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A teaching psalm of Asaph.
Give ear to my instruction, O my people; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
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I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
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things that we have heard and known, and that our fathers have told us,
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we will not hide them from their children, but we will tell the coming generation the praises of the LORD, and His strength, and the wondrous works that He has done.
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He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel; He commanded our fathers to make them known to their children,
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that the coming generation might know them, the children yet to be born, and arise and tell them to their children,
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so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments;
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and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
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The sons of Ephraim, armed archers, turned back on the day of battle;
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they did not keep the covenant of God and refused to walk in His law.
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They forgot His works and His wondrous deeds that He had shown them.
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Before their fathers He worked wonders, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
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He divided the sea and made them pass through it; He made the waters stand like a heap.
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He led them with a cloud by day, and all night with a light of fire;
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He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep;
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He brought streams out of the rock and made waters flow down like rivers.
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Yet they still sinned against Him, rebelling against the Most High in the dry land.
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They tested God in their heart by demanding food according to their craving.
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They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
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Behold, He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed; but can He also give bread, or provide meat for His people?”
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Therefore, when the LORD heard, He was angry; fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath rose against Israel,
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because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation.
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Then he commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven,
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and rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them grain from heaven;
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each one had eaten the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance.
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He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;
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he rained meat upon them like dust in great abundance, and winged birds like the sand of the seas;
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he let it fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwelling place.
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So they ate and were well filled; he gave them what they desired.
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They were not yet satisfied, while the food was still in their mouths;
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then the anger of God rose against them: he killed their strongest men, and struck down the young men of Israel.
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Even so they still sinned and did not believe in his wondrous works.
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Therefore he made their days end in futility, and their years in terror.
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When he killed them, then they sought him; they turned back and desired God.
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They remembered that God was their rock, and that the Most High God was their Redeemer.
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But they deceived him with their mouth, and with their tongue they lied to him.
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Their heart was not steadfast toward him, and they were not faithful to his covenant.
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Yet he was compassionate; he forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. Many times he restrained his anger and did not stir up all his wrath.
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He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing wind that does not return.
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How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert!
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Again and again they tested God, and pained the Holy One of Israel.
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They did not remember his power, the day he redeemed them from the adversary,
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when he performed signs in Egypt and wonders in the field of Zoan.
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He turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so that they could not drink;
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he sent among them swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that destroyed them;
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he gave their crops to the caterpillar, and the fruit of their labor to the locust;
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he destroyed their vines with hail, and their fig trees with frost;
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he gave over their livestock to hail, and their flocks to lightning bolts;
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He let loose upon them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a band of destroying angels;
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He gave free course to His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the plague;
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He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham;
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He led out His people like sheep, and guided them like a flock in the wilderness;
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He led them safely, so that they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies.
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He brought them to His holy land, to this mountain, which His right hand had won;
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He drove out nations before them, and apportioned to them their inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
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But they tested and rebelled against God Most High, and did not keep His testimonies;
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they turned away and dealt treacherously like their fathers; they became like a deceitful bow.
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They provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
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When God heard, He was angry, and He utterly rejected Israel;
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He forsook His dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where He dwelt among men;
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He gave His strength into captivity, and His glory into the hand of the adversary;
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He gave His people over to the sword, and was angry with His own inheritance.
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Fire consumed their young men, and their maidens had no wedding songs;
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their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
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Then the Lord awoke, as from sleep, like a warrior roused from wine;
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He struck back His adversaries, and put them to everlasting shame.
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He rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
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but He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved;
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He built His sanctuary like the heights of heaven, like the earth which He founded forever;
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He chose David, His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds;
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from following the nursing ewes He brought him, to shepherd Jacob, His people, and Israel, His own inheritance.
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So he shepherded them with integrity of heart, and guided them with skillful hands.
🕊️🙏📖 Summary of Psalm 78 – “Lessons from History: God’s Faithfulness vs. the People’s Rebellion”
Psalm 78 is a psalm of wisdom and history, written by Asaph. Its purpose is to remind the new generation not to repeat the sins of their ancestors, who were stubborn and unfaithful to God, even though they had seen so many miracles.
This psalm traces Israel’s long history — from deliverance from Egypt, through the wilderness journey and their rebellion, to the choosing of Zion and David as shepherd of God’s people.
This is not only a story from the past, but a living warning that faithfulness must be passed on, and that God’s grace must not be misused.
📌 1. An Invitation to Hear and Pass It On (verses 1–8)
➡️ “I will open my mouth in a parable…”
➡️ This story must be taught from generation to generation.
➡️ So that the children “would not be like their fathers.”
🎯 Faith is not enough to be inherited automatically — it must be taught, lived, and modeled.
📌 2. God’s Works That Were Forgotten (verses 9–31)
➡️ Even though God delivered them from Egypt and gave them manna, they still complained.
➡️ God was angry, yet He still gave.
🎯 The Lord is patient, but a hard heart grieves Him.
📌 3. God’s Repeated Love and Forgiveness (verses 32–55)
➡️ Although the people kept sinning, the Lord had compassion and did not utterly destroy them.
➡️ “He remembered that they were flesh, a wind that passes and is gone.”
🎯 The Lord knows our weakness — yet His mercy must not be misused.
📌 4. Repeated Unfaithfulness (verses 56–66)
➡️ They tested God, worshiped idols, and ignored His covenant.
➡️ As a result, God rejected Shiloh and allowed His ark to be taken.
🎯 Collective sin brings national consequences — history is a stern teacher.
📌 5. Restoration through the Choosing of Zion and David (verses 67–72)
➡️ The Lord chose Judah, Mount Zion, and David.
➡️ David shepherded the people with a sincere heart and skillful hands.
🎯 Behind humanity’s failures, God still carries out His faithful plan of redemption.
📖 Main Teaching
- History is a spiritual teacher — we learn from the past so we do not repeat failure.
- Faithfulness to God must be actively taught to the next generation.
- The Lord is patient and full of love, but also just toward sin.
- God still fulfills His plan even though His people are often unfaithful.
- A true leader is portrayed like David: sincere and responsible.
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
📖 1 Corinthians 10:11
“All these things happened as examples and were written down… as a warning for us.”
➡️ Psalm 78 invites us to reflect on Israel’s history as a lesson for spiritual life.
📖 Hebrews 3:8–9
“Do not harden your hearts like… in the wilderness.”
➡️ A direct reference to the story in Psalm 78 — a warning not to rebel.
📖 Jude 1:5
“The Lord, who saved the people out of Egypt, destroyed those who did not believe.”
➡️ The emphasis is that salvation must be accompanied by continual obedience.
📖 Matthew 1:1
“David, the son of Jesse…”
➡️ David was chosen by God not because of perfection, but because of a heart aligned with God’s will — a picture of the Messiah who would come from his line.
🕊️ “We will not hide it from their children…” – Psalm 78:4
🕊️ “He performed wonders before their ancestors…” – Psalm 78:12
🕊️ “Yet they sinned again…” – Psalm 78:32
🕊️ “But he, being full of mercy, forgave their iniquity…” – Psalm 78:38
🕊️ “He chose David… and shepherded them with an upright heart.” – Psalm 78:70–72
