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This psalm is historical; it is a narrative of the great mercies God had bestowed upon Israel, the great sins wherewith they had provoked him, and the many tokens of his displeasure they had been under for their sins. The psalmist began, in the foregoing psalm, to relate God's wonders of old, for his own encouragement in a difficult time; there he broke off abruptly, but here resumes the subject, for the edification of the church, and enlarges much upon it, showing not only how good God had been to them, which was an earnest of further finishing mercy, but how basely they had conducted themselves towards God, which justified him in correcting them as he did at this time, and forbade all complaints. Here is, I. The preface to this church history, commanding the attention of the present age to it and recommending it to the study of the generations to come, Ps 78:1-8. II. The history itself from Moses to David; it is put into a psalm or song that it might be the better remembered and transmitted to posterity, and that the singing of it might affect them with the things here related, more than they would be with a bare narrative of them. The general scope of this psalm we have (Ps 78:9-11) where notice is taken of the present rebukes they were under (Ps 78:9), the sin which brought them under those rebukes (Ps 78:10), and the mercies of God to them formerly, which aggravated that sin, Ps 78:11. As to the particulars, we are here told, 1. What wonderful works God had wrought for them in bringing them out of Egypt (Ps 78:12-16), providing for them in the wilderness (Ps 78:23-29), plaguing and ruining their enemies (Ps 78:43-55), and at length putting them in possession of the land of promise, Ps 78:54,55. 2. How ungrateful they were to God for his favours to them and how many and great provocations they were guilty of. How they murmured against God and distrusted him (Ps 78:17-20), and did but counterfeit repentance and submission when he punished them (Ps 78:34-37), thus grieving and tempting him, Ps 78:40-42. How they affronted God with their idolatries after they came to Canaan, Ps 78:56-58. 3. How God had justly punished them for their sins (Ps 78:21,22) in the wilderness, making their sin their punishment (Ps 78:29-33), and now, of late, when the ark was taken by the Philistines, Ps 78:59-64. 4. How graciously God had spared them and returned in mercy to them, notwithstanding their provocations. He had forgiven them formerly (Ps 78:38,39), and now, of late, had removed the judgments they had brought upon themselves, and brought them under a happy establishment both in church and state, Ps 78:65-72. As the general scope of this psalm may be of use to us in the singing of it, to put us upon recollecting what God has done for us and for his church formerly, and what we have done against him, so the particulars also may be of use to us, for warning against those sins of unbelief and ingratitude which Israel of old was notoriously guilty of, and the record of which was preserved for our learning. "These things happened unto them for ensamples," 1Co 10:11, Heb 4:11.

This is one of the psalms ascribed to Asaph. See Introduction to Psalm 73. If, as is likely, it was composed at a later period than the time of David, the word "Asaph" must be taken as a general term denoting the successor in the family off Asaph, who presided over the music the sanctuary. On the word "Maschil" in the title, see the notes at the title to Psalm 32:1-11.

The time when the psalm was composed cannot now be ascertained with any certainty. It was evidently written, however, after the revolt of the ten tribes, and the establishment of the sovereignty in the tribe of Judah; that is, after the time of David and Solomon. This is apparent from Psalm 78:9, Psalm 78:67, where "Ephraim," the chief of the ten tribes, is referred to in distinction from "Judah."

The design of the psalm is, evidently, to vindicate the fact that Ephraim had been rejected, and that Judah had been chosen to be the head of the nation. The reason of this was found in the conduct of Ephraim, or the ten tribes, in revolting from God, and in forgetting the divine mercy and compassion shown to the Hebrew people in former days. See Psalm 78:9-11, Psalm 78:67-68.

The argument in the psalm is the following:

I. A call on all the people, addressed to them by the king or the ruler, to attend to the instructions of former times - the lessons which it was of importance to transmit to future generations, Psalm 78:1-4.

II. God had established a general law which he had designed for all the people, or which he intended should be the law of the nation as such - that all the people might set their hope in God, or be worshippers of Him as the only true God, and that they might all be one people, Psalm 78:5-8.

III. Ephraim - the most powerful of the ten tribes, and their head and representative - had been guilty of disregarding that law, and had refused to come to the common defense of the nation, Psalm 78:9-11.

IV. The wickedness of this rebellion is shown by the great favors which, in its former history, God had shown to the nation as such, including these very tribes, Psalm 78:12-66.

V. The reason is stated, founded on their apostasy, why God had rejected Ephraim, and why he had chosen Judah, and made Zion the capital of the nation, instead of selecting a place within the limits of the tribe of Ephraim for that purpose, Psalm 78:67-68.

VI. The fact is declared that David had been chosen to rule over the people; that he had been taken from humble life, and made the ruler of the nation, and that the line of the sovereignty had been settled in him, Psalm 78:69-72.

An enumeration of the principal effects of the goodness of God to his people, vv. 1-16; of their rebellions and punishment, vv. 17-33; their feigned repentance, Psalm 78:34-37; God's compassion towards them, Psalm 78:38, Psalm 78:39; their backsliding, and forgetfulness of his mercy, Psalm 78:40-42; the plagues which he brought upon the Egyptians, Psalm 78:43-51; the deliverance of his own people, and their repeated ingratitude and disobedience, Psalm 78:52-58; their punishment, Psalm 78:59-64; God's wrath against their adversaries, Psalm 78:65, Psalm 78:66; his rejection of the tribes of Israel abut his choice of the tribe of Judah, and of David to be king over his people, Psalm 78:67-72.

The title, Maschil of Asaph; or, according to the margin, A Psalm for Asaph to give instruction; contains nothing particular. The Arabic has, "A sermon from Asaph to the people." The Psalm was probably not written by David, but after the separation of the ten tribes of Israel, and after the days of Rehoboam, and before the Babylonish captivity, for the temple was still standing, Psalm 78:69. Calmet supposes that it was written in the days of Asa, who had gained, by the aid of the Syrians, a great victory over the Israelites; and brought back to the pure worship of God many out of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon. See 2 Chronicles 15 and 2 Chronicles 16:1-14.

INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 78

Maschil of Asaph. Or for "Asaph" (f); a doctrinal and "instructive" psalm, as the word "Maschil" signifies; see Psalm 32:1, which was delivered to Asaph to be sung; the Targum is,

"the understanding of the Holy Spirit by the hands of Asaph.''

Some think David was the penman of it; but from the latter part of it, in which mention is made of him, and of his government of the people of Israel, it looks as if it was wrote by another, and after his death, though not long after, since the account is carried on no further than his times; and therefore it is probable enough it was written by Asaph, the chief singer, that lived in that age: whoever was the penman of it, it is certain he was a prophet, and so was Asaph, who is called a seer, the same with a prophet, and who is said to prophesy, 2 Chronicles 29:30 and also that he represented Christ; for that the Messiah is the person that is introduced speaking in this psalm is clear from Matthew 13:34 and the whole may be considered as a discourse of his to the Jews of his time; giving them an history of the Israelites from their first coming out of Egypt to the times of David, and in it an account of the various benefits bestowed upon them, of their great ingratitude, and of the divine resentment; the design of which is to admonish and caution them against committing the like sins, lest they should be rejected of God, as their fathers were, and perish: some Jewish writers, as Arama observes, interpret this psalm of the children of Ephraim going out of Egypt before the time appointed.

LXXVIII.

This is the first and the longest specimen in the Hebrew hymn-book of a species of composition peculiar to it, and indeed peculiar to the literature of the Jews, as combining narrative with instruction. It has been rightly called “epi-didactic.” It does not tell the story of the past with any view of celebrating heroic ancestors, or exalting conspicuous national virtues. On the contrary, it is a long confession of national failings. The Biblical conception of history is always religious, and, therefore, practical, and here the utmost prominence is given to those lapses from loyalty to Jehovah, against which the poet is covertly warning his own generation.

