Holy Bible

Give ear, O My people, to My law; incline your ears to the words of My mouth. Psalm 78:1 The obligation to obey God's law John Rogan. I. IT IS THE LAW OF YOUR NATURE. The foundation of morality is laid deep in human nature; its principles result from the constitution of our frame; and its authority will be supreme, while there is a mind to discern, or a heart to feel, or a conscience to judge. II. IT IS THE LAW OF HEAVEN. III. IT IS THE LAW OF SOCIETY. Public depravity paves the way for public ruin. IV. IT IS THE LAW OF HAPPINESS. What does it forbid? Desires, passions, and vices, from which for our own sakes we should abstain, though there was no such prohibition. It forbids the gratification of desires which would lead us to ruin; the commission of vices which waken remorse, and deliver us up to the tormentors. What does the law of the Lord command? What is lovely, and pure, and praiseworthy; what tends to make men peaceable, gentle, humane, merciful, benevolent, and happy. ( John Rogan. ) I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old. Psalm 78:2 The nature and design of parabolic teaching T. Jackson, M. A. The word here translated parable did not probably convey to the mind of the psalmist the signification which we ordinarily attach to it. It might mean nothing more than a sublime, figurative, and sententious manner of stating facts or imparting moral lessons; or nothing more than a poem in which this style should prevail. I. THE NATURE OF PARABOLIC TEACHING. It is that which discerns most deeply and employs most judiciously these manifold analogies and comparisons, more or less partaking of what we understand by a continued metaphor. And he who has the greatest moral perfection will assuredly be the best adapted to the discernment of the lessons they imply. The Lord Jesus Christ, then, must be, from His very character and offices, best acquainted with this method of instruction. He who made all things and without whom not anything was made that was made, He is not only the Word, but the Wisdom of God — pronouncing His dark sayings and forming His secret things in the progress of the world and the Church, so that Egypt is still the type of bondage, and Israel's journey through the wilderness to the land of promise one long parable, as Asaph saw darkly, of God's dealings with His saints in the latter day. Every hour we behold Him illustrating the nature of this varying and marvellous instruction; aiding us to its definition; supplying the materials of which its innumerable comparisons are formed. II. THE ADAPTATION OF PARABOLIC TEACHING TO THE CONDITION OF MANKIND UPON EARTH. The human mind is so constituted, as to be unable to comprehend essences, properly speaking. The principles of causation are a sealed book to us. The progress of language, the manner in which we give names to objects, are of themselves sufficient proofs of this view. In everything pertaining to our moral conduct and choice, we follow another kind of evidence, and are influenced by another kind of reasoning. We determine what shall be our preference, not because we know absolutely the best course, but because our minds remark that what we are about to do bears a likeness to some other event or circumstance, which on another occasion, we have observed, came to pass. The rule and measure of our hopes and fears concerning the success of our pursuits; our expectation that others will act so and so under such circumstances; and our judgment that such actions proceed from such principles — all these rely upon our having observed the like to what we hope, fear, expect, judge; we say, upon our having observed the like, either with respect to others or ourselves. Our very life, then, is guided by a sort of parable, and hence the adaptation of its formal development to our circumstances and condition. But that propriety is illustrated not only by the connection of reasoning on probabilities, or likelihoods, or parallel courses of events, with the teaching by parables. We prove it also by the shortness of human life. A moral question comes before us; we make a parable to ourselves; we compare the subject on which we want to learn with another, where the decision and propriety is obvious. We do this involuntarily, because our time is so short; it is now or never. Here is another ground of arguing the adaptation of parabolical teaching to the necessities of mankind. We have said, what must the case be with the masses of which the world is constituted! Engaged as they are from morning to night in obtaining a scant supply for the wants of their bodies, they have no time or opportunity to rise, were the rising possible, above the range of this kind of information. But to them it seems strangely forcible. It strikes a chord in their understanding and heart. Metaphors are ever popular with the multitude. Children (and the mass of mankind are but children of a larger growth) love to be instructed by a similitude. It casts them on a new field of discovery; it opens their mind to a fresh series of glorious thoughts and feelings. And is it presumptuous to suppose that all this was part of ancient and venerable design on the part of our Lord Jesus Christ the Creator, and by creating the Teacher, as well as the Redeemer of our species? ( T. Jackson, M. A. ) We will not hide them from their children. Psalm 78:4 Children The Study. I. THE INTERESTING OBJECTS OF OUR SOLICITUDE MENTIONED. Consider — 1. The love which welcomes them. 2. The evils which surround them. 3. The possibilities which await them. II. THE SACRED DUTIES WHICH WE OWE TO THEM. 1. They are weak; we must protect them ( Genesis 33 .). 2. They are helpless; we must provide for them. 3. They are ignorant; we must instruct them. III. THE OBJECT WHICH WE HOPE SHALL BE REALIZED. 1. The knowledge of truth shall be perpetuated. 2. Our children will put their hope in God. 3. They shall be better than their fathers. ( The Study. ) The knowledge of national benefits and deliverances transmitted to the rising generation N. Hill. I. POINT OUT A FEW OF THOSE THINGS WHICH WE HAVE HEARD AND KNOWN, OR WHICH OUR FATHERS HAVE TOLD US, and which we, with the psalmist, may style "The praises of the Lord, and His strength, and the wonderful works that He hath done." II. RECOMMEND AND ENFORCE THE RESOLUTION IN MY TEXT. The great Gad may justly expect that we acquaint ourselves with His ways and works; that we endeavour to trace Him in the natural, providential, and civil world, and in the world of grace; and that we treasure up in our hearts each signal deliverance He hath wrought. But a genuine disciple of Jesus, and a child of God, will neither wish to live nor to die unto himself. What we have known of the wonderful works of God in favour of our fathers, of ourselves, or of ages to come, we should transmit to the rising generation. I am apprehensive that one cause of the languishing state of public spirit, and of pious zeal, in this age, is the want of knowledge. Had the minds of persons in the present day been early and deeply impressed with the conduct of God to this highly favoured country, the privileges they enjoy would be more dear and important in their esteem, and patriotism would not be that empty boast which we have too much reason to apprehend it now is. With the knowledge of those "things we have heard, and known, and which our fathers have told us," transmit, as far as possible, the things themselves. On our part let nothing be left untried, that they who are soon to fill our places in civil and religious life, and that their descendants, even to the world's last period, may stand forth, under God, the guardians of each important and sacred right, and approve themselves the unshaken friends of their country, of Jesus, and of the Gospel. ( N. Hill. ) The transmission of Scriptural truth to posterity J. Belcher. The text presents four grand arguments why we should zealously devote ourselves to this duty. I. THE PECULIAR CHARACTER OF SCRIPTURAL TRUTH. Consider it — 1. As a revelation of God. 2. As a law of duty. 3. As a history of God's conduct. II. THE MANNER IN WHICH WE HAVE BEEN PUT INTO ITS POSSESSION. As we have received the knowledge of God and the way of happiness from our fathers, who showed us by their lips and their lives the way of happiness, we are bound, by every consideration of gratitude, to give to others what has been so freely given to us. III. THE DIVINE ARRANGEMENTS AS TO ITS TRANSMISSION. Fathers are commanded to make known the commands and the character of Gad to their children. Various powerful reasons might be assigned for this infinitely wise arrangement. The young come into our world with an awfully strong bias to evil, and it is unspeakably important to check the workings of their depravity by presenting the most powerful considerations which tend to the accomplishment of such an end. Nor must it be forgotten here, that, as immortal creatures, the character of man is usually formed in youth for eternity. IV. THE GREAT RESULTS WHICH IT IS INTENDED TO ACCOMPLISH. Every individual who receives the knowledge of God, in the love of it, becomes a moral sun, diffusing light and warmth around him, the glorious effects of which shall be felt through all the changes of time, and in eternity itself. ( J. Belcher. ) The true method by which generation helps generation Homilist. I. TRUE RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE IS A THING IMPARTED TO MAN. It is that "which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us." It is not inbred nor discovered. Without denying that man has a capacity to discover God as the Creator, all history shows that he has never done so; and as to His redeeming capacity, that, in the nature of the case, transcends all human conceptions. As sinners, this is the knowledge of God we require, and it involves the former. And we have it, not by intuition or discovery, but by impartation. It has been transmitted to us through many generations. 1. They have handed it down to us by inspired documents. 