Thy Way, O God, Is in the Sanctuary

Psalm 77 — the night song of the Book of Psalms — reaches its peak. Part 1 was a night of questions; Part 2 — the decision to remember. Part 3 (verse 1 and verses 14-21) is the memory itself: the splitting of the sea, greatest of the wonders of old, opening before our eyes as if happening now.

Asaph does not tell about the miracle — he sees it: the waters tremble before their Creator, the heavens thunder, the lightnings light up the world — and through the storm a whole people walks on dry ground, quiet as a flock behind its shepherd. Infinite greatness and infinite tenderness — the very same hand.

The central verse of the psalm, chosen as the name of the song, is:

"Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?"

This is also the chorus of the song, together with the closing verse about Moses and Aaron. The question "who is so great a God" seeks no answer — it is itself the song.