Bird's-eye view
In the first half of this psalm, the psalmist is in the depths of personal anguish, feeling as though God has forgotten him entirely. But in verse 11, he makes a crucial turn. He resolves to remember. He will remember the deeds of the Lord; he will remember the wonders of old. This section, verses 16 through 20, is the glorious content of that remembrance. The psalmist is not engaging in a bit of positive thinking. He is grounding his troubled soul in the bedrock of redemptive history. Specifically, he calls to mind the central saving event of the Old Testament, the Exodus from Egypt. This is not a mere history lesson; it is a gospel lesson. He is recounting a story of how God saves, and in so doing, he is preaching the gospel to himself.
The language here is high poetry, describing the crossing of the Red Sea in terms of a cosmic upheaval. Creation itself reacts to the presence of the Creator. The waters, the clouds, the skies, the lightning, the very earth, all participate in this great drama. But all this magnificent, earth-shattering power is directed to one simple, pastoral end: leading His people, like a flock of sheep, to safety. This is the character of our God. His infinite power is always in the service of His covenant love.
Outline
- 1. The Reaction of Creation to God's Presence (Psa 77:16)
- 2. The Theophany of the Storm God (Psa 77:17-18)
- 3. The Paradox of God's Invisible Path (Psa 77:19)
- 4. The Pastoral Purpose of God's Power (Psa 77:20)
Context In Psalms
Psalm 77 is a psalm of Asaph, and it follows a classic pattern from lament to praise. The first nine verses are a raw expression of doubt and despair. The psalmist's soul refuses to be comforted, and he asks a series of agonizing questions: "Will the Lord spurn forever? ... Has His steadfast love forever ceased?" But this is not where he remains. The turning point, or hinge, of the psalm is the conscious decision to remember God's works (vv. 10-12). The remainder of the psalm is a magnificent meditation on God's power and holiness, culminating in this description of the Exodus. This movement is instructive for every believer. The way out of the slough of despond is not to look inward at the turmoil of our own hearts, but to look outward and backward to the objective, historical acts of God in redemption.
Commentary
Verse 16
The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The deeps also trembled.
The psalmist begins his description of the Exodus with this striking personification. The Red Sea, that great and chaotic barrier, is depicted as having sight. And what does it see? It sees God. The creature beholds its Creator, and the reaction is immediate and violent. This is not the serene worship of a peaceful creation; this is the terrified submission of a chaotic force. The inanimate creation here shows more spiritual sense than do hard-hearted men. When God reveals Himself, the world is undone.
The word for "anguish" here carries the idea of writhing, as in childbirth. This is a profound image. The sea, a symbol of death and the abyss, is forced by God's presence to give birth to a new nation. God is performing a creative act through an act of de-creation and judgment. The "deeps also trembled," indicating that this was not a surface-level event. God's power reached to the very foundations of the sea. There was nowhere for the enemy to hide, and no part of the obstacle was left unsubdued. This is total sovereignty.
Verse 17
The clouds poured out water; The skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows went here and there.
Now the imagery moves from the sea to the sky. God did not just part the waters in a quiet, tidy fashion. He showed up in a terrifying storm, a theophany. This is the God who makes the clouds His chariot (Psa 104:3). The deliverance of His people was accompanied by a display of His awesome and dreadful glory. The "sound" from the skies is thunder, the very voice of God. When God speaks, creation reverberates.
And then we have this phrase: "Your arrows went here and there." The arrows of God are lightning. This is not a random, chaotic storm. It is a battle. God is the divine warrior, fighting on behalf of His people. The lightning bolts are His ordnance, directed with perfect and deadly accuracy. This is controlled power, purposeful judgment on His enemies and a fiery wall of protection for His people.
Verse 18
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.
The description of the divine storm continues, and its scope is magnified. The thunder is not just a distant rumble; it is "in the whirlwind," immediate and all-encompassing. The lightning does not just flash in one corner of the sky; it "lit up the world." The deliverance of Israel at the Red Sea was an event of global, cosmic significance. In that moment, God was showing the entire world who is Lord.
And the result of this heavenly display was that "the earth trembled and shook." God's redemptive work is never a small thing. When He acts to save His people, He shakes the foundations of the world. This is what happened at Sinai when the law was given, and it is what happened at Calvary when the Son was given. The cross was accompanied by an earthquake, because God was once again shaking the world to its foundations in order to establish a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb 12:26-28).
Verse 19
Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, But Your footprints were not known.
This verse contains a glorious paradox. God's path of salvation for His people was in the most unlikely of places: right through the heart of the sea, the very symbol of death and chaos. What is an impassable barrier for man is a highway for God. This is the gospel in miniature. God makes a way of life for us through the jaws of death, through the death of His Son.
But notice the second part. After this path was made and the people had crossed, God's "footprints were not known." Once the waters returned, the path was gone. You could not go back and study it. You could not retrace the steps. God's miraculous works are not subject to our scientific analysis. His ways are past finding out. We are called to trust the God who makes the path, not to trust in our ability to map out His ways. He is God; He is sovereign, mysterious, and free. His salvation is a gift to be received by faith, not a formula to be replicated.
Verse 20
You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
And here is the stunning conclusion. All of this cosmic power, this earth-shaking, sea-splitting, sky-rending display of divine might, had a remarkably gentle and pastoral purpose. It was all done so that God could lead His people "like a flock." The omnipotent warrior of the Exodus is the Good Shepherd. His infinite power is wielded with tender, personal care for His sheep.
And how did He do it? "By the hand of Moses and Aaron." God uses means. He uses men. The spectacular, supernatural work of God was administered through the ordinary, mundane leadership of two brothers. This is God's pattern throughout Scripture. He displays His glory from heaven, but He governs His people on earth through delegated authorities. The great God who commands the whirlwind also commands us to listen to our pastors and elders. The Shepherd leads His flock through the agency of the undershepherds He has appointed.
Application
The psalmist's cure for his spiritual depression was to remember the gospel as it was revealed in the Exodus. Our cure is the same. When our souls are in turmoil, we are not to look inside, but to look back. We look back to our Exodus, accomplished at the cross of Jesus Christ. There, God made a way for us through the sea of His wrath. There, the earth shook and the heavens grew dark as God in His power saved His people. His path was through death itself, a path whose footprints cannot be traced, but whose destination is secure.
And the purpose of that great and terrible work was pastoral. He did it all to lead us, His flock, into green pastures. He is the same God. The God who split the sea is the God who guides your life. The God whose voice is thunder is the one who whispers peace to your heart. And He leads us now by the hand of our great Moses and Aaron, the Lord Jesus Christ, our prophet, priest, and king. Therefore, remember His works. Preach the gospel to your own soul, and refuse to be comforted by anything less.