2. They have handed it down to us by their own teaching. II. TRUE RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE IS IMPARTED TO US, NOT TO MONOPOLIZE, BUT TO TRANSMIT (vers. 5-8). The transmittory arrangement implies — 1. That the children of every generation have a capacity for receiving this knowledge. There is no danger of teaching religion boo soon. 2. That the children of every generation will require this knowledge. Coming generations may not require our philosophies, poetries, and governments; they may out-grow our sciences, and despise our civilization, but they will require our religion. Though they may not require our lamps, they will need our sun. 3. The eternal harmony of all God's operations. The Eternal does not contradict Himself. The first Divine act on earth's theatre will harmonize with the last. The whole will form one great anthem filling eternity with music. III. TRUE RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE IS TO BE THUS TRANSMITTED IN ORDER TO ELEVATE POSTERITY. 1. The grand result aimed at is threefold —(1) Rightness of intellect. "Not forget the works of God." A constant recognition of Divine agency.(2) Rightness of heart. "That they might set their hope in God," and "set their heart aright"; the heart fixed on God as the supreme Good.(3) Rightness of conduct. "Keep His commandments." To bring immortal man to this sublime rightness — this rightness in thought, feeling, and action, is the grand and ultimate end of all this teaching. Glorious end! 2. It is coming slowly but surely. Humanity is rising, and every true thought arid virtuous act helps it on. ( Homilist. ) For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel... that they should make them known to their children. Psalm 78:5-8 The parents' prerogative: how is it used D. Davies. ? — Dr. Adam Clarke reminds us that there are no less than five generations specified in these verses. God has blessed no age for its own sake only. There is a chain of Divine purposes in the history of God's dealings with men, one link of which joins another in continuous progression until all, in their united and related capacity, present one completed purpose which is all-embracing and Godlike. This truth was repeatedly emphasized in the earliest days of God's special dealings with the Jewish people. Moreover, the duty of handing down to succeeding generations the truth which they had received was specially enforced in the case of parents, the natural guardians of the rising race, and, therefore, according to the law of Moses, the first special custodians of Divine truth. It is important to notice how tenaciously the Jewish people clung to the title "the Children of Israel," and how frequently in later days, when the title "Children of Israel" had fallen into comparative disuse, they nevertheless clung to the memory of their "fathers," especially the three great primitive fathers of the race — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All this shows what a large place the family and its associations and relationships occupied in the life of the nation. There can be no doubt that it is God's will that the parent should be the first teacher and guide of the family, and if this is neglected by the parent no one else can fully compensate for that neglect. Hence the repeated emphasis placed in the Old Testament on the duties of parents. I say "parents" because the law demanded filial honour alike to "father and mother." Now, in the household of the Jew there were certain religious duties to be performed by the mother. For instance, the lighting of the Sabbath lamp, as also the preparation of the Sabbath meal, and the fastening of the scroll of parchment upon the door-post, was done, not by the father, but the mother. Thus Jewish children from their earliest age learnt to associate certain religious acts commemorative of great facts in the history of God's dealings with the nation with some of the mother's duties. The child would ask, "Mother, what are you doing?" She would reply, "Kindling the Sabbath lamp," or "Preparing the Sabbath meal," or "Fastening the parchment upon the door-post so that all may know we love and serve the Lord God of Israel." She would also tell the child the spiritual significance of all these customs. Thus the mother was a mighty power in Israel in forming the character, and determining the destiny, of the rising race. Moreover, the mother was the privileged teacher of the child during the earliest and most impressionable period of his life, and, oh, how wonderfully the Jewish mother availed herself of this opportunity! We find a striking instance of the mother's influence, even in a home, far away from any synagogue, where, moreover, the father was a heathen man, in Paul's allusion to Timothy, who from a child had known the Holy Scriptures. Now, parents, will you relinquish that vantage ground upon which God has placed you? Will you give it up instead of availing yourself of your prerogative to the fully Are you willing to send your children forth to the world without the advantage of your unique influence? Is it your will that, though you have the power placed in your hands so to influence your children that they shall find it exceptionally difficult to forget you and your teaching, they shall yet go forth into this fashionable, giddy, sinful world without the advantage of any such training as God calls upon you to give them, and all this because you idly trust that somehow or other some self-denying teacher may compensate for your neglect? Oh, parents, to have a conscience void of offence, and our hands clean so that not a spot of their blood shall remain upon us! ( D. Davies. ) Bible education, and its safest guarantee C. Hebert, M. A. I. THE REAL GROUND OF THE DUTY OF TRANSMITTING KNOWLEDGE FROM MAN TO MAN. It is not a work of choice, to be done or not done, to be done partially or done heartily and entirely, at our option and after our judgment; but a positive duty laid down and imposed upon us by the express command of the Most High. II. WHAT KIND OF KNOWLEDGE GOD HAS COMMANDED TO BE IMPARTED. 1. God has specially honoured and particularly prescribed religious knowledge. Indeed, what can be more inconsistent or unwise, than to educate man for time, add to leave his soul unfitted, unstored, untaught for the measureless eternity through which it will endure? 2. God has not excluded other instruction. III. THE TIME WHICH GOD PARTICULARLY SPECIFIES FOR IMPARTING INSTRUCTION ( Deuteronomy 11:18, 19 ; Isaiah 28:9 , etc. ). ( C. Hebert, M. A. ) Children to be instructed in the Scriptures D. Bees. I. THE PECULIAR BENEFIT WHICH THE LORD CONFERRED UPON ISRAEL. "He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel." The law and the testimony may now be said to belong to us, and to belong to us in a far more eminent sense than they ever did to Israel. The canon of Scripture is now completed. We have not only Moses and the prophets, but also the evangelists and the apostles. We are favoured with all the revelations which in different ages of the world it has pleased God to communicate to His Church, and particularly with the glorious gospel of His grace. II. THE IMPORTANT DUTY WHICH GOD REQUIRED ISRAEL TO DISCHARGE IN VIRTUE OF THE BENEFIT CONFERRED UPON THEM. Having established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, "He commanded the fathers," etc. In proportion as the glory of the Gospel excels that of the law, are our obligations to see that the minds of our children are well imbued with its truths. And is not a knowledge of those truths absolutely necessary to their well-being and happiness? Can they be saved without it? Must they not perish without it? What is the body to the soul? Or what are the concerns of time compared with those of eternity? Let us weigh them in the balances of the sanctuary, end we shall find them to be lighter than vanity. Shall these, then, engross our cares in reference to our children, while we overlook their best and highest interests? ( D. Bees. ) That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments. Psalm 78:7, 8 On the deceitfulness of the heart J. Jamieson, M. A. I. SHOW WHAT IS IMPLIED IN A DILIGENT OBSERVATION OF PROVIDENTIAL DISPENSATIONS. 1. A close investigation of the various steps of Providence towards us. 2. Attention to the temper of our hearts, to the dictates of conscience, and to the motions of the Holy Spirit, which concur with these dispensations. 3. An accurate trial of the meaning of all dispensations by the infallible standard of revelation. 4. An earnest desire of perceiving God's design as of a loving nature. 5. A faithful recording of these dispensations. II. ILLUSTRATE SOME OF THE DECEITS PRACTISED BY THE HEART, IN ORDER TO PREVENT A DILIGENT OBSERVATION OF PROVIDENTIAL DISPENSATIONS. 1. It entices us to indifference about practical religion. 2. It represents them as uncertain. 3. It represents many events as trifling and unworthy of attention. 4. It opposes this exercise, as if it unavoidably tended to enthusiasm. 5. It is represented as a great bondage to ourselves. 6. The heart may perhaps plead that this course is neglected by many who are as good Christians as we. III. ADVERT TO THE DESIGNS OF THE DECEITFUL HEART IN DISSUADING US FROM OBSERVING DIVINE DISPENSATIONS. 1. It wishes to deprive God of the glory resulting from this exercise. 2. By this inexcusable negligence the delusive heart designs to deprive believers of much real comfort. There are two channels in which the Lord communicates consolation to His people. These are His Word and Providence. But we lose much of our comfort if we keep these separate. (1) Diligent observation would eminently open up the mystery of Providence. (2) It tends to increase a holy fear of God. (3) It is an illustrious means of discovering Divine love. (4) It tends greatly to strengthen faith. (5) It is a great inducement to live closely with God. (6) This practice must throw great light on the evil of sin, by discovering providential frowns and chastisements for those parts of our conduct that might otherwise appear trivial. IV. SUGGEST SOME MOTIVES FOR ENCOURAGING CHRISTIANS TO THIS EXERCISE. 1. The command of God ( Deuteronomy 4:9 ). 2. God has pledged His faithfulness for the success of this work. 3. The example of the saints. 4. The consideration of God's constant and tender remembrance of you may encourage you to this exercise. 5. The recollection of former mercies will afford you an argument with God for renewed instances of His love. V. CONCLUDING CAUTIONS. 1. Beware of making Providence the rule of your conduct. This would be to put it in the place of the world, which is not merely the principal, but the only rule. 2. Judge not of providential dispensations by their outward aspect. 3. In all your observation of Divine providence, still remember that the ways of God are unsearchable. His judgments are a great deep. 4. Beware of forming a rash judgment with respect to God's designs. "He that believeth h shall not make haste." 5. Be especially on your guard against harsh and uncharitable judgment. ( J. Jamieson, M. A. ) Memory, hope and effort A. Maclaren, D. D. My text tells us how past, present and future — memory, hope and effort, — may be ennobled and blessed. In brief, it is by associating them all with God. It is as the field of His working that our past is best remembered. It is on Him that our hopes may most wisely be set. It is keeping His commandments which is the consecration of the present. I. ASSOCIATE GOD WITH MEMORY BY THANKFUL REMEMBRANCE. We can see His presence more clearly when we look back over a long connected stretch of days, and when the excitement of feeling the agony or rapture have passed, than we could whilst they were hot, and life was all hurry and bustle. II. LIVE IN THE FUTURE BY HOPE IN HIM. Hope owes to Memory the pigments with which it paints, the canvas on which it paints, and the objects which it portrays there. But in all our earthly hopes there is a feeling of uncertainty which brings alarm as well as expectation. And he whose forward vision runs only along the low levels of earth, and is fed only by experience and remembrance, will never be able to say, "I hope with certitude and I know that my hope shall be fulfilled." But they whose hopes are set on God have a certain hope, a sufficient one, and one that fills all the future. III. LIVE IN THE PRESENT BY STRENUOUS OBEDIENCE. After all, memory and hope are meant to fit us for work in the flying moment. Both should impel us to this keeping of the commandments of God; for both yield motives which should incline us thereto. A past full of blessing demands the sacrifice of loving hearts and of earnest hands. A future so fair, so far, so certain, so sovereign; and a hope that grasps it, and brings some of its sweet fragrance into the else scentless air of the poor present, ought to impel to service, vigorous and continual. Both should yield motives; both should impel to such service. ( A. Maclaren, D. D. ) The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. Psalm 78:9-17 God in human history Homilist. I. A PEOPLE IS A COMMUNITY THAT ARE MOST FAVOURED WITH PRIVILEGES ARE OFTENTIMES THE MOST SINFUL. Ephraim was not only one of the largest, but one of the most favoured of the Jewish tribes. He descended from Joseph, the highly favoured of God. He received the benediction from the lips of Jacob; and yet this tribe was so prominent in the rebellion that it stands as the representative of the ten rebellious tribes. Two of its sins are referred to here. 1. Cowardice in battle (ver. 9). They had weapons for battle, but they had not the patriotic bravery to use them. 2. Disobedience to God (ver. 10). II. GOD WORKS SPECIALLY IN HUMAN HISTORY FOR MAN'S ADVANTAGE (vers. 11, 12). III. HIS SPECIAL WORKINGS ON BEHALF OF MAN, WHILST THEY SHOULD DETER FROM SIN, FREQUENTLY FAIL OF THIS PURPOSE (ver. 17). "When God," says an old author on this verse, "began thus to bless them, they began to affront Him." As sin sometimes takes occasion by the commandment, so at other times it takes occasion by the deliverance, to become more exceedingly sinful. ( Homilist. ) Cowards in battle R. S. McArthur, D. D. I. THE HISTORICAL ADVANTAGES OF THESE MEN. "Children of Ephraim." 1. This gave them the advantage of having had brave ancestors. Joshua and Samuel were Ephraimites — noble sires; this a great honour; a correspondingly great responsibility. Blood is much; grace is more. 2. This gave them the advantages of a central location. After settlement in Canaan, Ephraim, numerous and powerful, occupied the central portion of the land. In its territory were Shiloh, with the tabernacle and ark; Shechem, with its holy and tender associations. 3. This gave them prominence and power. But they were false to their great mission. They were leaders, and leaders in evil. "Being armed and carrying bows." II. THE MILITARY CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. 1. They were defensively armed. So is the Christian. 2. They were offensively equipped. 3. They were skilful in the use of their weapons. We must know how to use this one offensive weapon. III. THE COWARDLY CONDUCT OF THESE MEN. They "turned back in the day of battle." 1. They turned back. Weapons worthless if courage be wanting; courage is wanting if God be absent. 2. They did this in the day of battle. They betrayed their trust. 3. They brought disastrous consequences upon themselves. Merited doom. Sanctuary transferred. God's rejection secured. We need bravery. Dare to be like Joseph, Moses, Daniel, Paul, Luther, Bunyan. Alas I that in these evil days — days of spiritual declension — there is so little genuine heroism in the Church. ( R. S. McArthur, D. D. ) Turning back in the day of battle I. WHAT THESE MEN DID. They turned their backs when the time for fighting came, and fled. This, I am sorry to say, is not an unusual thing among professing Christians. Some do this at the first appearance of difficulty. Timorous and Mistrust come running down tim hill crying, "The lions! the lions!" and thus may a pilgrim turn back towards the City of Destruction. Others are somewhat braver. During the first thrust they stand like martyrs and behave like heroes, but very soon, when the armour gets a little battered, and the fine plume on their helmet a little stained, they turn back in the day of battle. Some professors bear the fight a little longer. They are not to be laughed out Of their religion; they can stand the jeers of their old companions. "Cowards," say they, "are those who flee; but we shall never do this." But by and by the skirmishers have done their work, and it comes to a hand-to-hand fight; the struggle begins to be somewhat more arduous, and now shall we see what metal they are made of. We have seen grey-headed apostates as well as juvenile ones. II. WHEN THEY DID IT. "In the day of battle." 1. At the only time when they were of any sort of use. If the Christian soldier never fights, of what good is he at all? Take off his colours, play "The Rogues' March," and turn him out of the barracks! And this is what will come to some professors who turn back in the day of battle! Their regimentals will be torn off, and they will be excluded from the Church of God because they turned back in the day of trial and at the time when they were needed. 2. They turned their backs, too, like fools, in the day when victory was to be won. The soldier wants to distinguish himself; he wants to rise out of the ranks; he wants to be promoted. He hardly expects an opportunity of doing this in time of peace; but the officer rises when in time of war he leads a successful charge. And so it is with the Christian soldier. I make no advance while I am not fighting. I cannot win if I am not warring. 3. They turned back, when turning back involved the most disastrous defeat. The ark of God was taken. "Ichabod," the enemy cried, for the glory was departed from Israel, because the children of Ephraim turned back in the day of battle. And so, dear friends, unless God gives you preserving grace to stand fast to the end, do you not see that you are turning back to — what? To perdition. III. WHO THEY WERE THAT TURNED BACK. 1. Men of a noble parentage. "Children of Ephraim." 2. They were armed, and had proper weapons, weapons which they knew how to use, and good weapons for that period of warfare. And as Christians, what weapons have we? Here is this "Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Here is a quiver, filled with innumerable arrows, and God has put into our hands the bow of prayer, by which we may shoot them, drawing that bow by the arm of faith. 3. Another translation seems to show that these Ephraimites were very skilful in the use of the bow, and yet they turned back. Oh! may God grant that none of us who have preached to others, and preached to others with fluency and zeal, may ever have our own weapons turned against US. IV. WHY DID THEY DO IT? 1. "They kept not the covenant." Oh! that great covenant, "ordered in all things and sure," when you can fall back upon that, how it strengthens you! 2. "They refused to walk in His law." When we get a proud heart we very soon get beaten, for with the face of a lion, but the heart of a deer, such an one is afraid of the world. If I am willing to do what God tells me, as He tells me, when He tells me, and because He tells me, I shall not turn back in the day of battle. 3. They also seemed to have turned back because they had bad memories. "They forgot His works, and the wonders that He had showed them." Some of you have had very wonderful manifestations of the Lord's kindness, and if you forget all these I should not wonder if you should prove to be a mere professor and turn back. V. WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THEM TURNING BACK? 1. Their father mourned over them ( 1 Chronicles 7:22 ). What a lamentation it brings into the Christian Church when a professor falls! 