The Long View

This is a history psalm. The German philosopher Hegel said that the one thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history. If you study the Bible and church history, you discover that God’s people make the same mistake. As Asaph reviewed the history of his people, he saw a sad record of forgetfulness, faithlessness, foolishness, and failure, and he sought to understand what it all meant for the present.

Main Idea: The church should tell the next generation what the Bible teaches about God and his salvation in order to warn them against sin and encourage them to entrust their entire lives to Jesus Christ.

1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

In this lengthy psalm Asaph sets the stage by talking to his own generation and to future generations based on God’s work among the generations past. At least four generations are implied in the first four verses.

Psalm 78 is a reminder that we want to lead our children to know and to trust in God. I pray specifically for my boys to be the men God has created them to be and for my little girl to be the woman God has created her to be. I also pray for their future spouses. But my prayers don’t stop there. I pray for the gospel to be passed on, with passion, through my children to their children, and then to their grandchildren and beyond. This kind of praying changes parenting. We find ourselves asking the question, What can I do to pass on the gospel of God’s grace and God’s greatness to future generations?

Nevertheless, this question is not just for parents. This question is for all of God’s people. God has given his church responsibility for passing the gospel on to the next generation, and we all have a part to play in this. We have been commissioned to make disciples, not just of all nations but among every generation.

Based on this desire to pass on the gospel of God’s grace and greatness to future generations, this psalm encourages four activities.

We Teach the Scriptures (78:4-8)

4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. 5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,

6 that the next generation might know them,

the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, 7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8 and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

God has given us his Word, and we want to pass on this Word to the next generation. God gives instructions through Moses in Deuteronomy 6:6-7: “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” In short, the Word of God should be taught all the time. So what specifically do we teach?

First, we teach the next generation who God is. We tell our children that everything begins and ends with God, that he is the supreme Creator, sustainer, and ruler of all, and he alone is supreme. We don’t just teach them convenient rules to obey and religious rituals to follow and life skills to know: we teach them God.

Second, we teach the next generation what God has done. The last part of verse 4 mentions the “wondrous works he has performed.” The rest of this psalm recounts all that God has done in the history of his people. The psalmist wants God’s people to tell future generations about the plagues, about God’s provision of manna and quail from the sky, and the rest of God’s faithful and powerful provisions for his people from generation to generation.

Third, we teach the next generation what God has said. The psalmist mentions God’s “law” (v. 5) and his “commands” (v. 7). Make this book the center of your instruction in your home. Let it trump all other books. If God has spoken, then what else is more important for you to tell your children? More important than teaching them to play a sport or learn a subject in school, we need to teach them the Word of God. It’s the only thing that will last. As Jesus told his disciples, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt 24:35). From generation to generation, God’s Word will never fade. It is a rock on which our children and their children and their children can stand for eternity.

We Tell the Stories (78:10,13-16,23-31,38-39,44-51,53,55,59-64,67-72)

9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle. 10 They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. 11 They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. 12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. 14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light. 15 He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. 16 He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers. 17 Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. 19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? 20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?” 21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel, 22 because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power. 23 Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, 24 and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. 25 Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance. 26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; 27 he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; 28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. 29 And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved. 30 But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths, 31 the anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the young men of Israel. 32 In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe. 33 So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror. 34 When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly. 35 They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. 36 But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. 37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant. 38 Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath. 39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again. 40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! 41 They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe, 43 when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.

44 He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams. 45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them. 46 He gave their crops to the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust. 47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost.

48 He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts. 49 He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress,

a company of destroying angels. 50 He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague. 51 He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

52 Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,

but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54 And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won. 55 He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. 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.

This is the longest historical psalm in the Bible, and it summarizes some of the most important and foundational stories in the life of God’s people. Time and space do not permit an exhaustive treatment of each of these stories, but consider some of the stories we have to tell:

• God’s giving of the law (v. 10; Exod 19–40)

• God’s parting of the Red Sea (vv. 13,53; Exod 14–15)

• God’s guidance through the wilderness (v. 14; Exod 13:21; Num 10:34)

• God’s provision of water and food (vv. 15-16,23-29; Exod 17:6; Num 20:8-11)

• God’s judgment against sin (vv. 30-31; Num 11:33-34)

• God’s mercy toward his people (vv. 38-39; Exod 34:6)

• God’s signs and wonders against Egypt (vv. 44-51; Exod 7–11)

• God’s victory over Israel’s enemies and provision of land (v. 55; Joshua)

• God’s rejection of his sinful people (vv. 59-64; 1 Sam 4)

• God’s choosing of David as king (vv. 67-72; 1 Sam 16:1-13; 2 Sam 7)

By passing along these stories, we are telling our children that we all find ourselves living in the midst of a story that began a long time ago. In other words, we’re not the first ones on the scene, and neither are our children. We want our children to know that the world doesn’t revolve around us or them. The world and all of history revolves around God, and he is weaving together a grand story made up of all our individual stories.

