Bibelkommentare

INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 77

To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph. Jeduthun was the name of the chief musician, to whom this psalm was inscribed and sent; see 1 Chronicles 25:1, though Aben Ezra takes it to be the first word of some song, to the tune of which this was sung; and the Midrash interprets it of the subject of the psalm, which is followed by Jarchi, who explains it thus,

"concerning the decrees and judgments which passed upon Israel;''

that is, in the time of their present captivity, to which, as he, Kimchi, and Arama think, the whole psalm belongs. Some interpreters refer it to the affliction of the Jews in Babylon, so Theodoret; or under Ahasuerus, or Antiochus; and others to the great and last distress of the church under antichrist; though it seems to express the particular case of the psalmist, and which is common to other saints.

I cried unto God with my voice,.... Which is to be understood of prayer, and that vocal, and which is importunate and fervent, being made in distress; see Psalm 3:4, or "my voice was unto God" (h), "and I cried"; it was directed to him, and expressed in a very loud and clamorous way:

even unto God with my voice; or "my voice was unto God"; which is repeated to show that he prayed again and again, with great eagerness and earnestness, his case being a very afflicted one:

and he gave ear unto me; his prayer was not without success; God is a God hearing and answering prayer, according to his promise, Psalm 50:15.

(h) "vox mea ad Deum", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, "fertur", Junius & Tremellius; "erat", Cocceius.

In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord,.... Not the creature, for help, and creature amusements to drive away trouble, but the Lord, in private, by prayer and supplication; a time of trouble is a time for prayer, James 5:13, all men have their trouble, but the people of God more especially; and there are some particular times in which they have more than usual, and then it may be said to be "a day of trouble" with them; which sometimes arises from themselves, the strength of their corruptions, the weakness of their graces, their backwardness to duties, or poor performance of them; sometimes from others, from the profaneness or persecutions of the men of the world, from the heretical notions or wicked lives of professors; sometimes from the temptations of Satan, and at other times from the Lord himself more immediately, by his withdrawing his presence from them, or by laying his afflicting hand upon them; but, let the trouble come from what quarter it may, it is always right to seek the Lord. Some think reference is had to the time of trouble mentioned in Daniel 12:1,

my sore ran in the night; my "stroke", or "wound" (i); so Kimchi interprets it; the wound that was made in his soul, and the pain and anguish, grief and trouble, which flowed from it; see Jeremiah 6:7 though the word may be literally rendered "my hand" (k); and the sense is, either that his hand flowed or was wet with wiping his eyes, or with the tears that flowed from his eyes, which ran down to his fingers' ends; so the Targum,

"in the night my eye dropped with tears;''

or rather that his hand was stretched out, as waters, that are poured out and run, are spread, that is, in prayer; the stretching out of the hand being a prayer gesture:

and ceased not; was not remiss and feeble, or was not let down, as Moses's, Exodus 17:11, it denotes the constancy of prayer, and his continuance in it; he prayed without ceasing:

my soul refused to be comforted: such was the greatness of his distress, like that of Jacob's and Rachel's, Genesis 37:35, it is right to refuse comfort and peace, which men speak to themselves upon the false foundation of their own merit and works; or any but what comes from the God of all comfort, and through Christ, in whom is all solid consolation, and by his Spirit, who is the Comforter; but it is wrong to refuse any that comes from hence, and by means of the promises, the word and ordinances and ministries of the Gospel, or Christian friends; this shows the strength of unbelief.

(i) "plaga mea", Pagninus, Muis. (k) "Manus mea", Montanus, Piscator, Gejerus, &c.

I remembered God, and was troubled,.... Either the mercy, grace, and goodness of God, as Jarchi; how ungrateful he had been to him, how sadly he had requited him, how unthankful and unholy he was, notwithstanding so much kindness; and when he called this to mind it troubled him; or when he remembered the grace and goodness of God to him in time past, and how it was with him now, that it was not with him as then; this gave him uneasiness, and set him a praying and crying, that it might be with him as heretofore, Job 29:2, or rather he remembered the greatness and majesty of God, his power and his justice, his purity and holiness, and himself as a worm, a poor weak creature, sinful dust and ashes, not able to stand before him; he considered him not as his father and friend, but as an angry Judge, incensed against him, and demanding satisfaction of him:

I complained; of sin and sorrow, of affliction and distress: or "I prayed", or "meditated" (l); he thought on his case, and prayed over it, and poured out his complaint unto God, yet found no relief:

and my spirit was overwhelmed; covered with grief and sorrow, pressed down with affliction, ready to sink and faint under it:

Selah: See Gill on Psalm 3:2.

(l) "meditabor", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus; "meditabor", Musculus, Piscator, Cocceius.

