Psalm 77: Remembering the Deeds of the Lord

Psalm 77:11, 13 "I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. . . .Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?"

As we conclude our study on the psalms of lament this morning, we turn to Psalm 77 and learn what it looks like to remember the deeds of the Lord amidst our trials. Surely a good study on the lament psalms cannot end without mentioning this idea, so to this we will turn this morning, as we see how we can have hope in the past deeds of the Lord as we live in our present trials.

In verses 1-10 of this psalm, we see once again that the psalmist is in deep distress. He describes himself as being in a "day of trouble" so bad that his "soul refuses to be comforted" (2). Furthermore, he says that his trial is so great that when he remembers God, he moans, and when he meditates, his spirit faints (3). We must note again that this is poetic language, but nonetheless, we see the psalmist here in deep distress in an unnamed trial. This leads him to questioning the Lord's acts, wondering if the Lord's steadfast love has ceased and if he has forgotten to be gracious to his children (7-9).

However, in verse 10, the psalmist talks to himself. "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High" (10). The "right hand" spoke of here is a reference to God's power (God has done for his people many great things with his "right hand"). What the psalmist is saying here that amidst his great distress, he will appeal (that is, remember, recall, and base his soul upon*) to the great things that the Lord has done in the past. He will find comfort in the midst of trial by remembering the deeds of the Lord (10).

In the remander of the psalm, the psalmist recounts the great deeds of the Lord. He tells of God's redemption of the Israelite people (15) his great triumph over nature (see verses 16-19, I'm pretty sure this is an allusion to something in Israelite's history, but I am not sure what), and his leading of the Israelites (that is, into the promised land) through Moses and Aaron. The psalmist's point is this: amidst his great trial, he can recount the deeds of the Lord and therefore find comfort. God's past works of strength and grace gave the psalmist hope in the present.

One verse that especially struck me this morning was verse 13: "Your way, O God, is holy. What God is great like our God?" Surely this is a beautiful verse that shows us that there is truly no God like our God. Even when the Lord's sovereign and loving hand puts us through trial, we can have confidence that he is still the greatest God that there could ever be. Yet we hope for this great God not in vain, but on the basis of his past great deeds. He has saved us, redeemed us, and called us his own. This is the basis upon which we can stand: God's past works of strength and grace gave us hope in the present.

So, when is the last time you recalled the past deeds of the Lord? When you were in trial, when is the last time you stopped and remembered all that the Lord has done for you? I encourage you today: If you find yourself in a trial, spend time meditating on the past works of the Lord. Read over your past journal entries. Look at some "miracle debris" that you might have kept from the times in which the Lord has delivered you from in the past. And most importantly, remember the Lord's ultimate deed upon your soul, that is, your very salvation. Amen.

*There is probably a better exposition for this word, my synonymns here are mere suggestions that fit with the context.