Psalm 78 – My People
Who are your “peeps,” your people? Friends? Family? Co-workers? Who are the people the psalmist refers to in Psalm 78 – my people? And why do they matter?
Psalm 78
Another psalm by Asaph, Psalm 78 – my people “is the longest of the historical psalms. Its lesson is that history must not repeat itself. The people must never again be unbelieving.” (James Montgomery Boice) (Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 78)
Asaph begins Psalm 78 by grabbing the attention of his listeners.
“My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.” (1-3)
The psalmist was concerned about passing on at least three things to the next generation:
- “The praises of the LORD – teaching them that God was worthy of our adoration and gratitude.
- God’s strength– His power and greatness above and beyond all.
- His wonderful works– that is, God’s power and greatness in active assistance to His people.” (Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 78)
“We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.” (4)
He is passing on this information to future generations so that they might learn from the mistakes of their ancestors.
“So the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
They would not be like their ancestors—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.” (5-8)
Story of the People – History of Hebrew Nation
The story of the Hebrew nation is one of rebellion and sinfulness. Yet God kept taking them back. They forgot about the Exodus event, how God led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness, providing food and water in the desert.
“They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall.
God guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.” (11-16)
They rebelled, angering God:
“When the Lord heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.” (21-22)
Yet God fed them with manna: “Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.” (25); and quail, “He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore.” (27)
Still they continued to rebel. “In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.” (32)
Thus was the story of the people and their rebellious nature passed on to generations.
Sinful Nature of the Hebrew People
The sins of the Hebrew people, according to one commentator: “were the sins of ingratitude, testing God, and doubting His power and His care. These were sins God was furious with. We often think God takes little account of such sins.” (Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 78)
Childishly, they repeatedly tempted God, thereby limiting all God wanted to give them. “Not only did Israel’s stubborn disobedience provoke and tempt God, there was a real sense in which it limited the Holy One of Israel. In one sense it is impossible for the creature to limit the Creator. Yet, when God ties His work to man’s faith and/or obedience, there is a sense in which man can and does limit God.” (Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 78)
Parents want to give so much to their children but often children make this impossible. You plan a day of fun at a park only to have little ones throw tantrums making it necessary to cancel your plans. That is how we are with our God. God wants to give us so much. Yet we fight God.
Despite this, God continued to love and forgive his people, just as we forgive our children despite their tantrums
“Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.” (38)
God’s Forgiveness
The psalm shifts back to the Exodus events (42-55). But they continue to rebel, even later generations.
“Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.
They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely.” (57-59)
God allowed the ark to be captured and the Hebrew nation lost in battle (60-64).
But God relented again, this time anointing David, a humble shepherd, as shepherd of his people.
“He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;
from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.
And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” (70-72)
As one commentator states: “This psalm emphasizes the strength and the wonderful works of God – not the strength or wonderful works of His people. This psalm is remarkably honest about the failings of God’s people. “The supreme quality of this psalm is that throughout all its measures, over against the repeated failure of His people, God’s persistent patience is set forth in bold relief.” (Morgan) (Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 78)
Psalm 78 – My People
It’s important to have people, not for power or influence, but because it is not good for us to be alone. God recognized this from the beginning, in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:18, “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”) We need “peeps,” not for adulation but for friendship, companionship. We need people that know us as we are and still love us. People who aren’t afraid to challenge us and encourage us to be the best that we can be. These are our people.
The history of the Hebrew nation is filled with rebellion and sinfulness. And that’s okay. They are our people, human, fallible people who err in so many ways. They are like us.
So who are the people in Psalm 78 – my people? The whole Hebrew nation and all generations following, including ours. They are our people.
“If Israel’s record is her shame, God’s persistent goodness emerges as her hope (and ours) for the unfinished story.” (Kidner) (Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 78)
How has God’s love emerged throughout your life story? How does it continue to emerge throughout history?
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 78: Discovering the God of History – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
(Please note – in order to help ensure you receive email with link to new book, please add my email, patricia@patriciamrobertson.com to your contact list. Some servers are quick to send newsletters to spam or other boxes.)
Leave a Reply