Psalm 77:1-2

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Psalm 77:1 During a difficult period that the people of Israel are experiencing after the return from the Exile, more than one fervent Israelite can think that God has abandoned his own. But the Lord does not act after the fashion of human beings: has he not from Egypt to Canaan, by means of the wonders of the Exodus (vv. 14-20), transformed a motley group of slaves into a people of his own?
   The striking evocation of the passage through the Red Sea and the coming of God at Sinai enables the psalmist to rediscover the great certitude that God still guides his people. Such a certitude is present even when one must realize that God’s ways are mysterious. Hope is reborn, purified by adversity and more unshakable than ever.
   This psalm is a reminder of the Father’s faithfulness toward Christ and calls us to remain faithful ourselves in times of distress and spiritual dryness. “Let us remain firm in the confession of our hope without wavering, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy” (Heb 10:23). We must imitate the ancients and, even more, Christ, by remaining faithful even in the darkest of times, for “we are not among those who draw back and are lost. Rather, we are among those who have faith and are saved” (Heb 10:39).
2. Psalm 77:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation. Jeduthun: see note on Ps 39:1. Asaph: see notes on Pss 73–89.
3. Psalm 77:2 To the psalmist, God seems to have deserted his people; he no longer responds to appeals for help in time of distress and intense prayer.
4. Psalm 77:2 The psalmist looked to God as the sole comforter of his distressed soul (see Gen 37:35; Jer 31:15). He cried out ceaselessly in prayer with hands outstretched—but remained uncomforted. Soul: see note on Ps 6:4.