Psalms 77

1 I cry out to God; I cry aloud to him, and he hears me.

For Jeduthun, the music director. A psalm of Asaph. I cry out to God for help—I even shout. If only he would listen to me!

2 Whenever have trouble, I pray to the Lord; all during the night I lift up my hands while I pray, [but] nothing causes me to be comforted.

When I was in trouble I prayed to the Lord. All night long I stretched out my hands to him in prayer but nothing brought me any comfort.

3 When I think about God, I (despair/think that he will never help me); when I meditate about him, I am discouraged.

I thought about God, groaning loudly; I meditated on him, but I was discouraged. (Selah)

4 [All during the night] he prevents me from sleeping; I am very worried, with the result that I do not know what to say.

You stop me going to sleep; I'm so upset I can't even talk.

5 I think about days that have passed; I remember [what happened in] previous years.

I think of the old days, years ago.

6 I spend the whole night thinking [about things]; I meditate, and this is what I ask myself:

I remember the songs I sung in the night. I meditate and ask myself:

7 “Will the Lord always reject us? Will he never again be pleased with us?

Has the Lord given up on me forever? Won't he ever be pleased with me again?

8 Has he stopped faithfully loving us? Will he not do for us what he promised to do?

Has his trustworthy love disappeared forever? Have his promises permanently ended?

9 God promised to be merciful to us; has he forgotten that? Because he is angry [with us], has he decided to not be kind to us?”

Has God forgotten to be kind? Has he angrily slammed the door shut on his compassion? (Selah)

10 Then I said, “What causes me to be [very] sad is that [it seems that] God, who is greater than any other god, is no longer powerful.”

Then I said, “This is what hurts me the most: the Most High doesn't treat me the way he used to.”

11 [But then], Yahweh, I recall/remember your great deeds; I remember the wonderful things that you did in the past.

I remember what you have done, Lord; I remember all the wonderful things you did long ago.

12 I meditate on all that you have done, and I think about your mighty acts.

I will think about all you have accomplished; I will think deeply about how you have acted.

13 God, everything that you do is holy; there is certainly no god [RHQ] who is great like you are!

God, your ways are holy; is any god as great as you?

14 You are God, the one who performs miracles; you showed to people of many people-groups that you are powerful.

You are the God who does wonderful things! You have revealed your power to the nations.

15 By your power [MTY] you rescued your people [from Egypt]; you saved those who were descendants of Jacob and [his son] Joseph.

Through your strength you saved your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)

16 [It was as though] the waters [of the Red Sea] saw you and became very afraid, and even the deepest part of the water shook.

When the waters saw you, God, when they looked they trembled! Yes, they shook down to the very depths!

17 Rain poured down from the clouds [PRS]; it thundered [very loudly] [PRS], and lightning flashed in all directions.

The clouds poured rain down; the skies crashed with thunder; your lightning flew like arrows.

18 Thunder crashed in the whirlwind, and lightning (lit up/flashed across) the entire sky [HYP]; the earth shook violently [DOU].

Your thunder rumbled from the whirlwind; lightning flashes lit up the world; the earth quaked and shook.

19 [Then] you walked through the sea on a path that you made through the deep water, but your footprints could not be seen.

Your way led through the sea; your path passed through the deep sea; yet your footprints were invisible.

20 You led your people like [a shepherd leads his] flock [of sheep], while Moses and Aaron were the leaders [of your people].

You led your people like a flock, shepherded by Moses and Aaron.