Psalms 78:38

KJV

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.

KJV (with Strong's)

But he, being full of compassion {H7349}, forgave {H3722}{H8762)} their iniquity {H5771}, and destroyed {H7843}{H8686)} them not: yea, many a time {H7235}{H8689)} turned {H7725} he his anger {H639} away {H7725}{H8687)}, and did not stir up {H5782}{H8686)} all his wrath {H2534}.

Complete Jewish Bible

Yet he, because he is full of compassion, forgave their sin and did not destroy; many times he turned away his anger and didn't rouse all his wrath.

Berean Standard Bible

And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.

American Standard Version

But he, being merciful, forgave theiriniquity, and destroyedthemnot: Yea, many a time turned he his anger away, And did not stir up all his wrath.

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Psalms 78:38 stands as a profound testament to the enduring character of God, revealing His boundless compassion, steadfast patience, and remarkable self-restraint in the face of persistent human iniquity. Despite Israel's cyclical rebellion and often superficial repentance, this verse powerfully articulates the divine commitment to forgiveness and preservation, highlighting God's inherent nature to defer deserved judgment and turn away from the full measure of His righteous wrath.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** Psalm 78 is a sweeping historical "maskil," an instructional psalm designed to recount the spiritual journey and repeated failures of the nation of Israel from the Exodus through the early monarchy. Its primary purpose is didactic, serving as a cautionary tale for future generations, illustrating God's unwavering faithfulness contrasted with Israel's chronic unfaithfulness. Verses 36-37 immediately precede verse 38, painting a stark picture of Israel's insincere devotion: "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 steadfast in his covenant." This sets up a dramatic contrast, where Israel's fickle and deceitful heart is met not with immediate, deserved retribution, but with God's profound and consistent compassion, emphatically introduced by the adversative "But he." The psalm's broader narrative arc demonstrates a recurring cycle of Israel's sin, God's judgment, Israel's cry for help, and God's merciful deliverance, with verse 38 serving as a pivotal declaration of God's consistent mercy within this often-repeated pattern.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** The historical canvas for Psalm 78 spans several centuries, encompassing the miraculous deliverance from Egyptian bondage (e.g., [the Exodus account](/exodus/12 "Exodus 12 - The Passover and Exodus")), the challenging wilderness wanderings, the conquest of Canaan, and the tumultuous period of the Judges, culminating in the establishment of the monarchy under David. Throughout this extensive period, Israel was repeatedly prone to idolatry, disobedience to the Mosaic covenant, and spiritual apathy, despite God's miraculous provision, protective presence, and covenantal promises. In the broader ancient Near Eastern context, deities were frequently depicted as volatile, capricious, and vengeful. However, the God of Israel, Yahweh, is consistently portrayed as a covenant-keeping God whose wrath, though righteous and just, is profoundly tempered by His compassion and patience. This verse therefore underscores the unique nature of Yahweh, who, unlike pagan gods, consistently chooses restraint and forgiveness out of His inherent character, even when His people provoke Him repeatedly and justly deserve severe judgment.
* **Key Themes:** This verse contributes significantly to several overarching themes woven throughout Psalm 78 and the broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it powerfully highlights **God's steadfast love and covenant faithfulness** (Hebrew: *hesed*) in stark contrast to Israel's chronic unfaithfulness, a theme echoed profoundly throughout the prophetic books (e.g., [Jeremiah 3](/jeremiah/3 "Jeremiah 3 - Israel's Unfaithfulness and God's Invitation to Return")). Secondly, it profoundly illustrates the theme of **divine patience and longsuffering** (Hebrew: *'erekh appayim*), demonstrating God's remarkable willingness to defer deserved judgment, thereby providing ample space for repentance and turning back to Him (compare with [Romans 2:4](/romans/2-4 "Romans 2:4 - God's Kindness Leading to Repentance")). Thirdly, it deeply explores the **nature of divine wrath and mercy**, showing that while God's anger is real, just, and a necessary response to sin, His compassion often triumphs, leading Him to "turn away" His wrath. Finally, the verse underscores the **pedagogical purpose of historical recounting**, teaching that despite humanity's consistent failure, God's character remains consistently merciful and redemptive, always desiring to restore and preserve His people.

