Psalms78

Psalms 78 recounts the history of Israel's rebellion and God's enduring faithfulness, urging the people to remember divine law and works for future generations. It details Israel's repeated provocations in the wilderness and in the land, despite God's miraculous provisions and deliverances. The psalm culminates in God's rejection of Shiloh and His ultimate choice of Judah and David to shepherd His people.

Listen to this chapter

A Call to Hear God's Law

¶ Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

The Failure of Ephraim

¶ The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;

And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.

God's Marvels in the Wilderness

Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.

In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.

He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.

He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

Israel’s Rebellion and Temptation

And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.

And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.

Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?

Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?

Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;

Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:

Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,

And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.

Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.

He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.

He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:

And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.

So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;

They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,

The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.

Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.

Hypocritical Repentance and Divine Compassion

When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.

And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.

Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.

For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.

But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.

For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

Forgetting the Plagues and Deliverance

¶ How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!

Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.

They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.

How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:

And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.

He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.

He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust.

He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost.

He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.

He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.

He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:

God Guides Israel to the Promised Land

But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.

He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

Israel's Renewed Apostasy in the Land

Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:

But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:

God Rejects Shiloh and Ephraim

So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;

And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.

He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.

The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.

Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.

And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.

God Chooses Judah, Zion, and David

Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:

But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.

And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.

He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

Study Notes for Psalms 78

Verse 1

This psalm is a *Maschil* (a didactic or instructional poem), intended to teach wisdom through historical review, emphasizing the importance of generational faithfulness to the covenant.

Verse 2

The speaker promises to use 'parable' and 'dark sayings' (Heb. *hîdôth*), meaning he will present profound, historical truths in a structured, memorable way that requires careful attention.

Verse 5

The 'testimony' and 'law' established in Israel refers to the covenant obligations given at Sinai, which mandated that divine instruction be passed down through families.

Verse 8

The goal of teaching is to prevent the new generation from repeating the mistakes of their ancestors, whose hearts were unstable and lacked steadfast commitment to God.

Verse 9

Ephraim, the dominant northern tribe, is used here as a representative example of Israel’s faithlessness, demonstrating spiritual failure despite being militarily prepared.

Verse 12

Zoan (Tanis) was a major capital city in the Egyptian delta, specified here to highlight the public and undeniable nature of God’s miraculous acts during the Exodus.

Verse 15

This verse recalls the miraculous provision of water from the rock, a central image of God's care and power in the desolate wilderness (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11).

Verse 17

Despite God's spectacular provision, Israel continually sinned by trying God's patience and challenging His authority and capability in the wilderness.

Verse 18

They 'tempted God' not merely by asking for food, but by demanding it out of selfish *lust* and lack of faith, testing whether God could truly satisfy their desires.

Verse 20

The people’s cynical challenge demonstrates profound skepticism, contrasting the provision of water (which they had seen) with the provision of bread and meat (which they doubted).

Verse 22

The root cause of God's anger was not their hunger, but their unbelief; they failed to trust in God’s power to deliver and sustain them completely.

Verse 25

Calling manna 'angels’ food' emphasizes its heavenly origin and supernatural quality, underscoring the extraordinary nature of God's provision for mortal man.

Verse 31

This refers to the judgment at Kibroth-hattaavah (Numbers 11), where God provided quail, but wrath followed immediately because their heart’s desire was rooted in greed and rebellion.

Verse 34

Israel’s seeking of God was often reactive—prompted by punishment—not genuine, heartfelt repentance, creating a cycle of surface-level obedience.

Verse 37

Their repentance was flawed because their hearts were insincere; they offered lip service without the steadfast internal dedication required by the covenant.

Verse 38

This verse serves as the theological hinge, highlighting God's enduring compassionate nature which prevents Him from destroying the people entirely, despite their constant provocation.

Verse 39

God's compassion is rooted in His memory of human frailty; He understands that humanity is temporary, like a passing wind, leading Him to temper His wrath.

Verse 40

The psalm returns to the theme of provocation, emphasizing the frequency and severity of Israel's rebellion against God during the wilderness journey.

Verse 41

To 'limit' God means to restrict His power or willingness to act in their minds, doubting that the Holy One of Israel could or would fulfill their needs.

Verse 49

The phrase 'evil angels' refers to messengers of judgment or agents of calamity, illustrating the supernatural intensity of God’s destructive wrath poured out upon Egypt through the plagues.

Verse 51

The climactic tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, is identified as the decisive act that broke Egypt's power. Ham is used poetically here to refer to Egypt.

Verse 52

This marks the transition from judgment in the wilderness to successful deliverance, using the imagery of a shepherd guiding his flock safely.

Verse 54

The destination is described as 'this mountain,' referring proleptically to Mount Zion, where God eventually established His permanent dwelling place.

Verse 56

The pattern of rebellion continued even after settlement in the Promised Land, marked by idolatry and breaking covenant commitments (the period of the Judges).

Verse 57

A 'deceitful bow' is a metaphor for unreliability; it fails to shoot straight, symbolizing Israel’s inability to remain faithful to the target of God's covenant.

Verse 60

God's rejection of Shiloh (where the Tabernacle was kept, 1 Sam 4) signifies the end of the religious primacy of the northern tribes (Joseph/Ephraim) due to their unfaithfulness.

Verse 65

This anthropomorphic description portrays God suddenly arising from apparent indifference to execute decisive judgment against Israel's oppressors (likely the Philistines).

Verse 67

The historical review culminates in the selection of the southern kingdom, Judah, establishing the permanent location of the sanctuary on Mount Zion.

Verse 70

The choice of David emphasizes God’s sovereign power to elevate the humble shepherd, establishing the Davidic covenant as the climax of Israel's history.

Verse 72

David's rule is characterized by 'integrity' (moral uprightness) and 'skilfulness' (competent leadership), providing the ideal model of a faithful covenant king.

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate