Notes on Psalm 78
;4=”We will not hide them”=In those ancient times there was very little reading, because books were exceedingly scarce; tradition was therefore the only, or nearly the only, means of preserving the memory of past events. They were handed down from father to son by parables, sayings, and by chronological poems. This very psalm is of this kind, and must have been very useful to the Israelites, as giving instructions concerning their ancient history, and recounting the amazing deeds of the mighty God.
;8=”didn’t set it’s heart aright”=that is, they took no pains to keep their heart aright, or to cherish right feelings toward God. They yielded to any sudden impulse of passion, even when it led them to revolt against God. This is as true of sinners now as it was of them. “And whose spirit was not faithful to God.”=That is, they didn’t maintain a firm trust in God. Again, they yielded to every impulse and every passion, even when it tended to draw them away from Him. They had no strength from attachment to Him as would lead them to resist temptation, and they easily fell into the sin of idolatry.
;9=”turned back”=This refers to some defeat of the Ephraimites; and some think that it was by the men of Gath=1 Chr 7;21. R.D. Kimchi says this defeat of the Ephraimites was in the desert; and although the story isn’t mentioned in the law, yet it is written in the Books of the Chronicles, where we read, on the occasion of “Zabad the Ephraimite, and Shuthelah; whom the men of Gath, who were born in the land slew; and Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him,”=1 Ch 7;20-22; but to what defeat of the Ephraimites this refers is not certainly known; probably the Israelites after the division of the two kingdoms are intended. Adam Clarke
;9-11=We might prepare our children financially & educationally, physically & occupationally but, if we forget to share Christ w/ them, if they don’t understand what God’s Word says, when push comes to shove, they’ll fail in the day of battle.
;10-12=”The field of Zoan”=Tanis was the capital of Pharaoh, where Moses wrought so many miracles. It was located in the Delta, one of the most easterly branches of the Nile. It was afterwards called Thanis; and from it the district was called the Thanitic Canton. Dr. Shaw thinks Zoan was intended to signify Egypt in general.
;13=”He divided the Sea”=The Red Sea=Ex. 14;21-22. “He made the waters stand up like a heap.” The idea here is that the waters were piled up on each side of them as a mound. The design is to represent this as a continuous act; an act not merely of the original creation, but constantly occurring. The reference is to the power by which the waters are gathered and kept together as well as the continual power which prevents their overspreading the earth. God collected those waters and kept them in their places, as if they were solid matter.
-;15=split the rocks=There were two occasions on which the rock was smitten for water. Ex. 17;6 @ Mt. Horeb, shortly after they came out of Egypt; and the other Num 20;11, when they had nearly ceased their wanderings in the wilderness. That’s why the plural form of rocks is used here. “Like the depths”=is used as if He had formed a lake or an ocean, furnishing an inexhaustible supply.
;16=Literally flowings as the waters were poured out in an over-flowing stream. Their continued flowing showed a picture of the continued presence of God.
;17=Lit. they added to sin against Him. The idea is that his mercies and the proofs of his presence only made the occasion of greater sin on their part. And they showed more & more of their depravity in proportion to the mercies bestowed upon them. In the desert, they were completely dependant upon Him. There were no natural streams of water. They would have died had the water stopped. But sinners forget how dependent they are on God, when they sin against Him. On what can they rely, if He withdraws from them, and leaves them to themselves?
;18=”tested God in their heart”=Ex. 16;2=The heart was the source of evil. They weren’t satisfied w/ what He gave them. They asked Him w/ a complaining and murmuring spirit. It’s not wrong to ask God for that which will be better than what we now possess, but it can be done w/ a wrong motive. Here it was mere self gratification.
;20-22=Throughout this psalm, God tells us that we need to rehearse the stories of His salvation & plan over and over again. Read 2 Peter 1;12 It’s not how much we know, but how well we know what we know that matters.
-;21=”the Lord was furious”=Fire may be used here, as in Numbers 11;1, as a symbol of anger or a fire may have been literally sent down to consume them.
;-23=”commanded the clouds above”=He had shown absolute control over the clouds/opened the doors of heaven=is a reference to the doors of heaven opened during the flood. The idea is, that he had rained down manna upon them in such abundance that it might be compared w/ the waters that were sent down during the flood.
-;25=The manna was a type of Jesus Christ said Paul said so in 1 Cor. 10;3-4. And our Lord calls himself, the bread that came down from heaven” Read John 6;31-35
;26=He caused an east wind to blow in heaven/Read Numbers 11;31
-;31=The most vigorous among them were cut down; the people most eminent for rank, for influence, for strength, for victory. Struck down=made to bow. That is, they were made to bow in death. “
;34=Lit. there were not made strangers to their lust=God gave them what they wanted. When He struck them down=refers to when He came forth in His wrath and cut them down by the plague, by fiery serpents, or by their enemies. “Then they sought Him”=Their calamites had the effect of producing temporary reformation. They expressed a wish to know God, and expressed a purpose to serve Him. It was, however, a temporary and hollow, not a deep real reformation. This often occurs. In times of affliction, in sickness, in bereavement, in the loss of property, people become serious, and express a purpose to repent and turn to God. A deep impression seems to be produced on their minds, to last, unfortunately, as long as the hand of God is upon them. Then, resolutions of repentance are formed only to be forgotten when the affliction is removed & when the days of prosperity again return.
