Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

Psalm 78. This is a "historical psalm" (cf. Psalms 105; 106) recounting events from Israel's past that show how God persevered with his people, even when they disbelieved--while at the same time he cleansed his people by purging them of the unbelievers along the way. The psalm has selected events primarily from the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel, ending with the reign of David. The psalm is clear about its purpose: to recount these events in song so that future generations of God's people might take the lessons to heart, particularly that they not be unbelieving and rebellious like the generations described here. The emphasis is on the people as a whole and the members' obligation to embrace the covenant faithfully in each generation. Terms for "remember" and "forget" run through the psalm (Ps. 78:7, 11, 35, 42; cf. v. 39, where God remembers): the psalmist hopes that those who sing this will never again forget. The psalm opens with its purpose statement (vv. 1-8), followed by several episodes of sin and unbelief, each new section beginning with "they sinned" or "they rebelled" (vv. 17, 32, 40, 56), followed by a final section on God's gift of David as the pinnacle expression of his enduring commitment (vv. 65-72). Christians will of course see the final section, on David, as important: Jesus is David's heir, who now occupies his throne. At the same time, they should not overlook God's patient preservation of his people, the descendants of Abraham--the people into which God has engrafted Gentile Christians. Christians may properly see themselves as the beneficiaries of God's patience: without it, there would be no people for them to be part of! And God will continue his purposes for his people until the very end.

78:1-8 I Must Recount the Past Deeds So that Our Children Do Not Forget. The song begins by calling for attention and explaining what it aims to do: tell . . . the glorious deeds of the Lord . . . that the next generation might know them, . . . and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation. The parable and dark sayings (v. 2) are not secret teachings; they are things that we have heard and known (v. 3), which must be passed on to the coming generation (v. 4). The OT describes the people of God as those whom God has chosen to receive his particular revelation (testimony and law, v. 5), with the responsibility to teach to their children, "that the next generation might know them" (vv. 5-6; cf. Gen. 17:7; 18:19; Deut. 6:6-9). The process does not bring its benefits in any "automatic" way: each of the members must take the provisions of the covenant as his own, embrace God's grace, set their hope in God, and keep his commandments. Sadly, far too many Israelites, and too many generations, received the covenant as an external arrangement but did not embrace it from their hearts; thus they were "stubborn and rebellious," their heart was not steadfast, and their spirit was not faithful to God (these phrases describe a condition of unbelief or apostasy, not simply the sins that even genuine believers commit). But if each generation will take to heart the lessons of this psalm, they need not repeat these episodes of unbelief.