The psalmist expresses his anguish in six questions which raise doubts about God’s love for Israel (verses 7-9). In Hebrew there is no direct object for the verbs, and conceivably the psalmist could be talking about God’s attitude in general, or about God’s attitude toward him personally; but it is more natural to understand that he is talking about the experience of the whole nation (so New English Bible, An American Translation, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), perhaps a recent military defeat. It may be better to make explicit in all six questions the fact that the object is the people of Israel, as Good News Translation does with the pronoun “us.”
It does not seem likely, as Anderson maintains, that these are only rhetorical questions with a negative answer implied, that is, that God really had not abandoned his people. The psalmist is puzzled and perplexed, and the questions express his real doubts about God’s attitude toward his people. For similar language see 74.1 and the references cited there.
In verse 7a Lord translates the title, not the personal name Yahweh. Spurn is the same verb translated “cast … off” in 43.2b. Spurn and Good News Translation‘s “reject” may be rendered in some languages as “say ‘No’ to his people.”
In verse 7b the Hebrew verb translated be favorable can indicate God’s attitude (see “delight in” in 44.3) or else include the idea of action, “be good to.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “treat us with kindness.”
In verse 8 two synonymous verbs are used for “come to an end, cease, finish.” For comments on the noun translated steadfast love, see 5.7. In verse 8b his promises translates what is literally “word,” which may refer to the one “promise” (Good News Translation) expressed in the Covenant, that God would always be with his people, or else be a generic term for all of God’s promises. Bible en français courant translates differently: “Has he no longer anything to say to us?” (also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “Will his promise in the future no longer be valid?”
In both questions of verse 8, for ever and for all time emphasize the psalmist’s despair. The two questions can be phrased “Will he never love us again? Will he never fulfill his promises to us?” or “… keep the promises he made to us?”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .