Abstract / DOI
With God against God. The Wrestling of the Praying Person with God in Ps 77. Psalm 77 consists of two parts. In the first part (vv. 2-13), the psalmist speaks incessantly of himself («I»); in the second (vv. 14-21), he addresses God («you»). A national disaster was the trigger for the lament of the first half. God seems to have changed, losing the essence of His self-definition in Ex 34:6: steadfast love and faithfulness. This becomes a genuine theological problem for the psalmist. He wrestles with God: can God change His nature? The central verse, v. 11, is the turning point. The psalmist stops circling around himself and ceases pondering in despair God's puzzling behaviour. Instead, he turns to God, meditating on the experience of the Exodus. There, God brought about Israel's deliverance by blazing a trail through the chaotic sea without leaving a trace of Himself. An invisible, seemingly absent God can be very efficient in His visible deeds. Brooding over God does not solve the psalmist's problem. Encountering Him in prayer does.