The Meaning of Psalms 77:18 Explained

Psalms 77:18

KJV: The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

YLT: The voice of Thy thunder is in the spheres, Lightnings have lightened the world, The earth hath trembled, yea, it shaketh.

Darby: The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind, lightnings lit up the world; the earth was troubled and it quaked.

ASV: The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lightened the world: The earth trembled and shook.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The voice  of thy thunder  [was] in the heaven:  the lightnings  lightened  the world:  the earth  trembled  and shook. 

What does Psalms 77:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 77:11-20 - "the God That Doest Wonders"
Go back to the past. Consider the manner in which God has stood by His saints in the days of old, in the years of ancient time. What He did for them He is prepared to do again. He cannot cast us off. When once He begins He will continue. The train may be lost in a dark tunnel, but it will shoot out again into the radiant daylight. Through the hard Wilderness God led His people into the land of milk and honey. It is thy infirmity that leads thee to doubt Him. Like John the Baptist, you may be enclosed in a dungeon-cell of adverse circumstances, but remember the long years in which the right hand of the Most High has wrought for His people.
Compare Psalms 77:13 and Psalms 77:19. God's way is in the sea-it is impossible to track His footsteps-but it is also in the sanctuary! In other words, however perplexing His providences may appear, they are governed by His redeeming love for His own, and are consistent with His perfect holiness. His ways may be veiled in mystery, but He leads His people as the shepherd His flock. Do not look down at your path, but up into His face. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 77

1  The psalmist shows what fierce combat he had with distrust
10  The victory which he had by consideration of God's great and gracious works

What do the individual words in Psalms 77:18 mean?

The voice of Your thunder [was] in the whirlwind lit up the lightnings the world trembled and shook the earth
ק֤וֹל רַעַמְךָ֨ ׀ בַּגַּלְגַּ֗ל הֵאִ֣ירוּ בְרָקִ֣ים תֵּבֵ֑ל רָגְזָ֖ה וַתִּרְעַ֣שׁ הָאָֽרֶץ

ק֤וֹל  The  voice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
רַעַמְךָ֨ ׀  of  Your  thunder 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: רַעַם  
Sense: thunder.
בַּגַּלְגַּ֗ל  [was]  in  the  whirlwind 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גַּלְגַּל 
Sense: wheel, whirl, whirlwind, whirling.
הֵאִ֣ירוּ  lit  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אֹור  
Sense: to be or become light, shine.
בְרָקִ֣ים  the  lightnings 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בָּרָק  
Sense: lightning.
תֵּבֵ֑ל  the  world 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֵּבֵל  
Sense: world.
רָגְזָ֖ה  trembled 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: רָגַז  
Sense: tremble, quake, rage, quiver, be agitated, be excited, be perturbed.
וַתִּרְעַ֣שׁ  and  shook 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: רָעַשׁ 
Sense: to quake, shake.
הָאָֽרֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.