Thou holdest mine eyes waking,.... Or, "the watches", or rather "keepers of the eyes" (m); the eyebrows, which protect the eyes; these were held, so that he could not shut them, and get any sleep; so R. Moses Haccohen interprets the words, as Jarchi observes; and so the Targum,

"thou holdest the brows of my eyes;''

a person in trouble, when he can get some sleep, it interrupts his sorrow, weakens it at least, if it does not put a stop to it; wherefore it is a great mercy to have sleep, and that refreshing, Psalm 127:1, but to have this denied, and to have wearisome nights, and be in continual tossing to and fro, is very distressing:

I am so troubled that I cannot speak; his spirits were so sunk with weariness, and want of sleep in the night, that he could not speak in the morning; or his heart was so full with sorrow, that he could not utter himself; or it was so great that he could not express it; or his thoughts were such that he dared not declare them; or he was so straitened and shut up in himself that he could not go on speaking unto God in prayer.

(m) "vigilias", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Tigurine version; "palpebras oculorum meorum", Musculus, Cocceius; "palpebras quasi custodias oculorum", Michaelis.

I have considered the days of old,.... Either the former part of his life, the various occurrences of it, how it had been with him in time past, what experience he had had of the divine goodness; so the Syriac version renders it, "I have considered my days of old"; or the preceding age, and what has happened in that, which his ancestors had acquainted him with; or rather many ages past, from the days of Adam to the then present time; at least it may include the Israelites coming out of Egypt, their passage through the Red sea and wilderness, the times of the judges, and what befell them in their days, and how they were delivered out of their troubles; as appears from the latter part of the psalm, and with which agrees the following clause:

the years of ancient times; or, "of ages" (n); of times long ago past; it is very useful to read the history of the Bible, with respect to ancient times, and so the ecclesiastical history of ages past, and observe the faith and dependence of the Lord's people upon him, and their deliverance out of trouble by him; which may be a means of strengthening faith in him, and of relief under present trials; but frequently the goodness of former times is only observed as an aggravation of the badness of the present ones, and of trouble in them; see Ecclesiastes 7:10, the Targum interprets the whole of happy days and times, paraphrasing it thus,

"I have mentioned the good days which were of old, the good years which were of ages past.''

(n) "annos seculorum", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus.

I call to remembrance my song in the night,.... What had been an occasion of praising the Lord with a song, and which he had sung in the night seasons, when he was at leisure, his thoughts free, and he retired from company; or it now being night with him, he endeavoured to recollect what had been matter of praise and thankfulness to him, and tried to sing one of those songs now, in order to remove his melancholy thoughts and fears, but all to no purpose:

I commune with mine own heart; or "meditate" (o) with it; looked into his own heart, put questions to it, and conversed with himself, in order to find out the reason of the present dispensation:

and my spirit made diligent search; into the causes of his troubles, and ways and means of deliverance out of them, and what would be the issue and consequence of them; the result of all which was as follows.

(o) "meditabor", Montanus; meditatus sum, V. L. "meditor", Junius & Tremellius; "meditabar", Piscator, Cocceius.

Will the Lord cast off for ever?.... The Syriac version of this, and the two following verses, is not by way of interrogation, but affirmation: "the Lord hath forgotten me for ever, nor will he", &c. and so expresses the language of unbelief; but the Arabic version, in connection with the last words, with which it begins this verse, is, "and I weighed in my spirit whether the Lord", &c. and so makes it a subject of inquiry, and at most of questioning or doubting. The Targum, different from either, begins this and each of the verses thus, "is it possible that the Lord", &c. suggesting that it was not possible that he should do this and the other, and so speaks the language of faith. Unbelief in the psalmist said, the Lord will cast "me", or "his people", off, for either or both may be understood; which so appears when God hides his face, or does not immediately arise to help; or suffers the enemy to prevail, and difficulties and discouragements to obtain and continue; but Faith says, he will not cast off his people, whom he foreknew, from having a share in his affections, from being interested in his covenant, from his sight, and being the objects of his care, from enjoying the privileges of his house and family, or so as to perish eternally:

and will he be favourable no more? or bear good will, show kindness, be propitious, graciously accept, as the word (p) signifies; this question supposes that he had been favourable, and bore a good will, as the gracious purposes and kind intentions of his heart, the well stored covenant of his grace, and the mission of his Son to be a Saviour, show; that he has been propitious through the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, and has accepted of the persons and services of his people, and indulged them with near communion with himself; but that now he is not, he having withdrawn the sense of his love, and the communications of his divine favours; and Unbelief says he will be so no more, and adds, I am cut off from before his eyes, and am as the slain, that are remembered no more; and shall go softly all my years, in the bitterness of my soul; but Faith says, he will be favourable again; that joy will come in the morning; that the Lord will hear, and be a light unto the souls of his people, though in darkness; and will bring to the light, and cause to behold his righteousness.

(p) "acceptos habere", Cocceius, so Ainsworth; "propitius et gratiosus esse", Michaelis.