2. Owing to their turning back, the enemy remained. It is our turning back in the day of battle that leaves Canaan unconquered for our Lord. 3. But, worse than this, the ark itself was actually taken. Those of you who are armed and carry bows, men of learning, men who understand the Scriptures, I do pray you, do not turn back just now, for just now seems to be a time when the ark of God will be taken. It can never really be so, but still we must mind that it be not the tendency of our actions. We must all of us hold fast the truth now. If there is a man who has got a truth, let him draw his bow and shoot his arrows now, and not turn back in the day of battle. Now for your arrows! Now for your arrows! The more our foes shall conspire against Christ, the more do you make war against them. Give them double for their double; reward them as they reward you. Spare no arrows against Babylon. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Turning back in battle J. N. Norton. True religion brings with it a courageous heart, and Dr. South has well and quaintly said, that "since Christ has made a Christian course a warfare, of all men living a coward is the most unfit to make a Christian." And yet it is mournful to think that, of the great army of Christians who enrol themselves under the banner of the Cross, in Baptism and Confirmation, and who wear the uniform and carry the sword of Christian soldiers, so many resemble the ill-starred men of Ephraim, who, "being armed, and carrying bows, turned themselves back in the day of battle!" Courage can only be kept alive by zealous action. We can readily imagine a gallant regiment riding into the very valley of death at a dashing gallop, but it would be simply absurd to picture them crawling at a snail's pace towards the expectant foe, coolly calculating the chances of disastrous defeat. As Christians, we profess to be engaged in a warfare against something, even the enemies of our salvation, the world, the flesh, and the devil — three most formidable and deadly foes. The office for the Lord's Supper opens also with a prayer "for the whole state of Christ's Church militant" — the Church which is engaged in open and determined war. We can all well afford to do good service for Christ and His kingdom, since the end draweth near. Here is the battlefield, and the land of the sword and the spear. There, already is sight to the eye of faith, in the triumphal procession of the conquerors, and the land of the wreath and the crown. ( J. N. Norton. ) Our proneness to forget past mercies A. Maclaren, D. D. We can see His presence more clearly when we look back over a long connected stretch of days, and when the excitement of feeling the agony or rapture have passed, than we could whilst th

Benson Commentary Psalm 78:1 Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. Psalm 78:1-2 . Give ear, O my people — In these words “the psalmist opens his commission, and speaks as one having authority from above to instruct the world. He demands a large and attentive audience, while, by a series of examples, he sets forth the goodness of God, and the ingratitude of man, for the admonition of succeeding ages to the end of time.” To my law — The doctrine which I am about to deliver to you, concerning your duty, and the danger of neglecting it. I will open my mouth in a parable — I will speak to you with all freedom and plainness, uttering divers grave and weighty sentences, (such being often termed parables in Scripture,) or things of great moment for your instruction and advantage. I will utter dark sayings — So he calls the following passages, not because the words or sentences are in themselves hard to be understood, for they are generally historical and easy, but because the things contained in them, concerning God’s transcendent goodness to an unworthy people, and their unparalleled ingratitude for, and abuse of, such eminent favours, and their stupid ignorance and insensibleness under such excellent and constant teachings of God’s word and works, are indeed prodigious and hard to be believed. Of old — Of things done in ancient times, and in a great measure worn out of men’s minds. Psalm 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Psalm 78:3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. Psalm 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. Psalm 78:4-5 . Showing the praises of the Lord — His glorious and praiseworthy actions, as the following words explain it. For he established a testimony in Jacob — That is, his law, as it is called in the next clause; which is very often termed a testimony, because it is a witness between God and men, declaring both the duties which God expects from man, and the promises and blessings which man, in the performance of his duty, may expect from God. This is justly put in the first place as the chief of all the following mercies, and the foundation of their temporal and spiritual prosperity. Which he commanded, &c. — Which testimony, or law, God revealed to them, not for their own private use merely or chiefly, but for the benefit of all their posterity, to whom their parents were obliged to teach it, and who were required to hear, read, and study it. Psalm 78:5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: Psalm 78:6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: Psalm 78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: Psalm 78:7-8 . That they might set their hope in God — That by the consideration of God’s gracious promises, and his wonderful works wrought for his people, they might be encouraged to adhere to him, and trust in him alone. And might not be as their fathers — Who, though they were the seed of Abraham, the father of the faithful, taken into covenant with God, and, it appears, the only professing people he had then in the world, yet were stubborn and rebellious, walking contrary to God, and in direct opposition to his will. A generation that set not their heart aright — Who, when they outwardly and seemingly complied with the forms of worship which God had prescribed, yet did not direct or prepare their hearts to the obedience and service of God; and whose spirit was not steadfast with God — Who quickly discovered their hypocrisy by their apostacy from God, and from the religion which they professed, falling off from him even to the worship of idols, presently after they came out of Egypt. Psalm 78:8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God. Psalm 78:9 The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. Psalm 78:9 . The children of Ephraim, being armed, turned back in the day of battle — “This defeat of the Ephraimites,” says Dr. Hammond, from Kimchi, “was in the desert: and although the story be not mentioned in the books of Moses, yet it is written in the Chronicles, (see 1 Chronicles 7:21-22 ,) where, from the circumstances of Ephraim’s mourning, it appears it happened before the Israelites entered into Canaan; and the manner of the relation shows it was a considerable slaughter.” Bishop Patrick, however, supposes it refers to the Ephraimites refusing, with the other tribes, (which they probably discouraged,) to go up and engage the Canaanites, when commanded of God, as is recorded Deuteronomy 1:26 . But the most probable opinion seems to be, that it refers to that shameful defeat which the Philistines gave the Israelites in Eli’s time, when they took the ark, as is related 1 Samuel 4:10-11 . Shiloh, which was then made desolate, was in the tribe of Ephraim, and perhaps the Ephraimites on that occasion led on the battle, but, by giving away afterward, caused a general defeat. “That Ephraim is here put for all Israel,” says Poole, “seems evident from the following verses, wherein the sins upon which this overthrow is charged are manifestly the sins of all the children of Israel, and they who are here called Ephraim are called Jacob and Israel, Psalm 78:21 . And the psalmist, having related this amazing providence and judgment of God upon his own people, falls into a large discourse on the causes of it, to wit, the great, and manifold, and continual sins of that and the former generations; which having prosecuted from hence to Psalm 78:60 , he there returns to this history, and relates the sad consequences of that disaster, namely, the captivity of the ark, and God’s forsaking of Shiloh and Ephraim, and removing thence to the tribe of Judah and mount Zion.” Well might that event be fresh in men’s minds in David’s time, which was only about forty years after it; for the ark, which, in that memorable battle, was seized by the Philistines, though it was quickly brought out of captivity, was never brought out of obscurity, till David fetched it from Kirjath-jearim. Psalm 78:10 They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; Psalm 78:10-11 . They kept not the covenant of God — Their cowardice was the effect of their unbelief and disobedience; and refused to walk in his law — Their disobedience was accompanied with obstinacy and contempt of God’s laws. And forgat his works — Not historically, but practically. They did not so remember them as to love, and serve, and trust in that God, of whose infinite power and goodness they had had such ample experience. Psalm 78:11 And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them. Psalm 78:12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. Psalm 78:12-15 . Marvellous things did he in the field — That is, in the territory or jurisdiction, not excluding the city itself; of Zoan — An ancient and eminent city of Egypt. In the day-time he led them with a cloud — Which afforded them much comfort, both as a shadow from the scorching heat of the climate and season, and as a companion and director in their journey. He clave the rocks — He uses the plural number, because it was twice done, once in Rephidim, Exodus 17:6 , and again in Kadesh, Numbers 20:1 ; Numbers 20:11 . And gave them drink as out of the great depths — In great abundance. Psalm 78:13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap. Psalm 78:14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. Psalm 78:15 He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. Psalm 78:16 He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. Psalm 