ScriptureDepth's study of Psalm 78
“For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children;”
Psalms 78:5
The psalmist speaks to the people of Israel, stating that Yahweh established a testimony in Jacob to be shared with future generations.
What Psalm 78 is about
The psalmist calls the people to listen and remember the teachings of Yahweh (vv. 1-4). He speaks of the testimony given to Jacob and the command to share it with future generations. This knowledge is meant to help them trust in God and remember his deeds. The children of Ephraim turned back in battle and forgot God's covenant (vv. 5-8). The psalmist recounts Israel's rebellion in the wilderness, including how God provided for them yet they sinned against him (vv. 9-16). God became angry because they continually challenged him and doubted his power (vv. 17-32). Despite their rebellion, he still showed mercy and forgave them (vv. 33-39). The psalmist then describes various historical sorrows that resulted from this rebellion (vv. 40-56). Finally, God chose David to lead his people, showing care as their shepherd (vv. 57-72).
The chapter leaves the reader with the command to remember and retell God's works and faithfulness.
Psalm 78 at a glance
- Psalm 78:1–4Call to Listen and Remember
- Psalm 78:5–8Establishing Testimonies
- Psalm 78:9–16Israel's Rebellion in the Wilderness
- Psalm 78:17–32Continued Rebellion and God's Anger
- Psalm 78:33–39God's Merciful Response
- Psalm 78:40–56Historical Woes and Consequences
- Psalm 78:57–72Selection of David
Key verse: Psalms 78:5
One thing to notice
The opening verses contain a call to listen and remember, stated in v. 1 with 'Hear my teaching, my people,' and elaborated in v. 4 with a directive to not hide testimonies, but rather to share the praises of Yahweh and his deeds with future generations.
Summary and study helps: AI-drafted (September 2026), checked by automated Scripture gates. Spotted an error? Report it. Fixes are listed on the corrections page.
Chapter text
Read Psalm 78 (WEB)
Call to Listen and Remember Psalm 78:1–4
1Verse 1. Hear my teaching, my people.Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.2Verse 2. I will open my mouth in a parable.I will utter dark sayings of old,3Verse 3. Which we have heard and known,and our fathers have told us.4Verse 4. We will not hide them from their children,telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh,his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.
Establishing Testimonies Psalm 78:5–8
5Verse 5. For he established a testimony in Jacob,and appointed a teaching in Israel,which he commanded our fathers,that they should make them known to their children;6Verse 6. that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born;who should arise and tell their children,7Verse 7. that they might set their hope in God,and not forget God’s deeds,but keep his commandments,8Verse 8. and might not be as their fathers,a stubborn and rebellious generation,a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal,whose spirit was not steadfast with God.
Israel's Rebellion in the Wilderness Psalm 78:9–16
9Verse 9. The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,turned back in the day of battle.10Verse 10. They didn’t keep God’s covenant,and refused to walk in his law.11Verse 11. They forgot his doings,his wondrous deeds that he had shown them.12Verse 12. He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers,in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.13Verse 13. He split the sea, and caused them to pass through.He made the waters stand as a heap.14Verse 14. In the daytime he also led them with a cloud,and all night with a light of fire.15Verse 15. He split rocks in the wilderness,and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.16Verse 16. He brought streams also out of the rock,and caused waters to run down like rivers.
Continued Rebellion and God's Anger Psalm 78:17–32
17Verse 17. Yet they still went on to sin against him,to rebel against the Most High in the desert.18Verse 18. They tempted God in their heartby asking food according to their desire.19Verse 19. Yes, they spoke against God.They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?20Verse 20. Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out,and streams overflowed.Can he give bread also?Will he provide meat for his people?”21Verse 21. Therefore Yahweh heard, and was angry.A fire was kindled against Jacob,anger also went up against Israel,22Verse 22. because they didn’t believe in God,and didn’t trust in his salvation.23Verse 23. Yet he commanded the skies above,and opened the doors of heaven.24Verse 24. He rained down manna on them to eat,and gave them food from the sky.25Verse 25. Man ate the bread of angels.He sent them food to the full.26Verse 26. He caused the east wind to blow in the sky.By his power he guided the south wind.27Verse 27. He rained also meat on them as the dust;winged birds as the sand of the seas.28Verse 28. He let them fall in the middle of their camp,around their habitations.29Verse 29. So they ate, and were well filled.He gave them their own desire.30Verse 30. They didn’t turn from their cravings.Their food was yet in their mouths,31Verse 31. when the anger of God went up against them,killed some of their fattest,and struck down the young men of Israel.32Verse 32. For all this they still sinned,and didn’t believe in his wondrous works.
