Verses 1-10

“DOTH HIS PROMISE FAIL?”

Psalms 77:1-10

There is a strong resemblance between this psalm and Habakkuk 3:1-19. It may be divided at the Selahs. The psalmist’s anguish, Psalms 77:1-3. It is well to give expression to grief. Do not lock it in your breast. Even in the thick darkness reach out your hands toward God. Your finger-tips will find themselves touched by the divine response. Refuse to be comforted by Christian work, or by the diversions of society and business, or by the exercise of a strong will. Open the wound to God; He will heal it and wipe away your tears.

The contrast between past and present, Psalms 77:4-9. In the scarcity of his comfort, David was glad to live on his old stores, as are bees in winter. He specially recalled his song in the night, which is probably the equivalent of that glorying in tribulation of which the New Testament is full. Let us answer those questions of the psalmist: Will the Lord cast off? No; Romans 11:1. Will He be favorable? Yes; Lamentations 3:32. Is His mercy clean gone? No; Psalms 103:17. Doth his promise fail? No; Hebrews 6:18. Hath God forgotten to be gracious? No; Exodus 34:6. Hath He shut up his mercies? No; Lamentations 3:22-23. He is Jehovah, and changes not.

Verses 11-20

“THE GOD THAT DOEST WONDERS”

Psalms 77:11-20

Go back to the past. Consider the manner in which God has stood by His saints in the days of old, in the years of ancient time. What He did for them He is prepared to do again. He cannot cast us off. When once He begins He will continue. The train may be lost in a dark tunnel, but it will shoot out again into the radiant daylight. Through the hard Wilderness God led His people into the land of milk and honey. It is thy infirmity that leads thee to doubt Him. Like John the Baptist, you may be enclosed in a dungeon-cell of adverse circumstances, but remember the long years in which the right hand of the Most High has wrought for His people.

Compare Psalms 77:13 and Psalms 77:19. God’s way is in the sea-it is impossible to track His footsteps-but it is also in the sanctuary! In other words, however perplexing His providences may appear, they are governed by His redeeming love for His own, and are consistent with His perfect holiness. His ways may be veiled in mystery, but He leads His people as the shepherd His flock. Do not look down at your path, but up into His face.