78:17 And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness. Psalm 78:17-20 . And they sinned yet more — Hebrew, ??????? ??? ??????? , They added yet to sin against him. All these miraculous works did not alter their depraved nature; but it broke out into new and greater provocations; in the wilderness — In that very place where they were under such strong and singular obligations to obedience, both for the great things which God had then and there done for them, and from their dependance upon his favour and help for their safety and subsistence; where, indeed, without his singular providence, they had all perished. This was certainly a great aggravation of their sin and folly. And they tempted God — Desired a new trial and proof of his power, as the next verse shows. See Numbers 11:4 . By asking meat for their lust — Not for their necessary subsistence, for which they had in manna, but out of an inordinate and luxurious appetite. Yea, they spake against God, &c. — At last they openly declared and manifested that distrust of his power which was in their hearts, saying, Can God furnish a table? — Is he able to provide, not only bare support and sustenance, but variety of nourishing and pleasant food, here in this barren wilderness? Behold, he smote the rock, &c. — It is true he hath brought water out of a rock for us in abundance; but can he give bread also? — Not such light food as this manna is, but more substantial bread, here where no corn grows? Can he provide flesh for his people? — Can he make an ample provision for all this multitude of such flesh as this place does not afford? They should have said, Lord, if thou wilt thou canst. For is any thing too hard for Omnipotence? When once the ordinary powers of nature are exceeded, and God has made bare his arm, and put forth his almighty power, we must conclude nothing is impossible with him. Psalm 78:18 And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. Psalm 78:19 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Psalm 78:20 Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people? Psalm 78:21 Therefore the LORD heard this , and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; Psalm 78:21-22 . The Lord heard, and was wroth — Such rude and insolent language highly incensed the Divine Majesty. So a fire was kindled against Jacob — He sent lightning from heaven to consume those whom he had before cherished, Numbers 11:1 . Or, the expression may be taken figuratively for the fire of God’s anger, as it follows. Observe, reader, God is a witness to all our murmurings and distrusts: he hears them, and is much displeased with them. To unbelievers our God is himself a consuming fire, and those that will not confide in the power of his mercy shall feel the power of his indignation, and be made to confess that it is a fearful thing to fall into his hands. Because they believed not in God — Because, by this their distrust and murmuring, it appeared that they did not give credit to the revelation God had made of himself to them: for they durst not commit themselves to his care, nor venture themselves in his hands; and trusted not in his salvation — That he could and would save them from the famine and destruction which they feared; they trusted not in the salvation he had begun to work for them; for, if they had, they would not thus have questioned its progress. Mark well, reader, those cannot be said to trust in God’s salvation as their felicity at last, who cannot find in their hearts to trust in his providence for food convenient in the way to it. Psalm 78:22 Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation: Psalm 78:23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, Psalm 78:23-24 . Though he commanded the clouds, &c. — It was a great aggravation of their unbelief and distrust, that they had had great experience of his power and goodness to them. For he had given them undeniable proofs of both, and those not only from earth beneath, but from the heaven above, having commanded the clouds, as one that had given being to, and created them, to serve him and his people, and supply their wants. Ordinarily by their showers they contribute to the earth’s producing corn; but now, when God so commanded them, they showered down corn themselves, which is therefore called here the corn of heaven. And opened the doors of heaven — In these words he compares heaven to a granary, or store-house, whereof God keeps the key, and either shuts or opens the doors of it, either gives or withholds provisions, as he sees fit. Psalm 78:24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. Psalm 78:25 Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full. Psalm 78:25 . Man did eat angels’ food — Such as was given by the ministry of angels, and, as the Chaldee reads it, descended from the dwelling of angels. Or, it may be so called because of its excellence, such food as might suit angels, if they needed or could eat food, and such as had some resemblance or relation to the nature of angels, in regard of its heavenly original, its pure and refined substance, its vigour and efficacy in preserving and nourishing those who used it according to God’s appointment. The Hebrew, ??? ?????? , lechem abirim, is literally, the bread of the mighty. So the margin reads it, Every one, even the least child in Israel, did eat the bread of the mighty. The common Israelites fed upon as palatable, wholesome, delicious, nourishing, strengthening, and invigorating food, as the greatest nobles and princes used to do. He sent them meat to the full — Which may refer either, 1st, To the flesh mentioned in the following verses, which God gave them even to satiety or glutting, as he threatened he would do, Numbers 11:18-20 . Or rather, 2d, To the manna, of which he is here speaking, which he gave them in such plenty, that their desire of other food could not proceed from their necessity, but merely from wantonness and lust. We must not neglect to observe here, that this manna, which was given to Israel by a miracle from heaven, was typical of that spiritual or living bread, or bread of life, that doctrine and merits of Christ, which, in due time, was to “come down from heaven to give life unto the world:” see John 6:31-58 . Hence it is termed by St. Paul spiritual meat, as the water out of the rock, emblematical of the Holy Spirit, is termed spiritual drink. Reader, see that thou apply for and partake of both, for both are necessary to thy salvation; and thus thou wilt be brought to feed on angels’ food, literally and indeed, and shalt be made a happy partaker of everlasting felicity. Psalm 78:26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind. Psalm 78:26-29 . He caused an east wind to blow, &c. — First an eastern, and afterward a southern wind. He rained flesh, &c., and feathered fowls like as the sand — Hebrew, ?? Š ?? Š, gnoph chanap, fowl of wing, or winged fowl; but God took away from them the use of their wings, and made them fall into the hands of the Israelites. And let it fall in the midst of their camp — Hebrew, ????? , machanehu, his camp; that is, either Israel’s camp, or God’s camp; for, seeing Israel was God’s people, and he dwelt among them, their camp was his camp. He gave them their own desire — What they desired, both for quality and quantity. Psalm 78:27 He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: Psalm 78:28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations. Psalm 78:29 So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire; Psalm 78:30 They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, Psalm 78:30-31 . They were not estranged from their lust, &c. — Green translates the verse, But before they were averse to what they had desired, and while their meat was still in their mouths, the wrath of God, &c. The sense is, either, 1st, While their greedy appetite yet continued, and was not fully satisfied; before they began to loathe the meat, as they did afterward, Numbers 11:20 . Or, 2d, Before they were deprived of their desired food; while they enjoyed it, and were still feeding upon it, as the next clause explains this, the wrath of God came upon them — His patience did not wait till that food was spent, but he instantly let loose his wrath to punish them; and slew the fattest of them — The Hebrew word is rendered by Green, the wealthiest of them. Or, it may mean, the most healthy and strong, who probably were most desirous of this food, fed most eagerly upon it, and least suspected their own danger. And smote down — By a very great pestilence, the chosen men of Israel — The strongest and goodliest persons that were in Israel. Psalm 78:31 The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. Psalm 78:32 For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. Psalm 78:33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble. Psalm 78:33 . Their days did he consume in vanity — In tedious and fruitless marches hither and thither, sometimes forward and sometimes backward, which they knew would never bring them, in their own persons, to their promised and much desired land; and their years in trouble — In manifold diseases, dangers, and perplexities. In such vanity and trouble were they condemned, by an irreversible doom, for their unbelief, distrust of God, their murmurings and rebellions against him, their idolatries and other sins, to wear out thirty-eight tedious years in that wilderness, which indeed were consumed in it: for in all those years there was not one step taken nearer Canaan, nor one stroke struck toward the conquest of it. Observe, reader, those that sin still must expect to be in trouble still; and the reason why we spend our days in so much vanity and trouble, why we live with so little comfort, and to so little purpose, is because we live in sin, or do not live by faith. Psalm 78:34 When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early after God. Psalm 78:34-35 . When he slew them — Or condemned them to be slain; then they sought him — Confessed their sin, begged