Psalms 77:5

My Notes

What Does Psalms 77:5 Mean?

"I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times." In the middle of a sleepless, grief-stricken night (verse 4 — 'thou holdest mine eyes waking'), the psalmist turns to memory: he considers — meditates on, calculates, studies — the days of old and the years of ancient times. The past becomes the resource for the present crisis.

The phrase "considered" (chishavti — I calculated, reckoned, thought upon) implies deliberate mental effort: this isn't nostalgic daydreaming. It's purposeful reflection. The psalmist is doing cognitive work — actively thinking through history, extracting meaning from the past, searching for patterns that apply to the present.

The parallel — "days of old" and "years of ancient times" — doubles the temporal reference: both daily specifics (days) and longer epochs (years) are reviewed. The consideration is comprehensive — both the specific events and the broader eras of God's faithfulness are examined for relevance to the current crisis.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What past experiences of God's faithfulness do you need to consider in your current crisis?
• 2.How does 'considering' (calculating, studying) differ from nostalgic remembering?
• 3.What does reaching back to 'ancient times' — the deepest roots — provide that recent memory can't?
• 4.When has deliberate reflection on the past provided hope for a present crisis?

Devotional

I considered the days of old. In the middle of a sleepless, grief-filled night — eyes held open by suffering (verse 4) — the psalmist does something deliberate: he CONSIDERS the past. He doesn't wallow in the present. He doesn't project into the future. He reaches backward into history and mines it for meaning.

The 'considered' is active, not passive: this is purposeful thinking. The Hebrew implies calculation — reckoning, studying, working through. The psalmist isn't just remembering the good old days. He's analyzing them. He's asking: what did God do then? How did God act in ancient times? Is the pattern I see in the past applicable to what I'm experiencing now?

The 'days of old' and 'years of ancient times' reach deep: not yesterday's victory or last month's answer to prayer. The ANCIENT times. The formative moments of Israel's history — the Exodus, the Red Sea, the wilderness provision, the entry into the land. The psalmist goes to the deepest historical roots to find the resources for the present crisis.

This verse models a spiritual practice worth adopting: when the present is overwhelming and the future is terrifying, consider the past. Go back to the days when God acted. Study the years when God's faithfulness was visible. The past becomes medicine for the present. The history becomes hope for the future. The considering produces the comfort.

What days of old — what past experiences of God's faithfulness — do you need to consider right now?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture