A Contemplation[fn] of Asaph.
Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
Psa 78:2
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Psa 78:3
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
Psa 78:4
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
Psa 78:5
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;
Psa 78:6
That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
Psa 78:7
That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
Psa 78:8
And may not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Psa 78:9
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
Psa 78:10
They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
Psa 78:11
And forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.
Psa 78:12
Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
Psa 78:13
He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
Psa 78:14
In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
Psa 78:15
He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
Psa 78:16
He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
Psa 78:17
But they sinned even more against Him
By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
Psa 78:18
And they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
Psa 78:19
Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
Psa 78:20
Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?”
Psa 78:21
Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
Psa 78:22
Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
Psa 78:23
Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
Psa 78:24
Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
Psa 78:25
Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.
Psa 78:26
He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
Psa 78:27
He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
Psa 78:28
And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
Psa 78:29
So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
Psa 78:30
They were not deprived of their craving;
But while their food was still in their mouths,
Psa 78:31
The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
Psa 78:32
In spite of this they still sinned,
And did not believe in His wondrous works.
Psa 78:33
Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
Psa 78:34
When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
Psa 78:35
Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
Psa 78:36
Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
Psa 78:37
For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
Psa 78:38
But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
Psa 78:39
For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again.
Psa 78:40
How often they provoked Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
Psa 78:41
Yes, again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
Psa 78:42
They did not remember His power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
Psa 78:43
When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
Psa 78:44
Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
Psa 78:45
He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And frogs, which destroyed them.
Psa 78:46
He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the locust.
Psa 78:47
He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
Psa 78:48
He also gave up their cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery lightning.
Psa 78:49
He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
Psa 78:50
He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the plague,
Psa 78:51
And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
Psa 78:52
But He made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
Psa 78:53
And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
Psa 78:54
And He brought them to His holy border,
This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
Psa 78:55
He also drove out the nations before them,
Allotted them an inheritance by survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
Psa 78:56
Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
Psa 78:57
But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
Psa 78:58
For they provoked Him to anger with their high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
Psa 78:59
When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
Psa 78:60
So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
Psa 78:61
And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
Psa 78:62
He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
Psa 78:63
The fire consumed their young men,
And their maidens were not given in marriage.
Psa 78:64
Their priests fell by the sword,
And their widows made no lamentation.
Psa 78:65
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
Psa 78:66
And He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
Psa 78:67
Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
Psa 78:68
But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
Psa 78:69
And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
Psa 78:70
He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
Psa 78:71
From following the ewes that had young He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
Psa 78:72
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands
Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
Psa 78:2
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Psa 78:3
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
Psa 78:4
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
Psa 78:5
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;
Psa 78:6
That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
Psa 78:7
That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
Psa 78:8
And may not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Psa 78:9
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
Psa 78:10
They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
Psa 78:11
And forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.
Psa 78:12
Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
Psa 78:13
He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
Psa 78:14
In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
Psa 78:15
He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
Psa 78:16
He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
Psa 78:17
But they sinned even more against Him
By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
Psa 78:18
And they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
Psa 78:19
Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
Psa 78:20
Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?”
Psa 78:21
Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
Psa 78:22
Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
Psa 78:23
Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
Psa 78:24
Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
Psa 78:25
Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.
Psa 78:26
He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
Psa 78:27
He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
Psa 78:28
And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
Psa 78:29
So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
Psa 78:30
They were not deprived of their craving;
But while their food was still in their mouths,
Psa 78:31
The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
Psa 78:32
In spite of this they still sinned,
And did not believe in His wondrous works.
Psa 78:33
Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
Psa 78:34
When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
Psa 78:35
Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
Psa 78:36
Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
Psa 78:37
For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
Psa 78:38
But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
Psa 78:39
For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again.
Psa 78:40
How often they provoked Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
Psa 78:41
Yes, again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
Psa 78:42
They did not remember His power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
Psa 78:43
When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
Psa 78:44
Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
Psa 78:45
He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And frogs, which destroyed them.
Psa 78:46
He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the locust.
Psa 78:47
He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
Psa 78:48
He also gave up their cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery lightning.
Psa 78:49
He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
Psa 78:50
He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the plague,
Psa 78:51
And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
Psa 78:52
But He made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
Psa 78:53
And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
Psa 78:54
And He brought them to His holy border,
This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
Psa 78:55
He also drove out the nations before them,
Allotted them an inheritance by survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
Psa 78:56
Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
Psa 78:57
But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
Psa 78:58
For they provoked Him to anger with their high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
Psa 78:59
When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
Psa 78:60
So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
Psa 78:61
And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
Psa 78:62
He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
Psa 78:63
The fire consumed their young men,
And their maidens were not given in marriage.
Psa 78:64
Their priests fell by the sword,
And their widows made no lamentation.
Psa 78:65
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
Psa 78:66
And He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
Psa 78:67
Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
Psa 78:68
But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
Psa 78:69
And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
Psa 78:70
He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
Psa 78:71
From following the ewes that had young He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
Psa 78:72
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands
Your Thoughts
1.Looking over this Psalm, was there a particular verse that you liked?
Read that verse over again.
It could even be a phrase.
No matter if it's one verse, one phrase, or one single word, Stop and think
about it for just a minute.
2. Why do you think you like it?
Have you been experiencing something in your life that resonated with this verse?
Possibly, Right?
3. That's the Word speaking to you. Maybe write it down. Turn it into a prayer and/or praise.
4. Pray and Thank God for this revelation and ask Him to make it clear how He wants to use it in your life.
5. Share what God spoke to you with someone. Let others be blessed too.
Read that verse over again.
It could even be a phrase.
No matter if it's one verse, one phrase, or one single word, Stop and think
about it for just a minute.
2. Why do you think you like it?
Have you been experiencing something in your life that resonated with this verse?
Possibly, Right?
3. That's the Word speaking to you. Maybe write it down. Turn it into a prayer and/or praise.
4. Pray and Thank God for this revelation and ask Him to make it clear how He wants to use it in your life.
5. Share what God spoke to you with someone. Let others be blessed too.
My Thoughts
Let me say if you made it reading throw this entire Psalm, Good Job. It was long but there are always so many wonderful things to find.
Psa 78:3
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
This is Psalm that I personally think speaks to the fathers of this generation.
It declares that they are to be the ones to speak to the children and continue on the
legacy of Jesus to the next generation.
Here the Psalmist remembers the fathers telling him about God.
Are the father's taking on this role today.
In today's society, there is such a watering down of the role of the father and manhood in general. In movies, cartoons, and media the way men are depicted are clumsy, ignorant and daft. This is totally contrary to what God standards are to be. Men are the leaders, encouraged to be strong and courageous and are the heads of the households.
I am sorry women, but God's called the men to lead. A men leading is just want this generation needs.
Our families, societies, and even our nation would be so much stronger if the men took their rightful place in the homes.
Look at this verse from our text.
Psa 78:4
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
There is something so wonderful as a husband teaching the children the things of the Lord. I watch my husband almost every night either read or put the bible on in our home to our children. (Although he can go a bit over bed time, I am blessed to see him passing down the godly heritage to our little ones.)
We all, both women and men, have this wonderful charge from the Bible to pass down these lessons to our children. Society won't, will you?
What are we to tell them? the praises, strength and wonderful works of God.
Boy don't we all need this as a reminder?
Psalm 78:5b-6
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children
Again it's a commandment for the fathers to pass on. It's suppose to be a perpetual thing. Father's teaching chidden, children becoming father's, father's teaching children.... on and on.
Psalm 78:7
That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments; Psa 78:8
And may not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Here is the contrast.
You either have a generation that has their hope set in God and are living according to God's principles, or you have the direct opposite stubborn and rebellious.
Wow!!!
Look at how society today.
What do you see overall?
What could be the ingredient for such a downward sinful spirals in our generation?
Do you think these verses could be addressing these very issues?
Psalm 78:9
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle
2 Kings 17 Ephraim didn't go to the battle.
It was their failure to do what God wanted them to do.
Here till almost the end Asaph is reminding himself of the history of Israel.
You see God was on the move here in so many ways and yet time and time again,
the people grieved the Lord.
It's interested because it seems the father's weren't instructing their children.
The connection wasn't right. They didn't put their hope in God they kept clinging on to themselves and their way.
God kept being God through it all.
Psalm 78:37
But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
Here in we see the character and faithfulness of God.
The people continued to act against God but He continued to be compassionate and forgiving.
Our kids really need to be taught the lessons of the Bible. So they can love God on their own and hopefully learn from the mistakes of others.
Psalm 78:68
But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
Psa 78:69
And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
Psa 78:70
He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
From following the ewes that had young He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
Psa 78:72
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
It's interesting the Psalm ends in the thoughts of the tribe of Judah and David. It was almost as if saying it's time to focus on the one that will do it right: Jesus.
The one man that came to teach us and show us the Father was Jesus Christ.
Now that He has ascended, father's still have the charge to tell the children about God.
Let's make this a priority in our lives to walk to talk to teach our children the wonderful things of the Lord.
He is the Good Shepherd, let's get to know Him more.
Blessings.
Psa 78:3
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
This is Psalm that I personally think speaks to the fathers of this generation.
It declares that they are to be the ones to speak to the children and continue on the
legacy of Jesus to the next generation.
Here the Psalmist remembers the fathers telling him about God.
Are the father's taking on this role today.
In today's society, there is such a watering down of the role of the father and manhood in general. In movies, cartoons, and media the way men are depicted are clumsy, ignorant and daft. This is totally contrary to what God standards are to be. Men are the leaders, encouraged to be strong and courageous and are the heads of the households.
I am sorry women, but God's called the men to lead. A men leading is just want this generation needs.
Our families, societies, and even our nation would be so much stronger if the men took their rightful place in the homes.
Look at this verse from our text.
Psa 78:4
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
There is something so wonderful as a husband teaching the children the things of the Lord. I watch my husband almost every night either read or put the bible on in our home to our children. (Although he can go a bit over bed time, I am blessed to see him passing down the godly heritage to our little ones.)
We all, both women and men, have this wonderful charge from the Bible to pass down these lessons to our children. Society won't, will you?
What are we to tell them? the praises, strength and wonderful works of God.
Boy don't we all need this as a reminder?
Psalm 78:5b-6
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children
Again it's a commandment for the fathers to pass on. It's suppose to be a perpetual thing. Father's teaching chidden, children becoming father's, father's teaching children.... on and on.
Psalm 78:7
That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments; Psa 78:8
And may not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Here is the contrast.
You either have a generation that has their hope set in God and are living according to God's principles, or you have the direct opposite stubborn and rebellious.
Wow!!!
Look at how society today.
What do you see overall?
What could be the ingredient for such a downward sinful spirals in our generation?
Do you think these verses could be addressing these very issues?
Psalm 78:9
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle
2 Kings 17 Ephraim didn't go to the battle.
It was their failure to do what God wanted them to do.
Here till almost the end Asaph is reminding himself of the history of Israel.
You see God was on the move here in so many ways and yet time and time again,
the people grieved the Lord.
It's interested because it seems the father's weren't instructing their children.
The connection wasn't right. They didn't put their hope in God they kept clinging on to themselves and their way.
God kept being God through it all.
Psalm 78:37
But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
Here in we see the character and faithfulness of God.
The people continued to act against God but He continued to be compassionate and forgiving.
Our kids really need to be taught the lessons of the Bible. So they can love God on their own and hopefully learn from the mistakes of others.
Psalm 78:68
But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
Psa 78:69
And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
Psa 78:70
He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
From following the ewes that had young He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
Psa 78:72
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
It's interesting the Psalm ends in the thoughts of the tribe of Judah and David. It was almost as if saying it's time to focus on the one that will do it right: Jesus.
The one man that came to teach us and show us the Father was Jesus Christ.
Now that He has ascended, father's still have the charge to tell the children about God.
Let's make this a priority in our lives to walk to talk to teach our children the wonderful things of the Lord.
He is the Good Shepherd, let's get to know Him more.
Blessings.
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