Psalm 77:4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 77:1-10

We have here the lively portraiture of a good man under prevailing melancholy, fallen into and sinking in that horrible pit and that miry clay, but struggling to get out. Drooping saints, that are of a sorrowful spirit, may here as in a glass see their own faces. The conflict which the psalmist had with his griefs and fears seems to have been over when he penned this record of it; for he says (Ps. 77:1), I cried unto God, and he gave ear unto me, which, while the struggle lasted, he had not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 77:4

Thou holdest mine eyes waking ,.... Or, "the watches", or rather "keepers of the eyes" F13 שמרות עיני "vigilias", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Tigurine version; "palpebras oculorum meorum", Musculus, Cocceius; "palpebras quasi custodias oculorum", Michaelis. ; the eyebrows, which protect the eyes; these were held, so that he could not shut them, and get any sleep; so R. Moses Haccohen interprets the words, as Jarchi observes; and so the Targum, "thou holdest the brows of my... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 77:4

Thou holdest mine eyes waking - Literally, thou keepest the watches of mine eyes - my grief is so great that I cannot sleep. I am so troubled that I cannot speak - This shows an increase of sorrow and anguish. At first he felt his misery, and called aloud. He receives more light, sees and feels his deep wretchedness, and then his words are swallowed by excessive distress. His woes are too big for utterance. "Small troubles are loquacious; the great are dumb." Curae leves loquuntur;... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 77:4

Verse 4 4.Thou hast held the watches of my eyes. (288) This verse is to the same effect with the preceding. The Psalmist affirms that he spent whole nights in watching, because God granted him no relief. The night in ancient times was usually divided into many watches; and, accordingly, he describes his continued grief, which pre. vented him from sleeping, by the metaphorical term watches. When he stated a little before that he prayed to God with a loud voice, and when he now affirms that he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 77:1-15

Refuge in God's unchangeableness. Occasion of the psalm uncertain. "The poet flees from the sorrowful present away into the memory of the years of olden times, and consoles himself especially with the deliverance out of Egypt. But it remains obscure what kind of affliction it is which drives him to find refuge from the God now hidden in the God who was formerly manifest." I. HE PERSEVERES IN PRAYER , THOUGH HE HAS NO SENSE OF THE PRESENCE OR MERCY OF GOD ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 77:1-20

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 77:1-20

From darkness to dawn. So may this psalm be described. We have the night of weeping followed by the morning, if not of joy, yet of peace. It is a portraiture to which the experience of myriads of souls has answered and will answer. Hence, for the help of all such, the psalm has been given. We know not who the writer was, nor when, nor the special reason why, the psalm was written. We only know that it is the utterance of a heart that had been sorely troubled, but to whom light and peace... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 77:4

Thou holdest mine eyes waking; literally, thou boldest the watches of mine eyes; i.e. preventedst me from obtaining any sleep. I am so troubled that I cannot speak; literally, I was perplexed and did not speak. The perplexity was probably caused by an inability to understand God's ways. Why had he afflicted his people? Was the affliction always to continue? Was Israel cast off? read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 77:4

Occupations for sleepless nights. Comparing Psalms 77:3 , we find that, lying awake, the psalmist had "remembered God," or, more precisely, had "thought upon God." It is true that the thought had only brought him trouble, but the occupation was good, whatever it brought him. Comp. Psalms 4:4 , "Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still;" Psalms 63:6 , "When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches." As the cause of less of sleep is... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 77:4

Thou holdest mine eyes waking - literally, “Thou holdest the watchings of my eyes.” Gesenius (Lexicon) translates the Hebrew word rendered “waking,” “eyelids.” Probably that is the true idea. The eyelids are the watchers or guardians of the eyes. In danger, and in sleep, they close. Here the idea is, that God held them so that they did not close. He overcame the natural tendency of the eye to shut. In other words, the psalmist was kept awake; he could not sleep. This he traces to God. The idea... read more

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