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
#### Key Word Analysis
* **Compassion (Hebrew, _rachûwm'_):** (H7349) This adjective describes God as "compassionate" or "merciful." Derived from a root often associated with the Hebrew word for "womb" (*rechem*), it signifies a deep, tender, visceral pity or mercy, akin to a mother's profound affection and empathy for her child. It suggests an inward stirring of the deepest emotions, prompting a benevolent and protective response. In this context, it emphasizes that God's forgiveness is not merely a legal or detached act but flows from His very essence of tender, empathetic, and profound love for His people.
* **Forgave (Hebrew, _kâphar'_):** (H3722) This primitive root verb means "to cover," "to expiate," "to condone," or "to placate." In a theological sense, it implies the blotting out or removal of guilt, providing expiation for sin. It is the root for the concept of "atonement" and signifies an active divine intervention to deal with sin, not merely overlooking it but making a way for its removal and reconciliation. Here, it highlights God's active initiative in dealing with Israel's deep-seated iniquity, demonstrating His willingness to make amends for their transgressions.
* **Iniquity (Hebrew, _ʻâvôn'_):** (H5771) This noun refers to moral evil, perversity, or guilt. It often carries the connotation of a twisted or distorted act that deviates from God's righteous standard, implying a burden of guilt that requires expiation or punishment. The KJV's "[their] iniquity" highlights the specific moral failings and the accumulated guilt of the Israelites that God, in His compassion, chose to forgive and cover, preventing the full, deserved consequences.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"But he, [being] full of compassion":** This opening phrase immediately establishes a profound contrast with the preceding verses (36-37), which describe Israel's insincere hearts and deceptive tongues. The emphatic "But he" points to God's unchanging character, which is inherently overflowing with *rachûwm*—deep, tender, and empathetic mercy. This compassion is not a fleeting emotion but a fundamental aspect of His being, serving as the primary motivation for His subsequent actions of grace.
* **"forgave [their] iniquity, and destroyed [them] not":** Despite Israel's profound moral perversity (*ʻâvôn*), God actively chose to *kâphar*—to cover, atone for, and thus forgive their sin. This divine forgiveness was not passive but resulted in a tangible and life-preserving outcome: He "destroyed them not." This clause powerfully emphasizes God's deliberate restraint from deserved judgment, choosing preservation and pardon over annihilation, demonstrating His profound desire for His covenant people to continue existing and to be given ongoing opportunities for repentance and restoration.
* **"yea, many a time turned he his anger away":** This phrase highlights the repeated and consistent nature of God's patience throughout Israel's tumultuous history. It was not a singular act of forgiveness but a continuous pattern of divine forbearance. God, who justly felt "anger" (*ʼaph*, literally "nose," signifying intense indignation and hot displeasure), actively chose to avert, redirect, or cause His anger to retreat, demonstrating His incredible longsuffering and willingness to provide countless second chances rather than immediate, comprehensive judgment.
* **"and did not stir up all his wrath":** This final clause underscores the immense magnitude of God's self-restraint and sovereign control. God possessed the full capacity and just cause to unleash His complete "wrath" (*chêmâh*, signifying intense heat, rage, or fury, often with destructive connotations). Yet, He deliberately chose not to "stir up" (*ʻûwr*) or unleash its full, consuming force. This implies that while Israel undoubtedly experienced consequences for their sin, they never endured the comprehensive, annihilating judgment that their persistent rebellion truly warranted, thanks to God's compassionate withholding.

#### Literary Devices
The verse effectively employs several **literary devices** to convey its powerful message about God's character. The most prominent is **Contrast**, immediately established by the conjunction "But" at the beginning of the verse. This sets God's compassionate and forgiving actions in stark opposition to Israel's unfaithfulness and deceit described in the preceding verses, thereby highlighting the radical difference between human sinfulness and divine grace. **Anthropomorphism** is also clearly evident in phrases such as "turned he his anger away" and "did not stir up all his wrath." These expressions attribute human-like actions and emotions (turning, stirring up) to God, making His divine attributes and active decision-making comprehensible to human understanding. This device emphasizes God's deliberate choice to control and restrain His just indignation. Furthermore, the phrase "many a time" functions as a form of **hyperbole** or **emphasis**, underscoring the repeated, consistent, and abundant nature of God's patience and forbearance throughout Israel's tumultuous history, thereby reinforcing the profound depth of His longsuffering love and commitment to His covenant.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 78:38 offers a profound theological insight into the very nature of God, revealing Him as supremely compassionate, patient, and merciful, even in the face of persistent human rebellion. This verse beautifully encapsulates the tension between God's righteous wrath against sin and His abounding grace, demonstrating that His default posture towards His covenant people is one of forgiveness and preservation. It affirms that His mercy is not a weakness but a powerful, active choice rooted in His character, consistently overriding His just indignation. This divine attribute is not merely a historical anecdote confined to Israel's past but a foundational truth about who God is for all time, providing immense comfort, hope, and a call to genuine repentance for all who seek Him.

