Psalm 78

1 Give ear, O my people, to my law;

Gods Kindness to Rebellious IsraelA Contemplation Of Asaph. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.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;6 That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children,7 That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments;8 And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.10 They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,11 And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them.12 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap.14 In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.15 He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.16 He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.17 But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.18 And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy.19 Yes, they spoke against God: They said, Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?20 Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?21 Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel,22 Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,24 Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.25 Men ate angels food; He sent them food to the full.26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind.27 He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings.29 So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire.30 They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,31 The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel.32 In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works.33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear.34 When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.38 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath;39 For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.42 They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,43 When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan;44 Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink.45 He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them.46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.47 He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost.48 He also gave up their cattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery lightning.49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them. 50 He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague,51 And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.52 But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;53 And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.54 And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired.55 He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.56 Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, And did not keep His testimonies,57 But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.58 For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.59 When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel,60 So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,61 And delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemys hand.62 He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance.63 The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage.64 Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.66 And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach.67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,68 But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.70 He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds;71 From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

Psalm 78

A maskil of Asaph.

1 O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

3 what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.

8 They would not be like their forefathers—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.

9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;

10 they did not keep God's covenant
and refused to live by his law.

11 They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.

12 He did miracles in the sight of their fathers
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

13 He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand firm like a wall.

14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.

15 He split the rocks in the desert
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;

16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.

17 But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

18 They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.

19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the desert?

20 When he struck the rock, water gushed out,
and streams flowed abundantly.
But can he also give us food?
Can he supply meat for his people?”

21 When the Lord heard them, he was very angry;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,

22 for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.

23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;

24 he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.

25 Men ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.

26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and led forth the south wind by his power.

27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
flying birds like sand on the seashore.

28 He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.

29 They ate till they had more than enough,
for he had given them what they craved.

30 But before they turned from the food they craved,
even while it was still in their mouths,

31 God's anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

33 So he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.

34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;
they eagerly turned to him again.

35 They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.

36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;

37 their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.

38 Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.

39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.

40 How often they rebelled against him in the desert
and grieved him in the wasteland!

41 Again and again they put God to the test;
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

42 They did not remember his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,

43 the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the region of Zoan.

44 He turned their rivers to blood;
they could not drink from their streams.

45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and frogs that devastated them.

46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
their produce to the locust.

47 He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock to bolts of lightning.

49 He unleashed against them his hot anger,
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.

50 He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.

51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

52 But he brought his people out like a flock;
he led them like sheep through the desert.

53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.

54 Thus he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.

55 He drove out nations before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

56 But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.

57 Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.

58 They angered him with their high places;
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.

59 When God heard them, he was very angry;
he rejected Israel completely.

60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent he had set up among men.

61 He sent the ark of his might into captivity,
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.

62 He gave his people over to the sword;
he was very angry with his inheritance.

63 Fire consumed their young men,
and their maidens had no wedding songs;

64 their priests were put to the sword,
and their widows could not weep.

65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
as a man wakes from the stupor of wine.

66 He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.

67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;

68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.

69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.

70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;

71 from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.

72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.