Psalms 77:16

THE MARVELOUS MIRACLE AT THE RED SEA

"The waters saw thee, O God;

The waters saw thee, they were afraid:

The depths also trembled.

The clouds poured out water;

The skies sent out a sound:

Thine arrows also went abroad.

The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind;

The lightnings lightened the world: The earth trembled and shook.

Thy way was in the sea,

And thy paths in the great waters,

And thy footsteps were not known."

Dummelow considered these words a reference to the Red Sea crossing; and McCullough affirmed that, "Psalms 77:20 interprets the preceding verses (Psalms 77:16-19) as pertinent to the Exodus."[8] Rawlinson likewise called these verses, "A magnificent description of the deliverance of Israel at the Red Sea."[9]

The problem with this understanding is that the account of the Red Sea crossing in Exodus says nothing about the clouds, the rain, the thunder and the lightning which are mentioned here. It could be that this information is supplementary to that given in Exodus; and we do not rule that out as a possibility. We have also observed that in the Psalms, the sacred writers often preempt language used by the pagans in speaking of their false gods to describe the actions of the true God. Baal, for example, was the storm God; but Baal never did anything, even in the false claims of mythology, that could be compared to what God did at the Red Sea.

We do not know, of course, that such an adaptation of mythological terminology is in view here; but one thing we feel very sure about is that, we do not have a separate psalm in these last five verses, describing God's appearance in a thunderstorm, as in Psalms 29. This, of course, is the view of Briggs who said, "Psalms 77 is a composite";[10] and the last five verses, "Describe the advent of Yahweh in a storm."[11]

To us, by far the most acceptable interpretation is that which refers these verses to the Crossing of the Red Sea.

"And thy footsteps were not known" (Psalms 77:19). The strong suggestion here is that men cannot certainly know the purposes and intentions of Almighty God. His ways are above our ways; he has not revealed to men the reasons behind any of his actions; his deeds, as far as men are concerned, are indeed inscrutable.

Even today, when men are tempted to doubt because of conditions in the world which seem contrary to all truth and righteousness, it is the duty of all believers to "trust where they cannot see." "God's in his heaven," all right, "But all is not well with the world." There are many conditions that upright people recognize as contrary to the will of God; and such things should not be allowed to foster doubt in Christian hearts. Even though we do not know what it is, God surely knows what he is doing!

"Thy way was in the sea ... paths in the great waters" (Psalms 77:19). As Kidner said, "All of the words here are a true picture of God's sway over nature. Even when He was incarnate, the winds and the waves obeyed him, and the sea provided a path for Him."[12]