pardon, and prayed to him to deliver them from the threatened destruction. When some were slain, others, in a fright, cried for mercy, and promised to be obedient in future: And they returned — Namely, from their idols, unto the outward worship of God: or, being moved with fear, they ceased, for the present, from their grossly wicked courses, but stopped short of true repentance, and a thorough conversion to God. And inquired early after God — Speedily and earnestly sought to him for deliverance from their temporal calamities and troubles, and for safety and comfort, as even wicked men, in such cases, frequently do. And they remembered that God was their rock — Their support and defence, and therefore, as they now found they needed him, they would flee for help to him; and the high God their Redeemer — Who had brought them out of Egypt, and wrought out many deliverances for them, and to whom therefore they might still apply for aid in their distresses. They considered that he, and he alone, had preserved them in all their former exigences, and that he only could now help them, and not those idols, nor the creatures which they had preferred before him: and therefore, being driven by absolute necessity, they fled to him for relief. Psalm 78:35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Psalm 78:36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. Psalm 78:36-37 . Nevertheless, they did flatter him with their mouth — As if they thought, by mere fair speeches, to prevail on Him who searches the heart, and requires truth in the inward parts, to revoke the sentence gone out against them, or remove the judgment under which they suffered. And they lied unto him with their tongue — They made glorious but false professions and protestations of their sincere resolutions of future obedience. For their heart was not right with him — All their confessions and petitions were but hypocritical and forced, and did not proceed from hearts truly upright and grieved for their former offences, and firmly resolved to turn unto the Lord. Neither were they steadfast in his covenant — They discovered their hypocrisy, by their apostacy from God, as soon as their danger was past. Psalm 78:37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant. Psalm 78:38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. Psalm 78:38 . But he, being full of compassion — Of pity for them amidst their sins and miseries; forgave their iniquity — Not simply and absolutely, for in that sense it is undeniably certain from the Holy Scriptures, God pardons none but true penitents, such as these were not; but respectively, and so far as not to destroy them at that time, (which he had threatened to do,) as the next words limit and explain the expression. He remitted their punishment, for iniquity is often put for the punishment of iniquity. Hebrew, ???? ??? , jechapper gnavon, he expiated their iniquity. He accepted their atonement, or their professed repentance, so far as to compensate it with a removal of this outward and present affliction, as he did also to wicked Ahab upon his humiliation. And this God does for the encouragement of true penitents, who may hence learn how much greater and better recompenses they may expect and shall receive from God. And did not stir up all his wrath — But set bounds to it; and though he chastened them, yet he would not utterly destroy them, as they deserved. Psalm 78:39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again. Psalm 78:39 . For he remembered they were but flesh — He considered the corruption of their nature, which inclined them to evil, and was pleased to make that a reason for his sparing them. See the same argument used to a like purpose, Genesis 8:21 . Or, rather, flesh here signifies the frailty and infirmity of their nature, as the next clause seems to interpret this. He considered how weak, and frail, and short-lived they were, and that they could not continue long, but would die of themselves, and moulder into dust; and that if he did not restrain his wrath, but proceeded to destroy any considerable number of them, the whole nation must soon become extinct, and the promises to Abraham and the other patriarchs fail of accomplishment. A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again — That are quickly cut off, and when once they are dead never return to this life. Psalm 78:40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Psalm 78:41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. Psalm 78:41-42 . And limited the Holy One of Israel — Prescribing to him what proofs he should give of his power and presence with them, and what methods he should take in leading them and providing for them; directing him what to do, and when, and in what manner, to do it, and murmuring if he did not always grant their particular and various desires. They remembered not his hand — How strong it is, and how it had been stretched out for them; or the great and glorious works of his hand on their behalf. Nor the day — That remarkable and never to be forgotten day, that self-same day, as it is called, Exodus 12:41 , which God had fixed four hundred years before, Genesis 15:13 ; when he delivered them from the enemy — Namely, from their greatest enemy, the tyrant Pharaoh, that zealously and unweariedly sought their ruin. There are some days, made remarkable by signal deliverances, which ought never to be forgotten; for the remembrance of them is calculated to encourage us in our greatest straits. Psalm 78:42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. Psalm 78:43 How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan: Psalm 78:43-48 . How he had wrought his signs in Egypt — Here the Psalm goes back to the subject of Israelitish ingratitude, (mentioned Psalm 78:11-12 ,) in order to introduce an account of the miracles wrought in Egypt previous to Israel’s deliverance from thence. “These miracles,” says Dr. Horne, “were intended to evince the superiority of Jehovah over the elements and powers of nature, which at that time were objects of worship among the Egyptians, but plainly appeared to act, at the command of Moses, in subordination to their great Creator, the God of the Hebrews. In the heavens, on the earth, and in the waters, supremacy and independence were demonstrated to belong to him only: fire and air, thunder and lightning, wind, rain, and hail obeyed his words; rivers became blood, and their inhabitants perished; insects and animals left their wonted habitations, to destroy vegetables, or torment man: so that wherever the gods of Egypt were supposed to reside, and to exert their influences in favour of their votaries, in all places, and all circumstances, victory declared for Jehovah. Hence modern as well as ancient idolaters may learn not to put their trust in the world, but in him who made, and who can and will destroy it; whose power can render the most insignificant of his creatures instruments of his vengeance, and in a moment arm all the elements against sinners; and whose mercy will employ that power in the final salvation of the church; when, as the author of the book of Wisdom expresseth it, ‘He shall make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies, and the world shall fight for him against the unwise.’“ Had turned the rivers into blood — The several branches and streams of the river Nile, and those many rivulets which they drew from it. He sent divers sorts of flies, which devoured them — Or, destroyed them, which they were able to do by their numerous stings; for these flies were doubtless extraordinary in their nature, and their poisonous and hurtful qualities, as well as in their number: and the same is to be supposed concerning the frogs here mentioned, which also might destroy the people by corrupting their meats and drinks, and by infecting the air with putrefaction. He gave also their labour unto the locusts — That is, the fruit of their labour, the herbs and corn which had sprung up. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-trees — Or, wild fig-trees, which were there in great abundance. Under these and the vines, all other trees are comprehended. And this hail and frost not only destroyed the fruits of the trees, but in many instances the trees themselves. He gave up also their cattle to the hail — Hebrew ????? , vajasgeer, he shut up, as in a prison, that they could not escape it; and their flocks to hot thunderbolts — Hebrew, ??????? , lareshapim, prunis ignitis, to burning coals. He alludes to the fire mingled with hail, Exodus 9:23-24 . Psalm 78:44 And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink. Psalm 78:45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. Psalm 78:46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust. Psalm 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost. Psalm 78:48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. Psalm 78:49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them . Psalm 78:49 . He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger — Anger in the highest degree, wrath and indignation, the cause, and trouble, (tribulation and anguish, Romans 2:8-9 ,) the effect. These he cast upon them from on high, and did not spare. By sending evil angels among them — Hebrew, ?????? , mishlachath, the sending of evil angels, or, of the angels, or messengers, of evil things; namely, as most commentators understand it, the angels whom God employed in producing these plagues. The reader must observe, that “some of the Egyptian plagues having been specified in the foregoing verses, others of them are here thrown together, and the whole scene is affirmed to have been a full display of wrath and vengeance, executed upon the oppressors of the church by evil angels, agents, or messengers; whether, by this expression, we understand the material instruments of divine displeasure, or angels employed as ministers of vengeance, or the actual appearance and ministration of evil spirits, suffered to torment the wicked in this world, as they certainly will do in the