God's Merciful Response Psalm 78:33–39
33Verse 33. Therefore he consumed their days in vanity,and their years in terror.34Verse 34. When he killed them, then they inquired after him.They returned and sought God earnestly.35Verse 35. They remembered that God was their rock,the Most High God, their redeemer.36Verse 36. But they flattered him with their mouth,and lied to him with their tongue.37Verse 37. For their heart was not right with him,neither were they faithful in his covenant.38Verse 38. But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them.Yes, many times he turned his anger away,and didn’t stir up all his wrath.39Verse 39. He remembered that they were but flesh,a wind that passes away, and doesn’t come again.
Historical Woes and Consequences Psalm 78:40–56
40Verse 40. How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,and grieved him in the desert!41Verse 41. They turned again and tempted God,and provoked the Holy One of Israel.42Verse 42. They didn’t remember his hand,nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;43Verse 43. how he set his signs in Egypt,his wonders in the field of Zoan,44Verse 44. he turned their rivers into blood,and their streams, so that they could not drink.45Verse 45. He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them;and frogs, which destroyed them.46Verse 46. He gave also their increase to the caterpillar,and their labor to the locust.47Verse 47. He destroyed their vines with hail,their sycamore fig trees with frost.48Verse 48. He gave over their livestock also to the hail,and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.49Verse 49. He threw on them the fierceness of his anger,wrath, indignation, and trouble,and a band of angels of evil.50Verse 50. He made a path for his anger.He didn’t spare their soul from death,but gave their life over to the pestilence,51Verse 51. and struck all the firstborn in Egypt,the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.52Verse 52. But he led out his own people like sheep,and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.53Verse 53. He led them safely, so that they weren’t afraid,but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.54Verse 54. He brought them to the border of his sanctuary,to this mountain, which his right hand had taken.55Verse 55. He also drove out the nations before them,allotted them for an inheritance by line,and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.56Verse 56. Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God,and didn’t keep his testimonies;
Selection of David Psalm 78:57–72
57Verse 57. but turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers.They were twisted like a deceitful bow.58Verse 58. For they provoked him to anger with their high places,and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.59Verse 59. When God heard this, he was angry,and greatly abhorred Israel;60Verse 60. So that he abandoned the tent of Shiloh,the tent which he placed among men;61Verse 61. and delivered his strength into captivity,his glory into the adversary’s hand.62Verse 62. He also gave his people over to the sword,and was angry with his inheritance.63Verse 63. Fire devoured their young men.Their virgins had no wedding song.64Verse 64. Their priests fell by the sword,and their widows couldn’t weep.65Verse 65. Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep,like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.66Verse 66. He struck his adversaries backward.He put them to a perpetual reproach.67Verse 67. Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph,and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim,68Verse 68. But chose the tribe of Judah,Mount Zion which he loved.69Verse 69. He built his sanctuary like the heights,like the earth which he has established forever.70Verse 70. He also chose David his servant,and took him from the sheepfolds;71Verse 71. from following the ewes that have their young,he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob, his people,and Israel, his inheritance.72Verse 72. So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart,and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
World English Bible (public domain)
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Main themes in Psalm 78
God's Faithfulness
In verses 12-16, the psalm recounts God's miraculous deeds in Egypt, including how 'He split the sea' and 'gave them drink abundantly.' These actions demonstrate His commitment to delivering and providing for His people. As the narrative progresses, it contrasts God's faithfulness with Israel's rebellion, showing that despite their unfaithfulness, God’s mercy and provision are unceasing.
Human Unfaithfulness
Human unfaithfulness appears throughout Psalm 78, particularly in verses 17-19, where Israel 'went on to sin against him' and 'tempted God.' These actions demonstrate a pattern of forgetfulness and disobedience that provokes God's anger. The chapter recounts how Israel's repeated rebellion results in severe consequences, as they continually stray from the covenant established with God.
Importance of Remembrance
The call to remembrance appears prominently in verses 4-6, where the psalmist urges sharing God's 'praises' and 'wondrous deeds' with future generations. This emphasis on teaching the 'generation to come' stresses the necessity of passing down the stories of God's faithfulness. Throughout the chapter, forgetting these deeds leads to sin, while remembrance is tied to hope and faithfulness.