;41=
The bible says without faith it is impossible to please God/Heb. 11;6
When Jesus was in Nazareth, it said,” He did not many works there because of their unbelief=Matt. 13;58
Your unbelief can actually limit the work that God wants to do in your life. The COI put limitations on God, and man today is often putting limitations on God. Come to God w/ the prayer: Lord, help me to be totally open to anything and everything You want to do in my life.
Don’t allow your own culture upbringing, the things that have been planted in my mind by the past, my education, or any limit which God wants to do.
;44=”Rivers into blood”=Ex. 7;20=There was properly but one river in Egypt-the Nile. But there were several branches of that river at the mouth; and there were numerous artificial streams or canals cut from the river.
;45=”swarms of flies”=The account of this plague=Ex. 8;24. The rabbis explain the word as denoting a mixture, or a conflux of noxious insects, as if the word were derived from “to mix”. The Septuagint renders it “dog-fly”. The common explanation of the word denotes a species of fly /the gad fly, w/ it’s propensity to suck the blood of animals. “and the frogs which destroyed them”=indicates the order of plagues is not recorded in this psalm.
;46=caterpillar=is supposed to denote a species of locust rather than the caterpillar. It literally means the devourer.
;47=”He destroyed their vines w/ hail”=In the account in Exodus the hail is said to have smitten man & beast, the herb, and the tree of the field. In the psalm only one thing is mentioned, perhaps denoting the ruin by what would be particularly felt in Palestine, where the culture of the grape was so common and so important. “And their Sycamore trees”=This tree was very useful to the ancient Egyptians, as all their coffins are made of this wood; and to the modern, as their small sailing ships/barques are made of it. It also produces a kind of fig, on which the common people in general live; and it’s observed that “they think themselves rich/rigaled when they have a piece of bread, a couple of sycamore figs, and a pitcher of water from the Nile.” The loss therefore of their vines and sycamore trees must have been very distressing to the Egyptians.
;49=refers to the death of the firstborn. Angels of destruction/evil angels KJV=denotes the nature of what the angels had to do, not the nature of the angels.
;-52=”go like sheep”=That is, he shepherded them. He defended them, provided for them, led them as a shepherd does his flock.
;54-55=”holy border”=of His holy place=the land of Canaan, called afterwards the mountain which his right hand had purchased; because it was mountainous country, widely differing from Egypt, which was a long, continued almost perfect level. The meaning is not that the people who came out of Egypt actually inherited that mountain, but that their descendants-the people of God-had been put in possession of it.
;56- 57 He literally cast out the nations. They tried the patience of God/provoked him to anger after they were peaceably settled in the promised land see Judges 2;10-13 Deceitful bow=The eastern bow, which when at rest is in the form of a curved figure, must be recurved, or turned the contrary way, in order to be what is called bent and strung. If a person who is unskillful or weak attempts to recurve and string one of these bows, if he doesn’t take caution it will spring back and perhaps break his arm.
;58-60=The tabernacle or tent which had been erected at Shiloh. The name Shiloh means properly a place of rest, and seems to have been given to this place as such a place or a place where the ark might abide after it’s migrations. Shiloh was a city within the limits of the tribe of Ephraim, on a mountain north of Bethel. Here the ark of God remained for many years after it came into the Promised Land. The ark, after it was taken by the Philistines, was never returned to Shiloh, but was deposited successively at Nob/1 Sam. 21;1-6.
;62=When the ark was taken, 1 Sam 4;10, 30,000 of the COI fell on that occasion.
;63=Fire consumed young men=Fire here may be regarded as an image of the destructive wars, as in Num 21;28 Read The idea here is that the young people had been cut off in war. “Maidens not given in marriage”=As the young people who would have entered into this relation were cut off in war. The margin here is praised,” the maidens were not praised. The idea is the virgins were not praised in nuptial songs; that is, there were no marriage celebrations; no song such as were usually composed on such occasions in praise of brides.
;64=The priests fell by the sword=It was considered a special calamity that the ministers of religion were cut down in war. “And their widows”=That is, the public troubles were so great, the danger was still so imminent, that there was no opportunities for public mourning by formal processions of women, loud lamentations, such as were usual on these occasions Read Job 27;15
;65-69=The Lord rescued His people once again, but there would be repercussions for their sin. He would never again dwell in Shiloh. Our kids might say,” I can sin. God will forgive me & I’ll come back to Him.” That’s true. God does forgive. And we can come back. But things will be different. We’ll be forgiven completely—but opportunities will be lost and scars will remain.
;70-71=A good place to find a shepherd is among the sheep. If you want to be used by the Lord, shepherd the sheep. Like David, be faithful to shepherd whatever flock is around you presently—be that friends, co-workers, schoolmates, or family.
-;72=A heart for God and hands eager to reach out to others is the winning combination. A man after God’s own heart, David’s heart was right and his hand was active. No wonder God could use him.
