Psalm 78
78
Tell the Coming Generation
A Maskil#78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term of #Ps. 50, title Asaph.
1 # [Isa. 51:4]; See Ps. 49:1; 50:7 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 # Cited Matt. 13:35; See Ps. 49:4 I will open my mouth #[Num. 21:27]in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3things that we have heard and known,
that our #See Ps. 44:1fathers have told us.
4We will not #Job 15:18 hide them from their children,
but #[Ex. 12:26, 27; 13:8, 14; Deut. 11:19; Josh. 4:6, 7; Joel 1:3] tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and #ver. 11, 32the wonders that he has done.
5He established #Ps. 19:7; [Ps. 81:5] a testimony in #Ps. 147:19Jacob
and appointed a law in #Ps. 147:19Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6that #ver. 4; Ps. 102:18the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget #Ps. 77:12 the works of God,
but #Ps. 105:45keep his commandments;
8and that they should not be #2 Kgs. 17:14; 2 Chr. 30:7; Ezek. 20:18 like their fathers,
#
Ex. 32:9; 33:3; Deut. 9:7, 24; 31:27; Jer. 5:23 a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation #ver. 37; Job 11:13whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9The Ephraimites, armed with#78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting the bow,
# ver. 57 turned back on the day of battle.
10They #[2 Kgs. 17:15]did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11They #See Ps. 106:13 forgot his works
and #ver. 4the wonders that he had shown them.
12In the sight of their fathers #ver. 43; See Ex. 7-12; Ps. 72:18 he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in #ver. 43; Num. 13:22; Isa. 19:11, 13; Ezek. 30:14the fields of Zoan.
13He #Ps. 136:13; Ex. 14:21 divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters #Ex. 15:8stand like a heap.
14 # See Ps. 105:39 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15He #ver. 20; Ps. 105:41; 114:8; Ex. 17:6; Isa. 48:21split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16He made streams come out of #Num. 20:8, 10, 11the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17Yet they sinned still more against him,
# ver. 40, 56; Deut. 9:22; Isa. 63:10 rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18They #ver. 41, 56; Ps. 95:9; 106:14; Deut. 6:16; 1 Cor. 10:9tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God, saying,
# [Ex. 16:3; Num. 11:4; 20:3; 21:5] “Can God #See Ps. 23:5spread a table in the wilderness?
20 # ver. 15, 16 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”
21Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
#
Num. 11:1
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22because they #ver. 8, 32, 37did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
23Yet he commanded the skies above
and #Gen. 7:11; [Mal. 3:10]opened the doors of heaven,
24and he #Ex. 16:4 rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them #Ps. 105:40; [John 6:31]the grain of heaven.
25Man ate of the bread of #Ps. 103:20 the angels;
he sent them food #[ver. 29]in abundance.
26He #Num. 11:31caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27he rained meat on them like #[Gen. 13:16] dust,
winged birds like #[Gen. 22:17]the sand of the seas;
28he #Ex. 16:13; Num. 11:31let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29And they #Num. 11:19, 20 ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they #Num. 11:4, 34craved.
30But before they had satisfied their craving,
#
Num. 11:33; [Job 20:23] while the food was still in their mouths,
31the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed #Isa. 10:16 the strongest of them
and laid low #ver. 63the young men of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they #See Num. 14; 16; 17 still sinned;
# ver. 22; Num. 14:11 despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33So he made #Num. 14:29, 35; 26:64, 65 their days #Ps. 39:5vanish like#78:33 Hebrew in a breath,#78:33 Or vapor
and their years in terror.
34When he killed them, they #Hos. 5:15sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35They remembered that God was their #Deut. 32:4, 15, 31 rock,
the Most High God their #Ex. 15:13; See Ps. 74:2redeemer.
36But they #Isa. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31 flattered him with their mouths;
they #Isa. 57:11lied to him with their tongues.
37Their #ver. 8 heart was not #Ps. 51:10steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he, being #Ex. 34:6 compassionate,
#
Num. 14:20
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39He #[Ps. 103:14; Job 10:9] remembered that they were but #Gen. 6:3 flesh,
#
Job 7:7
a wind that passes and comes not again.
40How often they #ver. 17, 56; Ps. 107:11 rebelled against him in the wilderness
and #[Eph. 4:30] grieved him in #Ps. 106:14the desert!
41They #See ver. 18 tested God again and again
and provoked #See Ps. 71:22the Holy One of Israel.
42They #Judg. 8:34did not remember his power#78:42 Hebrew hand
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 # For ver. 43-51, see Ps. 105:27-36 when he performed his #Ex. 7:3; [Ps. 106:22]; Acts 7:36 signs in Egypt
and his #Ex. 4:21; 11:9, 10 marvels in #See ver. 12the fields of Zoan.
44He #See Ex. 7:17-24turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45He sent among them swarms of #See Ex. 8:21-24 flies, which devoured them,
and #See Ex. 8:2-14frogs, which destroyed them.
46He gave their crops to #See Ex. 10:12-15the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with #See Ex. 9:23-25hail
and their sycamores with frost.
48He gave over their #See Ex. 9:19-21cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of #Ex. 12:13, 23; [2 Sam. 24:16]destroying angels.
50He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51He struck down every #Ex. 12:29; [Ps. 105:36; 135:8; 136:10] firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of #Ps. 105:23, 27; 106:22Ham.