Generational Responsibility
Generational responsibility is articulated in verses 5-7, where God commands that testimonies be made known to 'their children.' This directive ensures that each generation understands God's covenant and deeds. The psalm outlines how failing to pass on this knowledge contributes to cycles of rebellion, emphasizing the crucial role parents and leaders play in shaping the faith of future generations.
Chapter outline
How Psalm 78 unfolds
Psalm 78:1–4 Call to Listen and Remember
The speaker calls the people to listen to his teaching and directs their attention to his words (vv. 1-2). He states the intention to pass on knowledge about God's deeds to future generations (vv. 3-4).
Psalm 78:5–8 Establishing Testimonies
God established a testimony in Jacob and a teaching in Israel, commanding the forefathers to pass this knowledge to their children (vv. 5-6). This is to ensure future generations remember to hope in God and keep his commandments (v. 7).
Psalm 78:9–16 Israel's Rebellion in the Wilderness
The children of Ephraim, although armed, 'turned back in the day of battle' due to their failure to 'keep God’s covenant' and forgetfulness of his 'wondrous deeds' (vv. 9-11). God had performed miracles, including parting the sea and providing water from the rock (vv. 12-16).
Psalm 78:17–32 Continued Rebellion and God's Anger
Despite experiencing God's wonders, the people sinned and tested God in the wilderness by doubting his provision (vv. 17-20). This provoked God's anger because they did not believe in him or trust his salvation (vv. 21-22).
Psalm 78:33–39 God's Merciful Response
In their distress, the people 'inquired after him' and 'sought God earnestly' after God killed them (vv. 33-34). Despite their unfaithfulness, God 'forgave iniquity' and 'didn’t destroy them' due to his mercy (vv. 38-39).
Psalm 78:40–56 Historical Woes and Consequences
Israel repeatedly 'rebelled against him' and provoked God in the wilderness, forgetting his past deeds (vv. 40-41). God sent plagues and destruction as judgment, but ultimately led his people like sheep and brought them to their inheritance (vv. 52-56).
Psalm 78:57–72 Selection of David
Israel turned away, provoking God, who then 'abandoned the tent of Shiloh' and gave his people over to the sword (vv. 57-61). He chose David from humble beginnings to shepherd Israel, guiding them with integrity and skill (vv. 70-72).
Key verses
Psalms 78:5The psalmist speaks to the people of Israel, stating that Yahweh established a testimony in Jacob to be shared with future generations.
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Study questions
Questions for studying Psalm 78
- observeWhat do we learn about the 'generation to come' in v6?
- observeIn vv. 18-19, what did the people say about God while in the wilderness?
- interpretThe phrase 'a stubborn and rebellious generation' in v8: how does it characterize the people of Israel?
- interpretIn v38, why does the psalmist emphasize God's mercy despite Israel's repeated rebellion?
- applyWhen have you struggled to remember God's past actions in your life as seen in v42?
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Cross-references
Passages that echo Psalm 78
- Deuteronomy 4Psalm 78:3 and Deuteronomy 4:9Both urge teaching future generations: Psalm 78:3 states, "Which we have heard and known," while Deuteronomy 4:9 says, "make them known to your children and your children’s children;".
- Matthew 13Psalm 78:2 and Matthew 13:35Both speak in parables: Psalm 78:2 says, "I will open my mouth in a parable," while Matthew 13:35 states, "I will open my mouth in parables;".
- Isaiah 44Psalm 78:15 and Isaiah 44:3Both mention God's provision: Psalm 78:15 states, "He split rocks in the wilderness," while Isaiah 44:3 says, "I will pour water on him who is thirsty;".
- Psalm 105Psalm 78:15 and Psalm 105:41Both describe God's miraculous provision: Psalm 78:15 states, "He split rocks in the wilderness," while Psalm 105:41 says, "He opened the rock, and waters gushed out."
- Psalm 106Psalm 78:11 and Psalm 106:13Both recount Israel's forgetfulness: Psalm 78:11 states, "They forgot his doings," while Psalm 106:13 says, "They soon forgot his works."
- 1 Corinthians 10Psalm 78:18 and 1 Corinthians 10:9Both discuss tempting God: Psalm 78:18 states, "They tempted God in their heart," while 1 Corinthians 10:9 says, "Let us not test Christ."
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