But while it thus expresses the pious feelings of the writer and his age, it is entirely characteristic in giving equal emphasis to their exclusiveness, and that not the exclusiveness of a nation only, or a religion, but of one tribe of a nation, and one doctrine of the religion. It is impossible to resist the conclusion that the author is quite as much concerned to establish the Divine purpose in rejecting Ephraim in favour of Judah as in choosing Israel as a nation in distinction from the heathen. At the very outset, as soon as the faithlessness and perversity of the nation have been mentioned, Ephraim is singled out as the chief and typical example of disloyalty (Psalm 78:9). The conclusion of the psalm from Psalm 78:67 dwells with genuine satisfaction on the rejection of the northern tribes, and on the exclusive choice as the seat of the theocracy of the southern tribe, Judah. This prominence given to the disruption has led some critics to date the poem at the time of that event. But other considerations enter into the question. The “high places” are mentioned (Psalm 78:58) as one of the causes of the Divine wrath, a sentiment that only entered into the religious feeling of even the better minds about the time of Hezekiah. (See Kuenen’s Religion of Israel, i. 79, 80, Eng. trans.) The poetical form is very irregular.

Title.—See Psalm 32:1.

In Psalms 77 the poet recalls God’s wonderful works of old for the encouragement of his faith in the hour of distress. In this Psalm he invites his hearers to draw a lesson of warning for themselves from the past history of the nation. Again and again Israel had forgotten the great works which Jehovah had done for them, and with base ingratitude and short-memoried faithlessness had rebelled against His government, or tempted Him by distrust of His goodness. The Psalmist holds up the picture to his contemporaries, in the hope that they may be taught to avoid repeating the sins of their forefathers.

Though the Psalm refers to the behaviour of the whole nation, Ephraim (if the text of Psalm 78:9 is sound) seems to be singled out at the outset as especially guilty; and the Psalm concludes with the choice of Zion as the seat of the sanctuary and David as the king of Israel, in a way which indicates that the writer had some reason for dwelling upon the position of Jerusalem and the Davidic kingdom as the special objects of Jehovah’s favour. But the rebuke of Ephraim is not the main purpose of the Psalm. Its intention is evidently positive, to draw warnings for the present and the future from the consideration of the past.

It is impossible to fix the date of the Psalm with any certainty. That the history is brought down to the time of David and no further does not prove that it was written then. It presumes the existence of the Temple (Psalm 78:69), and apparently the separation of the kingdoms. It has been said that “the didactic use of past history is in itself decisive against a pre-Exile date,” and that “it would be foolish to separate it from Psalms 105-107.” But the didactic use of past history is to be found in the earliest prophets; and though Psalms 105, 106 belong to the same class of historical Psalms, it does not necessarily follow that they all belong to the same period. There are some remarkable differences, and Psalms 105-107 contain clear allusions to the Captivity, which this Psalm does not. Psalm 78:69 speaks of the Temple in language which makes it difficult to suppose that it had already been destroyed. Moreover it is at least noteworthy, that the Psalmist refers to those plagues only which are described in the Jehovistic narrative in Exodus (J), and according to a very probable reading and explanation of Psalm 78:48, to all of them. He does not refer to the plague of darkness described in the Elohistic narrative (E) only, nor to the plagues of lice and boils described only in the Priestly code (P). Of course the poet was not bound to mention every plague, but it is a not unnatural inference that he was familiar with J only, while it was still in circulation as a separate work. If so, the Psalm must have been written at a relatively early date. On the other hand the use of the title “the Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 78:41) indicates that it is not earlier than the time of Isaiah, who originated this title to express the truth revealed to him in the vision of his Call. It may however belong to that period, and may have been written in view of the hostility of the Northern Kingdom to Judah (Isaiah 7, 8), or more probably in view of the fall of the Northern Kingdom, as a warning to Judah to beware lest, though Zion was the city of God’s choice, and the house of David chosen to rule His people, they too, like Shiloh and Ephraim, might be rejected. At such a time moreover the thought of the divine choice of Jerusalem might naturally be offered as a ground of hope and confidence.

