to the Lord, and so he

reaches out to the Lord strongly. He emphasizes that this was done with his voice.

He does not grumble or complain about God, but turns his complaint to God.

• Some had mistranslated verse 2 in the past to speak of Asaph having a running

sore, but there is no hint of sickness in the story here. The word is literally the

hand, and so there is a picture of fervent prayer in the night seasons, as the

Psalmist stretches out his hands looking for the mercies of God. His soul would

not be comforted until God came through with an answer.

• About this verse the great Matthew Henry said, “Days of trouble must be days of

prayer; in days of inward trouble, especially when God seems to have

withdrawn from us, we must seek him, and seek till we find him. In the day of

his trouble he did not seek for the diversions of business or recreation, to shake

off his trouble that way, but he sought God, and his favour and grace. Those

that are under trouble of mind, must not think to drink it away, or laugh it

away, but pray it away.” Much of the success or lack of it which the men and

women in the Bible experienced had to do with whether they followed this rule.

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• In verse 3 we see that sometimes to think of God can even be troubling, for it

causes us to question Him when we see trouble and injustice.

(4) You hold my 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 my own heart, and my

spirit made diligent search.

• Verse 4 may have to do with God keeping our eyelids open, as it literally means

He holds the “watchings of our eyes.” In other words, sleep leaves him.

• In his grief he cannot speak. This is a normal psychological reaction to trauma,

which ancient peoples undoubtedly observed many times.

• He thinks back upon former years, which could also mean the record of God’s

past faithfulness. Many Psalms, as we have already seen, are filled with

reminders – reminders even to God of how He has led His people in the past.

• In times past Asaph could also lift up a song in the night, learning how to rejoice

in the midst of trouble. In our walk of faith we are often called upon to praise

God by faith – to offer a real sacrifice of praise. To sing happily when everything

is going well is easy, but the reality and the strength of our faith and joy are tested

by the command to rejoice in the Lord always.

• His spirit was making a search – was there perhaps some reason why the Lord

was displeased? The Hebrew is interesting as it has to do with uncovering one’s

self to make search; they would have removed outer garments or the folds of their

outer garments to work and search more effectively. Perhaps we might say we

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rolled up our sleeves in order to get dirty and search everywhere. Do we ever

examine our own hearts this way?

(7) Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favorable no more? (8) Is

his mercy completely gone forever? Does his promise fail for evermore? (9)

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his tender

mercies? Selah.

• These are six powerful and even frightful questions for any believer who feels cut

off from God’s mercies. Coming out as they do, in rapid-fire succession, adds to

the force of it. The selah would have heightened the effect even more, as the

audience would probably have had to listen to a musical interlude with the

searing doubts in his mind.

• These questions address different facets of God’s character and relationship to

His people – His acceptance, favor, mercy, and even the Word of His promise.

• Asaph undoubtedly knew the answer: the Lord would not cast off His people

forever. Even in the darkest times, God had said through Moses that He would

not completely destroy them even when they would, inevitably, provoke them to

great anger: “And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I

will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and

to break my covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But I will for

their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out

of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God; I am

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the LORD.” (Lev. 26:44-45) Saying “I am the LORD” serves to reinforce His

character and acts as a reminder that He will do as He has said.

(10) And I said, “This causes me to be sick!” The years of the right hand of

the most High! (11) I will remember the works of the LORD; surely I will

remember your wonders of old. (12) I will meditate also on all your work,

and muse on your deeds.

• In verse 10, his reflections make him ill – he calls to mind the times in history

when God’s power was openly displayed before the world. Only those years can

resolve his mental and physical conflicts.

• The right hand of God was a symbol of God’s power. It is significant that Jesus is

enthroned at the right hand of God – it means that He is in a favored position,

and executing the Will of the Father.

• This marks a turning point in the Psalm. He begins to draw hope and faith from

remembering the years or times when God acted in history. He reasons that if

God has moved in the past He can move in the present. Sometimes, as in the case

of Asaph, it is necessary to encourage ourselves by very deliberately focusing on

the past works and wonders of God.

• Twice he says he will remember. Is this because man finds it so easy to forget a

kindness? He then says he will meditate and muse on them, which is serious

reflection and, in the Hebrew concept of meditation, probably means discussing

it with himself.

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(13) Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God?

(14) You are the God that does wonders; you have declared your strength

among the people. (15) You have redeemed your people with your arm, the

sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

• In verse 13, the concept may be better expressed as “Your way is holiness.” In

other words, this is conclusion he came to, that God is holy. There is no God as

great as He.

• The remainder of the Psalm has to do with reminders of God’s saving power,

most notably seen in the Exodus, the great redemption in which God liberated

His people with His mighty arm.

(16) The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you; they were afraid; the

depths also were troubled. (17) The clouds poured out water; the skies sent

out a sound; your arrows also went abroad. (18) The voice of your thunder

was in the heaven; the lightnings lightened the world; the earth trembled

and shook. (19) Your way is in the sea, and your path in the great waters,

and your footsteps are not known. (20) You led your people like a flock by

the hand of Moses and Aaron.

• There is an obvious reference here to the parting of the Red Sea and, perhaps, to

the great manifestations of power that accompanied the descent of the Lord upon

Mount Sinai.

• His way or His path was in that water – in other words, the way in which God

will operate to save His people can be seen in the way He ransomed His people.

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When faced with doubts, the mere fact of the people’s being in the land was a

reminder to them that God had brought them out of Egypt with great power.

• Like a tender shepherd, He led them through His servants Moses and Aaron.