next. Tradition seems to have favoured this last opinion, since the author of the book of Wisdom, above referred to, describes the Egyptian darkness as a kind of temporary hell, in which there appeared to the wicked, whose conscience suggested to them every thing that was horrible, ‘a fire kindled of itself, very dreadful; they were seared with beasts that passed by, and hissing of serpents; and they were vexed with monstrous apparitions, so that they fainted, and died for fear; while over them was spread a heavy night, an image of that darkness which should afterward receive them,’” Wisdom 17. Psalm 78:50 He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; Psalm 78:50-51 . He made a way to his anger — By removing every obstacle that mercy had thrown in the path of justice, he made a way for his indignation, which then rushed forth like a fiery stream. Hebrew, ???? ???? ???? , He weighed a path to his anger, that is, he made a most smooth, even, and exact path, as if he had done it by weight and measure, that so his anger might pass swiftly and freely, without interruption. The phrase also may be intended to signify the wisdom and justice of God in weighing out their plagues proportionably to their sins; that is, he did not cast his anger upon them rashly, but by weight: it was weighed with the greatest exactness, in the balances of justice: and though he exercised great severity toward them, it was only such as was answerable to their great and barbarous cruelty toward his people. For in his greatest displeasure he never did, nor ever will do, any wrong to any of his creatures. The path of his anger is always weighed. He spared not their soul from death — But suffered death to ride in triumph among them; and gave their life over to the pestilence — Which cut off the thread of life immediately. And smote all the firstborn in Egypt — “An unlimited commission was given to the destroyer, who, at midnight, passed through the land, and gave the final stroke in every house.” “While all things,” says the author of the book of Wisdom, chap. Psalm 18:14 , “were in quiet silence, and that night was in the midst of her swift course, thine almighty word leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction, and brought thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and, standing up, filled all things with death: and it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth.” Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt; “and universal consternation reigned, inferior only to that which is to extend its empire over the world, when the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised.” — Horne. Psalm 78:51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham: Psalm 78:52 But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. Psalm 78:52-54 . But made his own people go out like sheep — Distinguishing between them and the Egyptians, as a shepherd divideth between the sheep and the goats, having set his own mark upon these sheep, by the blood of the Lamb sprinkled on their door-posts. And they went forth as sheep, not knowing whither they went.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Psalm 78:1 Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. Psalm 78:1-72 THIS psalm is closely related to Psalm 105:1-45 ; Psalm 106:1-48 ; Psalm 107:1-43 . Like them, it treats the history of Israel, and especially the Exodus and wilderness wanderings, for purposes of edification, rebuke, and encouragement. The past is held up as a mirror to the present generation. It has been one long succession of miracles of mercy met by equally continuous ingratitude, which has ever been punished by national calamities. The psalm departs singularly from chronological order. It arranges its contents in two principal masses, each introduced by the same formula ( Psalm 78:12 , Psalm 78:43 ) referring to "wonders in Egypt and the field of Zoan." But the first mass has nothing to do with Egypt, but begins with the passage of the Red Sea, and is wholly occupied with the wilderness. The second group of wonders begins in Psalm 78:44 with the plagues of Egypt, touches lightly on the wilderness history, and then passes to the early history of Israel when settled in the land, and finishes with the establishment of David on the throne. It is difficult to account for this singular bouleversement of the history. But the conjecture may be hazarded that its reason lies in the better illustration of continual interlacing of mercy and unthankfulness afforded by the events in the wilderness, than by the plagues of Egypt. That interlacing is the main point on which the psalmist wishes to lay stress, and therefore he begins with the most striking example of it. The use of the formula in Psalm 78:12 looks as if his original intention had been to follow the order of time. Another peculiarity is the prominence given to Ephraim, both in Psalm 78:9 as a type of faithlessness, and in Psalm 78:67 as rejected in favour of Judah. These references naturally point to the date of the psalm as being subsequent to the separation of the kingdoms; but whether it is meant as rebuke to the northern kingdom, or as warning to Judah from the fate of Ephraim, is not clear. Nor are there materials for closer determination of date. The tone of the closing reference to David implies that his accession belongs to somewhat remote times. There are no regular strophes, but a tendency to run into paragraphs of four verses, with occasional irregularities. Psalm 78:1-4 declare the singer’s didactic purpose. He deeply feels the solidarity of the nation through all generations-how fathers and children are knit by mystic ties, and by possession of an eternal treasure, the mighty deeds of God, of which they are bound to pass on the record from age to age. The history of ancient days is "a parable" and a "riddle" or "dark saying," as containing examples of great principles, and lessons which need reflection to discern and draw out. From that point of view, the psalmist will sum up the past. He is not a chronicler, but a religious teacher. His purpose is edification, rebuke, encouragement, the deepening of godly fear and obedience. In a word, he means to give the spirit of the nation’s history. Psalm 78:5-8 base this purpose on God’s declared will that the knowledge of His deeds for Israel might be handed down from fathers to sons. The obligations of parents for the religious training of their children, the true bond of family unity. the ancient order of things when oral tradition was the principal means of preserving national history, the peculiarity of this nation’s annals, as celebrating no heroes and recording only the deeds of God by men, the contrast between the changing bearers of the story and the undying deeds which they had to tell, are all expressed in these verses, so pathetic in their gaze upon the linked series of short-lived men, so stern in their final declaration that Divine commandment and mercy had been in vain, and that, instead of a tradition of goodness, there had been a transmission of stubbornness and departure from God, repeating itself with tragic uniformity. The devout poet, who knows what God meant family life to be and to do, sadly recognises the grim contrast presented by its reality. But yet he will make one more attempt to break the flow of evil from father to son. Perhaps his contemporaries will listen and shake themselves clear of this entail of disobedience. The reference to Ephraim in Psalm 78:9-11 is not to be taken as alluding to any cowardly retreat from actual battle. Psalm 78:9 seems to be a purely figurative way of expressing what is put without a metaphor in the two following verses. Ephraim’s revolt from God’s covenant was like the conduct of soldiers, well armed and refusing to charge the foe. The better their weapons, the greater the cowardice and ignominy of the recreants. So the faithlessness of Ephraim was made darker in criminality by its knowledge of God and experience of His mercy. These should have knit the tribe to Him. A general truth of wide application is implied-that the measure of capacity is the measure of obligation. Guilt increases with endowment, if the latter is misused. A poor soldier, with no weapon but a sling or a stick, might sooner be excused for flight than a fully armed archer. The mention of Ephraim as prominent in faithlessness may be an allusion to the separation of the kingdoms. That allusion has been denied on the ground that it is the wilderness history which is here before the psalmist’s mind. But the historical retrospect does not begin till Psalm 78:12 , and this introduction may well deal with an event later than those detailed in the following verses. Whether the revolt of the Ten Tribes is here in view or not, the psalmist sees that the wayward and powerful tribe of Ephraim had been a centre of religious disaffection, and there is no reason why his view should not be believed, or should be supposed to be due to mere prejudiced hostility. The historical details begin with Psalm 78:12 , but, as has been noticed above, the psalmist seems to change his intention of first narrating the wonders in Egypt, and passes on to dilate on the wilderness history. "The field of Zoan" is the territory of the famous Egyptian city of Tzan, and seems equivalent to the Land of Goshen. The wonders enumerated are the familiar ones of the passage of the Red Sea, the guidance by the pillar of cloud and fire, and the miraculous supply of water from the rock. In Psalm 78:15-16 , the poet brings together the two instances of such supply, which were separated from each other by the forty years of wandering, the first having occurred at Horeb in the first year, and the second at Kadesh in the last year. The two words "rocks," in Psalm 78:15 , and "cliff," in Psalm 78:16 , are taken from the two narratives of these miracles, in Exodus 17:1-16 and Numbers 20:1-29 . The group of four verses ( Psalm 78:13-16 ) sets forth God’s mighty deeds; the next quartet of verses ( Psalm 78:17-20 ) tells of Israel’s