Psalm 77 begins in a sleepless night of anguish: “I cried to the Lord with my voice; to God with my voice, and he gave ear to me… Will God then cast off for ever?” The turning point comes when the psalmist chooses to remember: “I remembered the works of the Lord: for I will be mindful of thy wonders from the beginning.” In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 76. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 77 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of Asaph.
I cried to the Lord with my voice; to God with my voice, and he gave ear to me.
In the day of my trouble I sought God, with my hands lifted up to him in the night, and I was not deceived. My soul refused to be comforted:
I remembered God, and was delighted, and was exercised, and my spirit swooned away.
My eyes prevented the watches: I was troubled, and I spoke not.
I thought upon the days of old: and I had in my mind the eternal years.
And I meditated in the night with my own heart: and I was exercised and I swept my spirit.
Will God then cast off for ever? or will he never be more favourable again?
Or will he cut off his mercy for ever, from generation to generation?
Or will God forget to shew mercy? or will he in his anger shut up his mercies?
And I said, Now have I begun: this is the change of the right hand of the most High.
I remembered the works of the Lord: for I will be mindful of thy wonders from the beginning.
And I will meditate on all thy works: and will be employed in thy inventions.
Thy way, O God, is in the holy place: who is the great God like our God?
Thou art the God that dost wonders. Thou hast made thy power known among the nations:
With thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people the children of Jacob and of Joseph.
The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee: and they were afraid, and the depths were troubled.
Great was the noise of the waters: the clouds sent out a sound. For thy arrows pass:
The voice of thy thunder in a wheel. Thy lightnings enlightened the world: the earth shook and trembled.
Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters: and thy footsteps shall not be known.
Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 77 or Psalm 76?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 76 is Psalm 77 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- A night of doubt: “Will God then cast off for ever? or will he never be more favourable again?”
- “Now have I begun”: the Latin Dixi: Nunc coepi, “And I said, Now have I begun,” became a motto for countless saints beginning again after failure.
- Remembering God’s works: memory of past grace gives hope for the present.
- The Exodus: “Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters.”
- God the shepherd: “Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”
How the Church uses Psalm 77
- In the Liturgy of the Hours, at Morning Prayer.
- In discouragement and spiritual dryness, as a prayer that remembers God’s faithfulness. See psalms for anxiety.
A prayer with Psalm 77
Written for this page:
Lord, in the night of my trouble I cry to you and seek you.
When I wonder whether you have forgotten me, help me remember your wonders.
Let me begin again today, trusting your mighty hand.
Lead me through the waters as you led your people, like a shepherd. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What does “Nunc coepi” mean?
“Now I have begun,” from Psalm 77:11 in the Latin (76:11 in the Douay-Rheims), a favorite saying for beginning again in the spiritual life.
What is Psalm 77 about?
A sleepless night of doubt that turns to hope as the psalmist remembers God’s mighty deeds in the Exodus.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 76 (77), Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.