“Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
English Standard Version (ESV)
The psalmist isn't just asking if God will stop showing favor, but if He will cast off His people "for ages to come," highlighting a deep-seated fear that God's rejection might be eternal and irreversible. This question, echoing in the night, stems from a profound sense of present suffering that makes God's past faithfulness seem impossibly distant.
“Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
English Standard Version (ESV)
The psalmist is in deep anguish, wrestling with feelings of abandonment and doubt. He’s poured out his soul to God in prayer, day and night, but feels unanswered, leading him to question if God has eternally rejected him and His people. These desperate questions arise from a place of profound suffering, likely triggered by national calamity, making him wonder if past divine favor has vanished forever.
Have you ever felt like your prayers are hitting a ceiling, unanswered? The Psalmist Asaph felt this deeply, and his questions reveal a raw, honest struggle.
Psalms 77 opens with a cry: "I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me." (v. 1). Yet, as the Psalm progresses, the feeling is one of silence. The Psalmist describes pouring out his soul, searching for God, and meditating, but finding no comfort. This deep distress leads to the agonizing questions in verse 7:
The Pain of Feeling Abandoned
These are not questions of intellectual curiosity but of a soul in anguish, where God's perceived absence feels like permanent abandonment.
It’s one thing to question God's favor in a moment, but what happens when it feels like His promises themselves are failing?
The questions in Psalm 77:7 touch on the deep-seated anxiety that arises when God’s past faithfulness seems to contradict present circumstances.
The Anxiety of Unfulfilled Promises
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These questions reveal a wrestling match between the reality of suffering and the truth of God's enduring covenant. The temptation is to believe that God's actions (or lack thereof) mean He has broken His word, abandoning His people entirely.
This psalm arises from a period of profound national crisis, likely during the Babylonian exile. The psalmist grapples with the overwhelming sense of God's absence and abandonment, questioning if God's promises of faithfulness have been permanently broken.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Assyrian Deportation
The northern kingdom of Israel falls to the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and a significant portion of its population is exiled. This event raises deep questions about God's faithfulness and whether He had permanently abandoned His people.
586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Babylonian Exile
The southern kingdom of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem, are destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, leading to another mass deportation. This devastating event intensifies the sense of abandonment and prompts laments like Psalm 77, questioning if God's favor was lost forever.
c. 539 BC
Cyrus the Great's Decree and Return from Exile
The Persian Empire, under Cyrus the Great, conquers Babylon and issues a decree allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands. This marks the beginning of the return and rebuilding process, though the memory of exile and its questions linger.
Paul directly addresses this question, affirming that God has not cast off His people, Israel, echoing the psalmist's fear and doubt about perpetual abandonment.
Lamentations 3:31-33This passage speaks to God's enduring compassion even in times of suffering, offering a hopeful counterpoint to the psalmist's despair over God's perceived withdrawal.
Isaiah 54:7-8These verses reveal God's perspective on temporary abandonment, showing that even His harshest judgments are for a brief moment compared to His everlasting mercy and love.
Exodus 15:11The psalmist later recalls God's mighty acts in the Exodus, a powerful reminder that God's demonstrated favor and power in the past are grounds to trust He will not cast off His people forever.
pulpitPsalms 77:7: "Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?"
Verse 7. - Will the Lord cast off forever? The psalmist asked himself in the night such questions as these: Is it really to be supposed that God will cast off his people forever? And will he be favourable (or, gracious) no more? Surely such desertion is incredible.
clarkePsalms 77:7: "Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?"
Will the Lord cast off for ever? - Will there be no end to this captivity? Has he not said, "Turn, ye backsliders; for I am married unto you: I will heal your backsliding, and love you freely." Will he then be favorable no more? Thus the psalmist pleads and reasons with his Maker.
The psalmist isn't just asking if God will stop showing favor, but if He will cast off His people "for ages to come," highlighting a deep-seated fear that God's rejection might be eternal and irreversible. This question, echoing in the night, stems from a profound sense of present suffering that makes God's past faithfulness seem impossibly distant.
The psalmist is in deep anguish, wrestling with feelings of abandonment and doubt. He’s poured out his soul to God in prayer, day and night, but feels unanswered, leading him to question if God has eternally rejected him and His people. These desperate questions arise from a place of profound suffering, likely triggered by national calamity, making him wonder if past divine favor has vanished forever.
The psalmist is in deep anguish, wrestling with feelings of abandonment and doubt. He’s poured out his soul to God in prayer, day and night, but feels unanswered, leading him to question if God has eternally rejected him and His people. These desperate questions arise from a place of profound suffering, likely triggered by national calamity, making him wonder if past divine favor has vanished forever.
"“Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?" — The psalmist isn't just asking if God will stop showing favor, but if He will cast off His people "for ages to come," highlighting a deep-seated fear that God's rejection might be eternal and irrever…
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Last reviewed October 2026