requital. It is significant of the thoughts which filled the singer’s heart, that he begins the latter group with declaring that, notwithstanding such tokens of God’s care, the people "went on to sin yet more," though he hid specified no previous acts of sin. He combines widely separated instances of their murmurings, as he had combined distant instances of God’s miraculous supply of water. The complaints which preceded the fall of the manna and the first supply of quails, { Exodus 16:1-36 } and those which led to the second giving of these { Numbers 11:1-35 } are thrown together, as one in kind. The speech put into the mouths of the murmurers in Psalm 78:19-20 , is a poetic casting into bitter blasphemous words of the half-conscious thoughts of the faithless, sensuous crowd. They are represented as almost upbraiding God with His miracle, as quite unmoved to trust by it, and as thinking that it has exhausted His power. When they were half dead with thirst, they thought much of the water, but now they depreciate that past wonder as a comparatively small thing. So, to the churlish heart, which cherishes eager desires after some unattained earthly good, past blessings diminish as they recede, and leave neither thankfulness nor trust. There is a dash of intense bitterness and ironical making light of their relation to God in their question, "Can He provide flesh for His people?" Much good that name has done us, starving here! The root of all this blasphemous talk was sensuous desire; and because the people yielded to it, they "tempted God" - that is, they "unbelievingly and defiantly demanded, instead of trustfully waiting and praying" (Delitzsch). To ask food for their desires was sin; to ask it for their need would have been faith. In Psalm 78:21 the allusion is to the "fire of the Lord," which, according to Numbers 11:3 , burnt in the camp, just before the second giving of quails. It comes in here out of chronological order, for the sending of manna follows it; but the psalmist’s didactic purpose renders him indifferent to chronology. The manna is called "corn of heaven" and "bread of the Mighty Ones"- i.e ., angels, as the LXX renders the word. Both designations point to its heavenly origin, without its being necessary to suppose that the poet thought of angels as really eating it. The description of the fall of the quails ( Psalm 78:26-29 ) is touched with imaginative beauty. The word rendered above "made to go forth" is originally applied to the breaking up of an encampment, and that rendered "guided" to a shepherd’s leading of his flock. Both words are found in the Pentateuch, the former in reference to the wind that brought the quails, { Numbers 11:31 } the latter in reference to that which brought the plague of locusts. { Exodus 10:13 } So the winds are conceived of as God’s servants, issuing from their tents at His command, and guided by Him as a shepherd leads his sheep. "He let it fall in the midst of their camp" graphically describes the dropping down of the wearied, storm, beaten birds. Psalm 78:30-33 paint the swift punishment of the people’s unbelief, in language almost identical with Numbers 11:33 . The psalmist twice stigmatises their sin as "lust," and uses the word which enters into the tragical name given to the scene of the sin and the punishment- Kibroth-Hat-taavah (the graves of Lust). In Psalm 78:32-33 , the faint-hearted despondency after the return of the spies, and the punishment of it by the sentence of death on all that generation, seem to be alluded to. The next group of four verses describes the people’s superficial and transient repentance, "When He slew them they sought Him"- i.e ., when the fiery serpents were sent among them. But such seeking after God, which is properly not seeking Him at all, but only seeking to escape from evil, neither goes deep nor lasts long. Thus the end of it was only lip reverence proved robe false by life, and soon ended. "Their heart was not steadfast." The pressure being removed, they returned to their habitual position, as all such penitents do. From the midst of this sad narrative of faithlessness, springs up, like a fountain in a weary land, or a flower among half-cooled lava blocks, the lovely description of God’s forbearance in Psalm 78:38-39 . It must not be read as if it merely carried on the narrative, and was in continuation of the preceding clauses. The psalmist does not say "He was full of compassion," though that would be much, in the circumstances; but he is declaring God’s eternal character. His compassions are unfailing. It is always His wont to cover sin and to spare. Therefore He exercised these gracious forbearances towards those obstinate transgressors. He was true to His own compassion in remembering their mortality and feebleness. What a melancholy sound, as of wind blowing among forgotten graves, has that summing up of human life as "a wind that goes and comes not again!" With Psalm 78:40 the second portion of the psalm may be regarded as beginning. The first group, of historical details dealt first with God’s mercies, and passed on to man’s requital. The second starts with man’s ingratitude, which it paints in the darkest colours, as provoking Him, grieving Him, tempting Him, and vexing Him. The psalmist is not afraid to represent God as affected with such emotions by reason of men’s indifference and unbelief. His language is not to be waved aside as anthroposnorphic and antiquated. No doubt, we come nearer to the unattainable truth, when we conceive of God as grieved by men’s sins and delighting in their trust, than when we think of Him as an impassive Infinitude, serenely indifferent to tortured or sinful hearts. For is not His name of names Love? The psalmist traces Israel’s sin to forgetfulness of God’s mercy, and thus glides into a swift summing up of the plagues of Egypt, regarded as conducing to Israel’s deliverance. They are not arranged chronologically, though the list begins with the first. Then follow three of those in which animals were the destroyers: namely, the fourth, that of flies; the second, that of frogs; and the eighth, that of locusts. Then comes the seventh, that of hail; and, according to some commentators, the fifth, that of the murrain, in Psalm 78:49 , followed by the tenth in Psalm 78:51 . But the grand, sombre imagery of Psalm 78:49 is too majestic for such application. It rather sums up the whole series of plagues, likening them to an embassy (lit., a sending) of angels of evil. They are a grim company to come forth from His presence-Wrath, Indignation, and Trouble. The same power which sent them out on their errand prepared a way before them; and the crowning judgment, which, in the psalmist’s view was also the crowning mercy, was the death of the firstborn. The next quartet of verses ( Psalm 78:52-55 ) passes lightly over the wilderness history and the settlement in the land, and hastens on to a renewed narration of repeated rebellion, which occupies the next group ( Psalm 78:56-59 ). These verses cover the period from the entrance on Canaan to the fall of the sanctuary of Shiloh, during which there was a continual tendency to relapse into idolatry. That is the special sin here charged against the Israel of the time of the Judges. The figure of a "deceitful bow," in Psalm 78:57 , well describes the people as failing to fulfil the purpose of their choice by God. As such a weapon does not shoot true, and makes the arrow fly wide, however well aimed and strongly drawn, so Israel foiled all Divine attempts, and failed to carry God’s message to the world, or to fulfil His will in themselves. Hence the next verses tell, with intense energy and pathos, the sad story of Israel’s humiliation under the Philistines. The language is extraordinarily strong in its description of God’s loathing and rejection of the nation and sanctuary and is instinct with sorrow blended with stern recognition of His righteousness in judgment. What a tragic picture the psalmist draws! Shiloh, the dwelling place of God, empty forever more; the "Glory"-that is, the Ark-in the enemy’s hands; everywhere stiffening corpses; a pall of silence over the land; no brides and no joyous bridal chaunts; the very priests massacred, unlamented by their widows, who had wept so many tears already that the fountain of them was dried up, and even sorrowing love was dumb with horror and despair! The two last groups of verses paint God’s great mercy in delivering the nation from such misery. The daring figure of His awakening as from sleep and dashing upon Israel’s foes, who are also His, with a shout like that of a hero stimulated by wine, is more accordant with Eastern fervour than with our colder imagination; but it wonderfully expresses the sudden transition from a period, during which God seemed passive and careless of His people’s wretchedness, to one in which His power flashed forth triumphant for their defence. The prose fact is the long series of victories over the Philistines and other oppressors, which culminated in the restoration of the Ark, the selection of Zion as its abode, which involved the rejection of Shiloh and consequently of Ephraim (in whose territory Shiloh was), and the accession of David. The Davidic kingdom is, in the psalmist’s view, the final form of Israel’s national existence; and the sanctuary, like the kingdom, is perpetual as the lofty heavens or the firm earth. Nor were his visions vain, for that kingdom subsists and will subsist forever, and the true sanctuary, the dwelling place of God among men, is still more closely intertwined with the kingdom and its King than the psalmist knew. The perpetual duration of both is, in truth, the greatest of God’s mercies, outshining all earlier deliverances; and they who truly have become the subjects of the Christ, the King of Israel and of the world, and who dwell with God in His house, by dwelling with Jesus; will not rebel against Him any more, nor ever forget His wonders, but faithfully tell them to the generations to come. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.