52Then he led out his people #See Ps. 77:20like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 # [Ex. 14:19, 20] He led them in safety, so that they #[Ex. 14:13] were not afraid,
but #Ex. 14:27, 28; 15:10the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54And he brought them to his #Ex. 15:17 holy land,
#
Isa. 11:9; 57:13; [Ps. 68:16] to the mountain which his right hand had #Ps. 74:2won.
55He #See Ps. 44:2 drove out nations before them;
he #Josh. 23:4; [Ps. 135:12; 136:21, 22; Acts 13:19]apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56Yet they #ver. 18; Judg. 2:11, 12 tested and #ver. 40rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like #Hos. 7:16; [ver. 9]a deceitful bow.
58For they #Deut. 31:29 provoked him to anger with their #Lev. 26:30; Deut. 12:2; 1 Kgs. 11:7; 12:31; Ezek. 20:28 high places;
they #Num. 25:11; Deut. 32:16, 21; Judg. 2:12 moved him to jealousy with their #Deut. 7:5, 25; 12:3idols.
59When God heard, he was full of #ver. 62; Ps. 106:40; Deut. 3:26wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60He #1 Sam. 4:11; Jer. 7:12, 14; 26:6 forsook his dwelling at #Josh. 18:1Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61and delivered his #Ps. 132:8; [Ps. 63:2; 96:6] power to captivity,
his #[1 Sam. 4:21]glory to the hand of the foe.
62He #[1 Sam. 4:10] gave his people over to the sword
and #ver. 59vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 # [Ps. 79:5; 89:46] Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no #[Jer. 7:34]marriage song.
64Their #1 Sam. 4:11 priests fell by the sword,
and their #Job 27:15widows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord #Ps. 73:20; See Ps. 35:23awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66And he #[Ps. 40:14]put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67He rejected the tent of #Ps. 80:1; 81:5Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he #Ps. 87:2loves.
69He #See 1 Kgs. 6built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70He #1 Sam. 16:12, 13chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71from #2 Sam. 7:8 following the nursing ewes he brought him
to #2 Sam. 5:2; [Ps. 28:9] shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his #1 Sam. 10:1inheritance.
72With #Ps. 101:2; 1 Kgs. 9:4 upright heart he shepherded them
and #[Ps. 77:20]guided them with his skillful hand.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Psalm 78
78
Maschil of Asaph.
1Give ear, O my people, to my law:
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth in a parable:
I will utter dark sayings of old:
3Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
4We 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.
5For 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:
6That the generation to come might know them,
Even the children which should be born;
Who should arise
And declare them to their children:
7That they might set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
8And 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.
9The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
10They kept not the covenant of God,
And refused to walk in his law;
11And forgat his works,
And his wonders that he had shewed them.
12Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt,
In the field of Zoan.
13He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through;
And he made the waters to stand as an heap.
14In the daytime also he led them with a cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
15He clave the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink as out of the great depths.
16He brought streams also out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17And they sinned yet more against him
By provoking the most High in the wilderness.
18And they tempted God in their heart
By asking meat for their lust.
19Yea, they spake against God;
They said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
20Behold, 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?
21Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth:
So a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
22Because they believed not in God,
And trusted not in his salvation:
23Though he had commanded the clouds from above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
24And had rained down manna upon them to eat,
And had given them of the corn of heaven.
25Man did eat angels' food:
He sent them meat to the full.
26He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven:
And by his power he brought in the south wind.
27He rained flesh also upon them as dust,
And feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:
28And he let it fall in the midst of their camp,
Round about their habitations.
29So they did eat, and were well filled: For he gave them their own desire;
30They were not estranged from their lust.
But while their meat was yet in their mouths,
31The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them,
And smote down the chosen men of Israel.
32For all this they sinned still,
And believed not for his wondrous works.
33Therefore their days did he consume in vanity,
And their years in trouble.
34When he slew them, then they sought him:
And they returned and enquired early after God.
35And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the high God their redeemer.
36Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth,
And they lied unto him with their tongues.
37For their heart was not right with him,
Neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
38But 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.
39For he remembered that they were but flesh;
A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
40How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness,
And grieve him in the desert!
41Yea, they turned back and tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42They remembered not his hand,
Nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
43How he had wrought his signs in Egypt,
And his wonders in the field of Zoan:
44And had turned their rivers into blood;
And their floods, that they could not drink.
45He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them;
And frogs, which destroyed them.
46He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller,
And their labour unto the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycomore trees with frost.
48He gave up their cattle also to the hail,
And their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble,
By sending evil angels among them.
50He made a way to his anger; He spared not their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the pestilence;
51And smote all the firstborn in Egypt;
The chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
52But made his own people to go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53And he led them on safely, so that they feared not:
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary,
Even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.
55He 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.
56Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God,
And kept not his testimonies:
57But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers:
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58For they provoked him to anger with their high places,
And moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59When God heard this, he was wroth,
And greatly abhorred Israel:
60So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent which he placed among men;
61And delivered his strength into captivity,
And his glory into the enemy's hand.
62He gave his people over also unto the sword;
And was wroth with his inheritance.
63The fire consumed their young men;
And their maidens were not given to marriage.
64Their priests fell by the sword;
And their widows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep,
And like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
66And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts:
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph,
And chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
68But chose the tribe of Judah,
The mount Zion which he loved.
69And he built his sanctuary like high palaces,
Like the earth which he hath established for ever.
70He chose David also his servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds:
71From following the ewes great with young he brought him
To feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
72So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart;
And guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
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