RHETORICAL QUESTIONS - Notice how each question seems to spiral downward: God, are you never going to stop being angry with me?

Has your faithfulness to me stopped forever?

Have you just forgotten how to show mercy and grace?

Or have you just grown weak and changed?

THE SHIFT IN FOCUS - Though the psalmist raises questions of theodicy while in his/her suffering, the lament form gives way to reflection as the great deeds of the Lord are recounted. By the time we get to vv. 16-20, the focus has moved beyond the tiny orbit of the psalmist and to the larger parameters of God’s people. Yes, God has proven to be faithful to an entire nation of peoples: God draws near to help his people.

CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY - Psalm 77 issues a call to decision. In every age, the people of God are called to proclaim and to embody the reign of God in the midst of circumstances that make it appear that God does not reign . . . Psalm 77 reminds us that we are people of memory and of hope . . . the faithful will remember that God has been our help in ages past and will be our hope for years to come.

Psalm 77:6-I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit. The monastic orders are quite familiar with the psalmist’s seeking, questioning mode. They typically rise while it is still dark, for in the stillness before dawn; the soul is quiet, unhurried. The day has not rushed in yet with all of its duties. In both the silence and the chanting of psalms, the monastic meditates.

What priority have you given to meditation and reflection? Most of us post-moderns are too caught up in activities and actions to get silent and meditative. Why not try some of what we read in Psalm 77-rise up earlier than usual and using a candle, recite the Lord’s Prayer slowly or repeat a favorite prayer or psalm. Rest in God’s presence for several minutes of silent contemplation.

I would try to capture the two-part rhythm of this psalm as a way to describe our lives. The first part of the psalm contains the lament, then the series of indicting questions that the psalmist addresses to God. The final words refocus on God’s past actions toward the people of God.

Describe how our lives are lived in that kind of oscillating rhythm-deeply pained and broken, questioning God’s faithfulness. Then move to a refocusing on God’s past goodness as a way to regain hope and clarity in the midst of difficulty.

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[1] Claus Westermann, The Living Psalms (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publ, 1989), page 103.
[2] James L. Mays as cited in New Interpreter’s Bible IV (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), page 985.