Psalms 78
78
PSALM 78
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
Maschil of Asaph.
1Attend, my people, to my law;
thereto give thou an ear;
The words that from my mouth proceed
attentively do hear.
2My mouth shall speak a parable,
and sayings dark of old;
3The same which we have heard and known,
and us our fathers told.
4We also will them not conceal
from their posterity;
Them to the generation
to come declare will we:
The praises of the Lord our God,
and his almighty strength,
The wondrous works that he hath done,
we will shew forth at length.
5His testimony and his law
in Isr'el he did place,
And charg'd our fathers it to show
to their succeeding race;
6That so the race which was to come
might well them learn and know;
And sons unborn, who should arise,
might to their sons them show:
7That they might set their hope in God,
and suffer not to fall
His mighty works out of their mind,
but keep his precepts all:
8And might not, like their fathers, be
a stiff rebellious race;
A race not right in heart; with God
whose sp'rit not stedfast was.
9The sons of Ephraim, who nor bows
nor other arms did lack,
When as the day of battle was,
they faintly turned back.
10They brake God's cov'nant,
and refus'd in his commands to go;
11His works and wonders they forgot,
which he to them did show.
12Things marvellous he brought to pass;
their fathers them beheld
Within the land of Egypt done,
yea, ev'n in Zoan's field.
13By him divided was the sea,
he caus'd them through to pass;
And made the waters so to stand,
as like an heap it was.
14With cloud by day, with light of fire
all night, he did them guide.
15In desert rocks he clave,
and drink, as from great depths, supply'd.
16He from the rock brought streams, like floods
made waters to run down.
17Yet sinning more, in desert they
provok'd the Highest One.
18For in their heart they tempted God,
and, speaking with mistrust,
They greedily did meat require
to satisfy their lust.
19Against the Lord himself they spake,
and, murmuring, said thus,
A table in the wilderness
can God prepare for us?
20Behold, he smote the rock, and thence
came streams and waters great;
But can he give his people bread?
and send them flesh to eat?
21The Lord did hear, and waxed wroth;
so kindled was a flame
'Gainst Jacob, and 'gainst Israel
up indignation came.
22For they believ'd not God, nor trust
in his salvation had;
23Though clouds above he did command,
and heav'n's doors open made,
24And manna rain'd on them,
and gave them corn of heav'n to eat.
25Man angels' food did eat; to them
he to the full sent meat.
26And in the heaven he did cause
an eastern wind to blow;
And by his power he let out
the southern wind to go.
27Then flesh as thick as dust he made
to rain down them among;
And feather'd fowls, like as the sand
which li'th the shore along.
28At his command amidst their camp
these show'rs of flesh down fell,
All round about the tabernacles
and tents where they did dwell.
29So they did eat abundantly,
and had of meat their fill;
For he did give to them what was
their own desire and will.
30They from their lust had not estrang'd
their heart and their desire;
But while the meat was in their mouths,
which they did so require,
31God's wrath upon them came,
and slew the fattest of them all;
So that the choice of Israel,
o'erthrown by death, did fall.
32Yet, notwithstanding of all this,
they sinned still the more;
And though he had great wonders wrought,
believ'd him not therefore:
33Wherefore their days in vanity
he did consume and waste;
And by his wrath their wretched years
away in trouble past.
34But when he slew them, then they did
to seek him shew desire;
Yea, they return'd, and after God
right early did enquire.
35And that the Lord had been their Rock,
they did remember then;
Ev'n that the high almighty God
had their Redeemer been.
36Yet with their mouth they flatter'd him,
and spake but feignedly;
And they unto the God of truth
with their false tongues did lie.
37For though their words were good, their heart
with him was not sincere;
Unstedfast and perfidious
they in his cov'nant were.
38But, full of pity, he forgave
their sin, them did not slay;
Nor stirr'd up all his wrath, but oft
his anger turn'd away.
39For that they were but fading flesh
to mind he did recall;
A wind that passeth soon away,
and not returns at all.
40How often did they him provoke
within the wilderness!
And in the desert did him grieve
with their rebelliousness!
41Yea, turning back, they tempted God,
and limits set upon
Him, who in midst of Isr'el is
the only Holy One.
42They did not call to mind his pow'r,
nor yet the day when he
Deliver'd them out of the hand
of their fierce enemy;
43Nor how great signs in Egypt land
he openly had wrought;
What miracles in Zoan's field
his hand to pass had brought.
44How lakes and rivers ev'ry where
he turned into blood;
So that nor man nor beast could drink
of standing lake or flood.
45He brought among them swarms of flies,
which did them sore annoy;
And divers kinds of filthy frogs
he sent them to destroy.
46He to the caterpillar gave
the fruits of all their soil;
Their labours he deliver'd up
unto the locusts' spoil.
47Their vines with hail, their sycamores
he with the frost did blast:
48Their beasts to hail he gave; their flocks
hot thunderbolts did waste.
49Fierce burning wrath he on them cast,
and indignation strong,
And troubles sore, by sending forth
ill angels them among.
50He to his wrath made way; their soul
from death he did not save;
But over to the pestilence
the lives of them he gave.
51In Egypt land the first-born all
he smote down ev'ry where;
Among the tents of Ham, ev'n these
chief of their strength that were.
52But his own people, like to sheep,
thence to go forth he made;
And he, amidst the wilderness,
them, as a flock, did lead.
53And he them safely on did lead,
so that they did not fear;
Whereas their en'mies by the sea
quite overwhelmed were.
54To borders of his sanctuary
the Lord his people led,
Ev'n to the mount which his right hand
for them had purchased.
55The nations of Canaan,
by his almighty hand,
Before their face he did expel
out of their native land;
Which for inheritance to them
by line he did divide,
And made the tribes of Israel
within their tents abide.
56Yet God most high they did provoke,
and tempted ever still;
And to observe his testimonies
did not incline their will:
57But, like their fathers, turned back,
and dealt unfaithfully:
Aside they turned, like a bow
that shoots deceitfully.
58For they to anger did provoke
him with their places high;
And with their graven images
mov'd him to jealousy.
59When God heard this, he waxed wroth,
and much loath'd Isr'el then:
60So Shiloh's tent he left, the tent
which he had plac'd with men.
61And he his strength delivered
into captivity;
He left his glory in the hand
of his proud enemy.
62His people also he gave o'er
unto the sword's fierce rage:
So sore his wrath inflamed was
against his heritage.
63The fire consum'd their choice young men;
their maids no marriage had;
64And when their priests fell by the sword,
their wives no mourning made.
65But then the Lord arose, as one
that doth from sleep awake;
And like a giant that, by wine
refresh'd, a shout doth make:
66Upon his en'mies' hinder parts
he made his stroke to fall;
And so upon them he did put
a shame perpetual.
67Moreover, he the tabernacle
of Joseph did refuse;
The mighty tribe of Ephraim
he would in no wise chuse:
68But he did chuse Jehudah's tribe
to be the rest above;
And of mount Sion he made choice,
which he so much did love.
69And he his sanctuary built
like to a palace high,
Like to the earth which he did found
to perpetuity.
70Of David, that his servant was,
he also choice did make,
And even from the folds of sheep
was pleased him to take:
71From waiting on the ewes with young,
he brought him forth to feed
Israel, his inheritance,
his people, Jacob's seed.
72So after the integrity
he of his heart them fed;
And by the good skill of his hands
them wisely governed.
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 78
78
(A special psalm by Asaph.)
What God Has Done for His People
1My friends, I beg you
to listen as I teach.
2 #
Mt 13.35. I will give instruction
and explain the mystery
of what happened long ago.
3These are things we learned
from our ancestors,
4and we will tell them
to the next generation.
We won't keep secret
the glorious deeds
and the mighty miracles
of the Lord.
5God gave his Law
to Jacob's descendants,
the people of Israel.
And he told our ancestors
to teach their children,
6so that each new generation
would know his Law
and tell it to the next.
7Then they would trust God
and obey his teachings,
without forgetting anything
God had done.
8They would be different
from their ancestors,
who were stubborn, rebellious,
and unfaithful to God.
9The warriors from Ephraim
were armed with arrows,
but they ran away
when the battle began.
10They broke their agreement
with God,
and they turned their backs
on his teaching.
11They forgot all he had done,
even the mighty miracles
12 #
Ex 7.8—12.32. #Ws 16.1—19.22. he did for their ancestors
near Zoan#78.12 Zoan: A city in the eastern part of the Nile Delta. in Egypt.
13 #
Ex 14.21,22. God made a path in the sea
and piled up the water
as he led them across.
14 #
Ex 13.21,22. He guided them during the day
with a cloud,
and each night he led them
with a flaming fire.
15 #
Ex 17.1-7; Nu 20.2-13. God made water flow
from rocks he split open
in the desert,
and his people drank freely,
as though from a lake.
16He made streams gush out
like rivers from rocks.
17But in the desert,
the people of God Most High
kept sinning and rebelling.
18 #
Ex 16.2-15; Nu 11.4-23,31-35. They stubbornly tested God
and demanded from him
what they wanted to eat.
19They challenged God by saying,
“Can God provide food
out here in the desert?
20It's true God struck the rock
and water gushed out
like a river,
but can he give his people
bread and meat?”
21When the Lord heard this,
he was angry and furious
with Jacob's descendants,
the people of Israel.
22They had refused to trust him,
and they had doubted
his saving power.
23But God gave a command
to the clouds,
and he opened the doors
in the skies.
