Commentary on Psalms - Volume 3 - Bible Study Guides

Comm on Psalms (V3)John CalvinPSALM 77Whoever was the penman of this psalm, the Holy Spirit seems, by his mouth, to have dictateda common form of prayer for the Church in her afflictions, that even under the most cruelpersecutions the faithful might not fail to address their prayers to heaven. It is not the private griefof some particular individual which is here expressed, but the lamentations and groanings of thechosen people. The faithful celebrate the deliverance which had been once wrought for them, andwhich was a testimony of God’s everlasting grace, to animate and strengthen themselves to engagein the exercise of prayer with the greater earnestness.To the chief musician upon Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.Psalm 77:1-61. My voice came to God, and I cried: my voice came to God, and he heard me. 2. I soughtthe: Lord in the day of my trouble: my hand was stretched out in the night, and remitted not mysoul refused to be comforted. 3. I will remember God, and will be troubled: I will meditate, andmy spirit will be oppressed [or overwhelmed] with sorrow. Selah. 4. Thou hast held the watchesof my eyes: I am troubled, and will not speak. 5. I have recounted the days of old, the years ofancient times. 6. I will call to remembrance my song in the night: I will commune with my heart,and my spirit will search diligently.1. My voice came to God, and I cried. This is not a mere complaint, as some interpreters explainit, denoting the surprise which the people of God felt in finding that he who hitherto had beenaccustomed to grant their requests shut his ears to them, and was called upon in vain. It appearsmore probable that the prophet either speaks of the present feeling of his mind, or else calls toremembrance how he had experienced that God was inclined and ready to hear his prayers. Therecan be no doubt that he describes the greatness of the sorrow with which he was afflicted; and, innay opinion, he denotes a continued act both by the past and the future tenses of the verbs. In thefirst place, he declares that he did not foolishly rend the air with his cries, like many who pour forthbitter cries without measure and at random under their sorrows; but that he addressed his speechto God when necessity constrained him to cry. The copula and, which is joined to the verb cried,should be resolved into the adverb of time when, in this way, When I cried my voice came to GodAt the same time, he also shows, that although he had been constrained often to reiterate his cries,he had not given over persevering in prayer. What is added immediately after is intended for theconfirmation of his faith: And he heard me. The copula and, as in many other places, is here putinstead of the causal adverb for. The meaning is, that he encouraged himself to cry to God, fromthe consideration that it was God’s usual manner to show his favor and mercy towards him.2. I sought the Lord in the day of my trouble. In this verse he expresses more distinctly thegrievous and hard oppression to which the Church was at that time subjected. There is, however,some ambiguity in the words. The Hebrew word , yad, which I have translated hand, is sometimestaken metaphorically for a wound; and, therefore, many interpreters elicit this sense, My wound124