Psalm 77 9

Psalm 77:9 kjv

Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

Psalm 77:9 nkjv

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah

Psalm 77:9 niv

Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

Psalm 77:9 esv

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah

Psalm 77:9 nlt

Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude

Psalm 77 verses

Psalm 77 9 Meaning

Psalm 77:9 is a deeply poignant rhetorical question voiced by the psalmist Asaph during a time of intense personal and spiritual anguish. It reflects a soul struggling with overwhelming distress, prompting the painful inquiry into God's character. The questions, "Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His compassion?" are not theological declarations of God's nature, but rather expressions of perceived absence and abandonment. The psalmist feels as if God, who is inherently gracious and compassionate, has somehow ceased to act according to His unchanging character. This verse captures the heart of lament: voicing the profound paradox between a believer's understanding of who God is and the lived experience of suffering where God seems distant or unresponsive.

Psalm 77 9 Context

Psalm 77:9 is situated within a profound lament (Psalm 77:1-10), forming the climactic expression of the psalmist Asaph's internal struggle. The chapter begins with Asaph crying out to God, meditating deeply on his distress, sleepless nights, and the crushing weight of his suffering (Psa 77:1-6). He recalls the "days of old" but then confronts his present anguish, questioning if God's steadfast love and promises have vanished (Psa 77:7-8). Verse 9 culminates this intense theological questioning, directly challenging God's fundamental attributes. This internal crisis, however, serves as a pivotal point, leading Asaph in subsequent verses (Psa 77:11-20) to consciously choose to remember God's mighty acts of salvation in history, particularly the Exodus.

Historically and culturally, ancient Israelites, like the psalmist, understood God through His covenant faithfulness and demonstrated actions, especially deliverance from Egypt. When their reality—marked by suffering, oppression (perhaps Assyrian or Babylonian threats or exiles), or personal despair—seemed to contradict God's revealed character, it provoked such agonizing questions. This questioning, born from faith struggling with perceived divine inaction, was acceptable in lament psalms. It implicitly stands in stark contrast to pagan beliefs, where deities were often fickle, indifferent, or even malicious, and whose actions were unpredictable. The psalmist, by asking if Yahweh forgot or shut up His compassion, emphasizes that such actions would be a betrayal of Yahweh's very nature, which sets Him apart from the capricious gods of the surrounding nations.

Psalm 77 9 Word analysis

• Has: Implies an interrogative, prompting a yes/no answer.
• God: 'El (אֵל) - A generic but profound Hebrew name for God, emphasizing His strength, power, and might. Its usage here highlights the immense and ultimate authority of the being whose actions are being questioned.
• forgotten: shakhach (שָׁכַח) - To forget, overlook, neglect. In human terms, forgetting implies a failure of memory or attention, often leading to a breach of promise or neglect. Applied anthropomorphically to God, it presents a theological challenge: Can the immutable, omniscient God actually forget? The rhetorical nature implies an emphatic "No." For God to "forget" to be gracious would mean a fundamental alteration of His nature and covenant.
• to be gracious: ḥānan (חָנַן) - To be gracious, show favor, grant mercy. It speaks of a spontaneous, unmerited benevolence and goodwill. This is a core attribute of God, essential to His covenant relationship with Israel and His saving work. The psalmist questions if this core characteristic has ceased to operate.
• Has He in anger: bā’aph (בְּאַף) - Literally "in His nose" or "in His anger/wrath." Af (אַף) signifies anger, often a righteous indignation, frequently linked to the breath or snorting of a powerful being. The question ponders if God's anger, often seen as temporary or a response to sin, has overtaken His enduring compassion.
• shut up: sāḡar (סָגַר) - To shut, close, confine, enclose. This word suggests a deliberate and final act of closing off access or preventing flow. It evokes the image of a sealed spring or a closed door, implying an intentional withholding or withdrawal.
• His compassion: raḥamaw (רַחֲמָיו) - From the root raḥam (רַחַם), meaning "womb" or "bowels." This denotes a deep, visceral, empathetic, and tender affection or pity, like a mother's love for her child. It is a profound, active caring from the deepest part of one's being. The plural form, raḥamim, often intensifies the meaning to "great compassions" or "abundant mercies."
• Words-group Analysis:
  • "Has God forgotten to be gracious?": This phrase questions God's unending benevolence and His covenant faithfulness. It's a cry born from feeling His lack of chen (grace/favor). If God forgot grace, it would contradict His very being as revealed throughout scripture (Exo 34:6).
  • "Has He in anger shut up His compassion?": This phrase pits God's righteous indignation (His 'anger') against His tender, enduring love (rachamim). It expresses the fear that God's temporary wrath has irrevocably stifled His inherent and deep-seated mercy. The imagery suggests a deliberate, perhaps irreversible, withholding of His deepest kindness. The tension is between God's justice and His restorative, intimate compassion.

Psalm 77 9 Bonus section

The anthropomorphic language ("forgotten," "shut up," "anger," "compassion") employed in this verse allows the psalmist to articulate intense human feelings towards a divine being in relatable terms. It does not imply that God actually has human limitations or emotions in the way humans do, but rather expresses His relationship with humanity through accessible concepts. The lament psalms, like Psalm 77, serve a crucial function in the life of faith: they provide a biblical precedent for expressing profound disorientation and pain, teaching believers how to bring their darkest thoughts and fears directly to God, rather than suppressing them or turning away in doubt. This psalmic process—from lament to remembrance to renewed trust—is a pattern for navigating faith through adversity. The shift in Psalm 77, specifically after these intense questions, from the person of God's seemingly changed disposition (Psa 77:7-10) to the works of God in history (Psa 77:11-20) is crucial. It’s a therapeutic journey from focusing on subjective feelings about God's current action (or inaction) to an objective remembrance of His established, unchanging character demonstrated in His past interventions for His people.

Psalm 77 9 Commentary

Psalm 77:9 voices the deepest cries of a distressed soul, not a settled theological conclusion. It expresses the agonizing paradox experienced by a believer who intellectually knows God is gracious and compassionate, yet feels abandoned and unforgiven in their present suffering. The psalmist’s questions are rhetorical, meant to confront the perceived divine silence rather than accuse God of a literal change in character. God, being immutable and eternally true to Himself, cannot forget or cease to be gracious (Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8). Nor can His righteous anger fundamentally override His profound and intrinsic compassion (Isa 54:7-8). Instead, Asaph's wrestling highlights the tension between the temporary experience of distress and the unchanging truth of God's character. This psalm ultimately resolves into remembering God’s mighty deeds of salvation (Psa 77:11-20), moving from a focus on personal affliction to a contemplation of divine power and mercy demonstrated in history. It teaches us that authentic faith includes the freedom to lament and question, even boldly, in the presence of God, while trusting His ultimate faithfulness.