We Warn against Sinfulness (78:10-11,17-18,32,36-37,40-42,56-58)

In the process of telling the stories of Israel’s history, Psalm 78 gives us some sobering warnings. In spite of God’s mighty acts, his protection and provision, his compassion and mercy, Israel continued to rebel and doubt God’s promises. Notice this recurring pattern: God acts on behalf of his people, his people turn from him, and then God restores them through repentance. We should learn from Israel’s failures.

In the first part of 1 Corinthians 10, Paul talks about God’s bringing his people out of Egypt and then their wandering in the wilderness. He says, “Now these things took place as examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did” (1 Cor 10:6). These Old Testament stories serve as a warning. Paul says, “Don’t become idolaters as some of them were” (1 Cor 10:7). The Israelites turned from God and tested him, and they paid the penalty for their sin. Many of them were destroyed. Then Paul reiterates, “These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction. . . . So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall” (1 Cor 10:11-12).

Scripture is telling us to read these stories and realize that the same thing could happen to us. We are supposed to warn one another and our children. There are dreadful consequences to come when you turn from God. It leads to destruction, and God’s judgment is real! So don’t turn from God or test him. Trust God.

We Exalt the Savior

We tell the next generation about God’s mercy toward his people. We tell them of how God’s grace triumphs over man’s sin. The story of Israel’s history is the story of how God responds to his people’s failures with his forgiveness. In fact, God’s forgiveness is the only reason this story keeps going!

Israel’s story is also about how God responds to his people’s faithlessness with his faithfulness. This is good news, and it gets even better. This recounting of God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, and faithfulness ultimately points not backward but forward to Christ. Israel’s history was pointing to the day when Christ, the promised Son of God, God in the flesh (John 1:14), would come to pay the price for all our failures and endure the penalty for all our faithlessness. This is a story worth telling. This is a God worth speaking about to the next generation. This is a gospel worth spreading to the generation after them . . . and the one after them.

We don’t want this story to stop with us; we want this story to spread through us. So this is what we do: we teach the Scriptures, we tell the stories, we warn against sinfulness, and we exalt the Savior. And, as we’ll see below, we do all this with the hope that it will have certain effects in the lives of future generations.

We Have this Hope

We proclaim God and his mighty acts to the coming generation for specific purposes. Notice, for instance, the words so that and then in verses 6-8. This is not teaching and telling and warning and exalting simply for the sake of information but for the sake of transformation. We hope for at least three things.

They Will Know God in Their Minds

We want the children in our homes and in our churches to know God deeply. We want teenagers to have an intimate knowledge of who God is. Amid all the awards and scholarships that they might get at the end of a school year (achievements for which we give thanks to God), the achievement that matters most is this:

This is what the Lord says: The wise person should not boast in his wisdom; the strong should not boast in his strength; the wealthy should not boast in his wealth. But the one who boasts should boast in this: that he understands and knows me—that I am the Lord, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things.

This is the Lord’s declaration. (Jer 9:23-24)

They Will Trust God in Their Hearts

In verse 7 the psalmist wants the knowledge of God in their heads to lead to the hope in God in their hearts. We’re not just after head knowledge; we’re after heart trust. We tell stories so that children will believe that God is trustworthy and will put their trust in him. We want them to trust God to satisfy them, which involves turning aside from the pleasures of this world because they have found greater treasure in God. We hope that their hearts will belong to God.

They Will Obey God in Their Lives

The psalmist wants future generations to keep God’s commandments faithfully (vv. 7-8). The end goal for the next generation is not just to survive spiritually but rather to thrive spiritually. We want them to run into the world with the gospel, ready to use whatever gifts, experiences, education, resources, and anything else God entrusts to them. We want them to spend it all for his glory among all peoples.

Some Practical Steps Forward

One practical way to put this psalm into practice is through regular times of family worship. This would apply to families with children as well as families without children. It could also apply to singles who may have the opportunity to regularly spend time with other believers. Just as you set aside a time and a place to be alone before God, set aside a time and a place to gather regularly in your home to worship God with others. Such time involves reading, studying, and memorizing God’s Word together, as well as praying and singing together.

If you have children, be sure to include them and to explain difficult concepts. Keep it simple and enjoyable. Remember, this doesn’t have to be an exhaustive exegetical study followed by a season of prayer and a set of worship songs. You are aiming to shepherd their hearts in the truth and the love of God. Regardless of your family situation, the goal of family worship is to bring glory to God, produce joy in the home, and effect change in the world. Indeed, we want to “tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, his might, and the wondrous works he has performed” (v. 4).