* [Exodus 34:6-7](/exodus/34-6-7 "Exodus 34:6-7 - The Lord's Self-Revelation of Mercy and Justice")
* [Nehemiah 9:17](/nehemiah/9-17 "Nehemiah 9:17 - God's Patience and Forgiveness in the Wilderness")
* [Joel 2:13](/joel/2-13 "Joel 2:13 - Return to the Lord with Repentance and Hope")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 78:38 serves as an enduring source of profound comfort and a challenging call to action for believers today. It reminds us that the God we worship is not quick to condemn but is "full of compassion," eager to forgive our iniquity and withhold deserved judgment. This profound truth should instill in us a deep confidence to approach Him with our failures and sins, knowing that His mercy triumphs over judgment and that He delights in showing grace. It calls us to genuine repentance, not the superficial kind displayed by Israel, but a heartfelt turning away from sin and a sincere turning towards Him, trusting implicitly in His boundless grace. Furthermore, this verse provides a powerful model for our own interactions within our families, churches, and communities. If God, in His infinite holiness and justice, can extend such immense patience and forgiveness to His persistently rebellious people, how much more should we, His redeemed children, strive to embody this same spirit of compassion, longsuffering, and readiness to forgive in our relationships with others, thereby reflecting the divine character into a broken world.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **How does understanding God's "full of compassion" nature impact your view of your own sin and His willingness to forgive?**
* **In what specific areas of your life are you called to reflect God's patience and restraint towards others, rather than "stirring up all your wrath"?**
* **What does this verse teach us about the nature of true repentance and a right heart before God, in light of Israel's insincere hearts described in the preceding verses?**

### FAQ
**Why does God's anger and wrath exist if He is compassionate?**

Answer: God's anger and wrath are not capricious or uncontrolled emotions, but rather righteous responses to sin, rebellion, and injustice. They stem directly from His perfect holiness, purity, and justice, which cannot tolerate evil or compromise with unrighteousness. Psalms 78:38 highlights that while God's wrath is real, just, and deserved, His compassion (*rachûwm*) is so profound that He actively chooses to restrain it. His wrath underscores His absolute purity and the profound seriousness of sin, while His mercy demonstrates His deep desire for reconciliation, restoration, and the preservation of His covenant people. The tension between God's wrath and His compassion reveals the depth and complexity of His divine love—He is utterly just in His judgment, yet boundlessly merciful in His forbearance, always seeking to draw His people back to Himself and offer them the path to life.

**Does this verse imply that God's forgiveness is unconditional, regardless of repentance?**

Answer: While God's compassion and willingness to forgive are inherent to His character, the broader context of Psalm 78 (especially verses 36-37) shows that Israel's "repentance" was often superficial and insincere ("their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant"). Yet, God still "turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath." This demonstrates God's incredible patience, longsuffering, and His desire to preserve His people, even when their immediate response was lacking in sincerity. This divine forbearance provides the space and opportunity for genuine repentance. However, for full restoration and a thriving relationship with God, the Bible consistently calls for genuine repentance—a heartfelt turning away from sin and a turning towards God with a sincere heart and steadfast commitment (e.g., [Acts 3:19](/acts/3-19 "Acts 3:19 - Repent and Be Converted")). God's compassion provides the motivation and the very possibility for repentance, but it does not negate the essential human response of faith and turning.

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 78:38, with its profound declaration of God's compassion, forgiveness, and sovereign restraint from wrath, finds its ultimate and most glorious fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament's recurring narrative of God's patient forbearance with rebellious Israel, as vividly portrayed in this psalm, foreshadows the perfect Lamb of God, who fully embodies and perfectly executes divine mercy and justice. God's act of "turning away his anger" and "not stirring up all his wrath" for Israel's iniquity points forward to the cross, where God's righteous wrath against sin was fully and justly poured out on His Son, Jesus, instead of on us. Jesus became the ultimate propitiation, the perfect "covering" for our iniquity, as the Hebrew word *kâphar* suggests. Through His sacrificial death, God demonstrated His profound love for us "while we were yet sinners" ([Romans 5:8](/romans/5-8 "God's Love Demonstrated")), forgiving our iniquity not merely by turning away His anger, but by fully satisfying His justice and holiness. The compassion that spared Israel from destruction is the very same compassion that led God to send His only Son, so that "whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" ([John 3:16](/john/3-16 "God So Loved the World")). In Christ, we see the perfect union of God's unwavering justice and His boundless mercy, where our sins are truly forgiven, and we are not destroyed but reconciled to God forever. He is the ultimate demonstration of God's willingness to "not stir up all his wrath" against those who are in Him, for Christ Himself bore that wrath on our behalf, becoming sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God ([2 Corinthians 5:21](/2_corinthians/5-21 "Christ Our Righteousness")).

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Numbers 14:18

The LORD [is] longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation].

Numbers 14:20

¶ And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:

Isaiah 48:9

¶ For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

Ezekiel 20:13

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which [if] a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

Ezekiel 20:14

But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.

Exodus 34:6

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Exodus 34:9

And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it [is] a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.