Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+078
Psalm 78 (ESV)
Tell the Coming Generation
A Maskil of Asaph.
56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people over to the sword
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no marriage song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66 And he put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from following the nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his inheritance.
72 With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with his skillful hand.
REFLECTION:
- This psalm teaches present and future generations to learn from the past, and it stresses the grace of God. It recounts their history. In the wilderness, God’s people were judged when they willfully put the Lord to the test. Even though later generations forgot His miracles and were disloyal to His covenant, God was merciful to them. Despite the love displayed in the Exodus and Conquest, Israel continued to rebel against the Lord, and was justly punished.
- But then, in today’s passage, despite Israel’s faults, God chose David to shepherd His people. The lesson of the psalm is clear. In David, Israel was granted a fresh start. God’s people had to learn from their past, and follow David’s example of faithfulness to the Lord if they hoped to avoid future disaster.
- What stories of God’s past dealings with you can you remember in times of temptation, forgetfulness and doubt you still face?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
HYMN:
Psalm 78 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p0Fytu8eO8
