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PSALM 77

To him that presides; to Jeduthun, a Psalm of Asaph.

1. I cried to god with my voice, even to god with my voice; and he gave ear to me.
2. In the day of my distress I sought the lord, my hand was stretched out by night, and was not faint; my soul refused to be comforted.
3. I remember god, yet am I troubled; I meditate so that my spirit is overwhelmed.
4. You keep mine eyes waking; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5. I have considered the days of old, the years of former ages.
6. I call to remembrance my song in the night, I commune with my own heart; and my spirit makes diligent search; saying:
7. Will the lord cast me off for ever, and will he be favourable no more?
8. Is his mercy gone for ever? does his word fail from generation to generation?
9. Has god forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger shut up his mercies? Selah.
10. And I said, this is my infirmity: I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.
11. I will remember the works of jah; yea, I will remember your wonders of old.
12. And 1 will meditate on all your work; and will consider your doings.
13. Your way, O god, is in holiness; what god is great as our god ?
14. You are the god that do wonders; you have made known your strength amongst the peoples.
15. You have redeemed your people with your arm; even the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16. The waters saw you, O god, the waters saw you, they were afraid; yea, the depths also were troubled.
17. The clouds dropped waters; the skies uttered a voice; your arrows also went abroad:
18. The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lightened the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19. Your way is in the sea, and your path in many waters; yet your footsteps are not made known.
20. You have led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Verse 5. I have considered the days of old, the years of former ages. The days of old, and the years of former ayes, denote the most ancient church, and the ancient church. AC 2906.

Verse 15. You have redeemed your people with your arm, even the sons of Jacob and Joseph. By the sons of Jacob and Joseph are meant those who are in the good of life, according to their religious principle; by Jacob, in the Word, is meant the external church, which appertains to those who are in the good of life; and by Joseph are here meant Menassah and Ephraim, for it is said, you have redeemed the sons of Joseph, by whom are meant those who, as to the external man, are in good and truth, thus as to life; that Menassah and Ephraim, who are the sons of Joseph, signify such, may be seen above, AE 440; to redeem them with the arm signifies to save them by virtue of Omnipotence, for they who were of such a character, were saved of the lord by his coming into the world, for otherwise they could not have been saved. AE 448.

Verses 15, 16, 17, 18. You have redeemed your people with your arm; the clouds dropped waters; the skies uttered a voice; your arrows also went abroad; the voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lightened the world. The subject here treated of is concerning the establishment of the church; and by the clouds dropping waters, are signified truths from the sense of the letter of the Word; by the skies, or superior clouds, uttering a voice, are signified truths from the spiritual sense of the Word; by the arrows which went abroad, are meant lightnings, from which they appear as arrows from a bow, and which are present when there are thunderings and lightnings, and by them are signified divine truths; by the voice of thunder in the whirlwind is signified divine truth as to perception and understanding in the church; and by the lightnings lightening the world, is signified as to illustration thence; the world is the church, AE 278.

Verse 17. The clouds dropped waters; the shies uttered a voice; and your arrows went abroad. The clouds dropped waters signifies that, from the sense of the letter of the Word, were derived genuine truths; the skies uttered a voice signifies influx out of heaven; your arrows went abroad signifies divine truths thence. AE 599.

Verse 18. The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind, your lightnings lightened the world, the earth trembled and shook. His lightnings lightened the world, the earth will see and fear, the mountains like wax will melt before jehovah, before the lord of the whole earth, Psalm 97:4, 5. That by voices, which are of thunders from heaven, are signified Truths Divine, see AC 7573, and that lightnings denote the splendours thence issuing, which glance upon the internal sight of man, and illuminate those who are in truth from good, and confound those who are in false principles grounded in evil, is manifest from the passages in the Word where lightnings are mentioned, as in David, "The clouds dropped waters, the skies uttered a voice, your arrows went abroad, the voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind, the lightnings lightened the world, the earth trembled and shook," where the voice of your thunder denotes Truth Divine, lightnings denote the splendour thereof, and world denotes the church. AC 8813.

By these words is described the state of the wicked arising from the presence of the lord in his Divine Truth, which state is like the state of the sons of Israel, when the lord appeared to them on Mount Sinai, that they then heard the thunderings, saw the lightnings, and that the mount appeared in consuming fire as of a furnace, and that they trembled; this is known from the Word, and this because they were evil-hearted, for the lord appears to every one according to his quality, to the good as a refreshing fire, and to the evil as a consuming fire; hence it is evident what is signified by the voice of thunder in the whirlwind, by the lightnings lightening the world, by the earth trembling and shaking, and by the mountains melting before jehovah the lord of the whole earth; by the world are meant all of the church who are in good principles, in this case who are in evil principles, and by the earth are meant all who in the church are in truths, in this case who are in falses. AE 741.

Verse 19. Your way is in the sea, and your path in many waters, yet your footsteps are not known. That by the sea is not here meant the sea, nor by waters are meant waters, is evident, because it is said, that the way and path of jehovah is there; wherefore by sea and by waters are meant such things in which jehovah or the lord is, which things are the knowledges of truth in general from the Word, and the truth there; sea denotes those knowledges, and waters denote truths; knowledges and truths differ in this respect, that knowledges are of the natural man, and truths are of the spiritual man. AE 275.