The Psalm falls for the most part into stanzas of eight and sixteen verses. Psalm 78:17-18; Psalms 40, 41; Psalms 56, 57, form a kind of initial refrain, in which the dominant idea of the Psalm,—Israel’s rebellion and temptation of God—is repeated and emphasised. The Psalmist does not follow the historical order of events, but relates first the care of Jehovah for Israel and Israel’s ingratitude towards Jehovah in the wilderness (Psalm 78:12-39), and then the miracles of the Exodus and the settlement in Canaan (Psalm 78:40 ff.).

i. The purpose of the Psalm stated;—to draw warning and instruction for the present from the past history of Israel, by recapitulating its course and enforcing its lessons in accordance with the divine command, that the ingratitude and unfaithfulness of the past might not be repeated (Psalm 78:1-8).

ii Israel’s history had been a strange record of forgetfulness and disloyalty to the God Who had brought them out of Egypt and provided for their wants in the wilderness with loving care (Psalm 78:9-16).

iii. In spite of His care they rebelled against Him and tempted Him by doubting His power and goodness, so that even while He provided for their wants He was forced to punish them for their sin (Psalm 78:17-31).

iv. The chastisements of the wilderness produced only temporary and superficial amendment, and it was due to God’s forbearance that they were not utterly destroyed (Psalm 78:32-39).

v. It was no momentary aberration, but repeated and defiant rebellion, in utter forgetfulness of all that they owed to Jehovah for redeeming them from the bondage of Egypt. The Psalmist relates the wonders which accompanied their deliverance, in order to set Israel’s ingratitude in the strongest light. Jehovah destroyed their enemies, and brought them safely into the land which He had prepared for them (Psalm 78:40-55).

vi. But there again they tempted God and rebelled against Him, till He forsook His dwelling-place in Shiloh, and abandoned them to their enemies (Psalm 78:56-64).

vii. Yet once more He had mercy on them, and when He delivered them from their enemies, He chose Judah instead of Ephraim, Zion in place of Shiloh, and appointed David to be the shepherd of His people (Psalm 78:65-72).

Comp. generally, besides Psalms 105, 106, Deuteronomy 32.

On the title, Maschil of Asaph, see Introd. p. xix.

Ps 78:1-72.

This Psalm appears to have been occasioned by the removal of the sanctuary from Shiloh in the tribe of Ephraim to Zion in the tribe of Judah, and the coincident transfer of pre-eminence in Israel from the former to the latter tribe, as clearly evinced by David's settlement as the head of the Church and nation. Though this was the execution of God's purpose, the writer here shows that it also proceeded from the divine judgment on Ephraim, under whose leadership the people had manifested the same sinful and rebellious character which had distinguished their ancestors in Egypt.

1. my people . . . my law--the language of a religious teacher

(Ps 78:2; La 3:14; Ro 2:16, 27;

compare

Ps 49:4).

The history which follows was a "dark saying," or riddle, if left unexplained, and its right apprehension required wisdom and attention.

Give ear, O my people - This is not an address of God, but an address of the king or ruler of the people, calling their attention to an important subject; to wit, his right to rule over them, or showing why the power had been vested in him.

To my law - The word law here seems to mean what he would say, as if what he should choose to say would have the force and authority of law. What follows is not exactly law in the sense that it was a rule to be obeyed; but it is something that is authoritatively said, and should have the force of law.

Incline your ears ... - Be attentive. What is to be said is worthy of your particular regard. Compare the notes at Psalm 5:1.