24 #
Ws 16.20-29; Jn 6.31. From heaven he sent grain
that they called manna.#78.24 manna: When the people of Israel were wandering through the desert, the Lord gave them a special kind of food to eat. It tasted like a wafer and was called “manna,” which in Hebrew means, “What is this?”
25He gave them more than enough,
and each one of them ate
this special food.
26God's mighty power
sent a strong wind
from the southeast,
27and it brought birds
that covered the ground,
like sand on the beach.
28Then God made the birds fall
in the camp of his people
near their tents.
29God gave his people
all they wanted,
and each of them ate
until they were full.
30But before they had swallowed
the last bite,
31God became angry and killed
the strongest and best
from the families of Israel.
32But the rest kept on sinning
and would not trust
God's miracles.
33So he cut their lives short
and made them terrified.
34After he killed some of them,
the others turned to him
with all their hearts.
35They remembered God Most High,
the mighty rock#78.35 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
that kept them safe.
36But they tried to flatter God,
and they told him lies;
37 #
Ac 8.21. they were unfaithful
and broke their promises.
38Yet God was kind.
He kept forgiving their sins
and didn't destroy them.
He often became angry,
but never lost his temper.
39God remembered that they
were made of flesh
and were like a wind
that blows once
and then dies down.
40While they were in the desert,
they often rebelled
and made God sad.
41They kept testing him
and caused terrible pain
for the Holy One of Israel.
42They forgot about his power
and how he had rescued them
from their enemies.
43God showed them all kinds
of wonderful miracles
near Zoan#78.43 Zoan: See the note at 78.12. in Egypt.
44 #
Ex 7.17-21. He turned the rivers of Egypt
into blood,
and no one could drink
from the streams.
45 #
Ex 8.20-24;
Ex 8.1-6. He sent swarms of flies
to pester the Egyptians,
and he sent frogs
to cause them trouble.
46 #
Ex 10.12-15. God let worms and grasshoppers
eat their crops.
47 #
Ex 9.22-25. He destroyed their grapevines
and their fig trees
with hail and floods.#78.47 floods: Or “frost.”
48Then he killed their cattle
with hail
and their other animals
with lightning.
49God was so angry and furious
that he went into a rage
and caused them great trouble
by sending swarms
of destroying angels.
50God released his anger
and slaughtered them
in a terrible way.
51 #
Ex 12.29. He killed the first-born son
of each Egyptian family.
52 #
Ex 13.17-22. Then God led his people
out of Egypt
and guided them in the desert
like a flock of sheep.
53 #
Ex 14.26-28. He led them safely along,
and they were not afraid,
but their enemies drowned
in the sea.
54 #
Ex 15.17; Js 3.14-17. God brought his people
to the sacred mountain
that he had taken
by his own power.
55 #
Js 11.16-23. He made nations run
from the tribes of Israel,
and he let the tribes
take over their land.
56 #
Jg 2.11-15. But the people tested
God Most High,
and they refused
to obey his laws.
57They were as unfaithful
as their ancestors,
and they were as crooked
as a twisted arrow.
58God demanded all their love,
but they made him angry
by worshiping idols.
59So God became furious
and completely rejected
the people of Israel.
60 #
Js 18.1; Jr 7.12-14; 26.6. Then he deserted his home
at Shiloh, where he lived
here on earth.
61 #
1 S 4.4-22. He let enemies capture
the sacred chest#78.61 sacred chest: The Hebrew text has “his power,” which refers to the sacred chest. In Psalm 132.8 it is called “powerful.”
and let them dishonor him.
62God took out his anger
on his chosen ones
and let them be killed
by enemy swords.
63Fire destroyed the young men,
and the young women were left
with no one to marry.
64Priests died violent deaths,
but their widows
were not allowed to mourn.
65Finally the Lord woke up,
like a soldier
startled from a drunken sleep.
66God scattered his enemies
and made them ashamed
forever.
67Then the Lord decided
not to make his home
with Joseph's descendants
in Ephraim.#78.67 with … Ephraim: Ephraim was Joseph's youngest son. One of the twelve tribes was named after him, and sometimes the northern kingdom of Israel was also known as Ephraim. The town of Shiloh was in the territory of Ephraim, but the place where God was worshiped was moved from there to Zion (Jerusalem) in the territory of Judah.
68Instead he chose the tribe
of Judah,
and he chose Mount Zion,
the place he loves.
69There he built his temple
as lofty as the mountains
and as solid as the earth
he made to last forever.
70 #
1 S 16.11,12; 2 S 7.8; 1 Ch 17.7; Ps 151.4. The Lord God chose David
to be his servant and took him
from tending sheep
71and from caring for lambs.
Then God made him the leader
of Israel, his own nation.
72David treated the people fairly
and guided them with wisdom.
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