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 Jehov... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. the opening of Psalms 49, noting that while there -all peoples" are addressed, in accordance with the wider scope of the teaching of the -Wise Men," here Israel is addressed in the spirit of prophecy. It was the function of prophecy to interpret the past, as well as to foretell the future. _my l... [ Continue Reading ]
The Psalmist's solemn invitation to his countrymen to listen to his teaching. He proposes to set forth the lessons to be drawn from Israel's past history, in obedience to God's command to hand on the tradition of His mighty works for the encouragement and warning of each successive generation.... [ Continue Reading ]
On the words _parable_and _darksayings_or _enigmas_see note on Psalms 49:4. The Psalmist has no mere narrative of facts to recount, but a history full of significance for those who can penetrate its hidden meaning. It is a -parable" not for Israel only, but for every individual in the Christian Chur... [ Continue Reading ]
It is best to place a full stop at the end of Psalms 78:2, and connect Psalms 78:3 thus: The things which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told to us, We will not hide from their sons, Telling to another generation the praises of Jehovah, And his strength and his wondrous works tha... [ Continue Reading ]
_a testimony … a law_ Not the Mosaic legislation generally, but the express precept which enjoined upon Israelite parents the duty of teaching their children the great facts of Israel's history, that the remembrance of them might be handed down from generation to generation. See Exodus 10:2; Exodus... [ Continue Reading ]
The A.V. follows the Massoretic division of the verse; but it is better to connect the clauses thus: That another generation might know, That sons which should be born might arise and tell their sons.... [ Continue Reading ]
_their hope_ Or, their confidence, as Proverbs 3:26. _and not forget_ "Lest thou forget" is the constantly recurring warning in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 4:9, &c.). _the works of God_ Or, as R.V. in Psalms 77:11, the deeds of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
_as their fathers_ Primarily, the generation of the wandering in the wilderness; but the warning was true for almost every age. _stubborn and rebellious_ Epithets applied in Deuteronomy 21:18 to the son, whom no admonition or chastisement would reform, and for whom accordingly nothing remained but... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse presents serious difficulties. (1) It seems to speak of some well-known act of cowardice on the part of the Ephraimites. But why should cowardice in war be censured, when it is disloyalty to God of which the Psalmist is speaking? It has been suggested that it refers to the slackness of Ep... [ Continue Reading ]
Israel's disobedience and ingratitude, in spite of all God's mercies to them at the Exodus and in the wilderness.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the covenant of God_ See Exodus 19:5; Exodus 24:3; Exodus 24:7-8.... [ Continue Reading ]
And they forgat his doings, And his wondrous works that he had shewed them (R.V.).... [ Continue Reading ]
In the sight of their fathers he did wonders. Cp. Psalms 77:14. _in the field of Zoan_ Zoan, known to the Greeks as Tanis, was situated on the E. bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile. It was famous as the capital of the Hyksos dynasty, and was refounded by Ramses II, the Pharaoh of the oppression... [ Continue Reading ]
_He divided the sea_ Lit. clave, as in Psalms 78:15; the word which is used in Exodus 14:16; Isaiah 63:12; Nehemiah 9:11. _as an heap_ Cp. Exodus 15:8; Psalms 33:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he led them with the cloud by day (cp. Exodus 13:21), as a shepherd leads his flock (Psalms 78:53; Psalms 77:20).... [ Continue Reading ]
He clave rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink as out of the depths abundantly: And he brought forth streams out of a cliff. Two different words are used, with reference to the two occasions upon which the Israelites were miraculously supplied with water: first in Rephidim at the beginning... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet went they on still to sin against him, Rebelling against the Most High in the land of drought. Both the occasions referred to in Psalms 78:15 were connected with murmuring. The names of _Massah_and _Meribah_preserved the memory of Israel's sin in tempting God and striving with Him. And to thes... [ Continue Reading ]
In spite of these miracles of mercy they sinned yet more, and tempted God in their unbelief, so that while He supplied their wants He was compelled to punish them for their sin. The order is logical not chronological. The first murmurings for food (Exodus 16) preceded the giving of the water: and th... [ Continue Reading ]
_by asking_&c. By asking food for their appetite: a different word from that rendered _lust_in Psalms 78:30. The allusion is not to the demand for flesh, but to the doubt whether God could provide food for the people at all (Exodus 16:2 ff.). In the verses which follow, the murmurings which preceded... [ Continue Reading ]
_Can God furnish_ R.V., Can God prepare?... [ Continue Reading ]
_can he provide_ R.V., Will he provide? The narrative is thrown into a graphic poetical form. Unbelief reaches its climax in the words _for his people_. If, as He says, we are His people, let Him provide, and provide liberally, for our wants. _Bread … flesh_, as in Exodus 16:8; Exodus 16:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore when Jehovah heard, he was wroth: And a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also went up against Israel. Cp. Psalms 78:59_; Psalms 78:62. A fire_alludes to the punishment of the murmuring Israelites by the burning at Taberah (Numbers 11:1 ff.), before the second giving of quails.... [ Continue Reading ]
For a moment they had believed (Exodus 14:31), but they soon fell away. Cp. Numbers 14:11, a verse which might serve as a motto for this Psalm. _his salvation_ Of which they had had such marvellous proof in the Exodus (Exodus 14:13; Exodus 15:2).... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet he commanded the skies above, And opened the doors of heaven;... [ Continue Reading ]
And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them the corn of heaven.... [ Continue Reading ]
Everyone did eat the bread of the mighty, He sent them provision to the full. The A.V. rendering of the verbs in Psalms 78:23 as pluperfects is contrary to the rules of Hebrew grammar. The connexion of thought is that God was wroth at the unbelief of the Israelites, and yet He provided for their w... [ Continue Reading ]
He led forth the east wind In the heaven: And by his power he guided the south wind:... [ Continue Reading ]
And he rained flesh upon them as the dust, And winged fowl as the sand of the seas. The sending of quails is connected, as in Exodus 16, with the sending of the manna; but the language of the Psalm follows the description of the second sending of quails in Numbers 11. The verbs in Psalms 78:26 ar... [ Continue Reading ]
_their camp … their habitations_ Cp. Exodus 16:13; Numbers 11:31.... [ Continue Reading ]
_for he gave them_&c. For he brought them that for which they lusted. Cp. Psalms 106:14; Numbers 11:4; Numbers 11:34.... [ Continue Reading ]
They were not estranged from their lust, Their food was yet in their mouth,... [ Continue Reading ]
When the anger of God went up against them, And slew of the lustiest of them, And laid low the young men of Israel. Even before they had been surfeited with the quails an allusion to Numbers 11:20 the judgement fell upon them (Numbers 11:33), and the plague broke out. God punishes men by answerin... [ Continue Reading ]
The further sin of murmuring and unbelief on the return of the spies, for which they were condemned to wander in the wilderness. See Numbers 14, esp. Psalms 78:22 ff. _for his wondrous works_ I.e., because of. Better, as R.V., in.... [ Continue Reading ]
These judgements failed to reform them, and further chastisements produced only temporary and superficial amendments. Yet in spite of all, God continued to shew them mercy.... [ Continue Reading ]
_in vanity … in trouble_ Or, as a breath, unsubstantial and transitory (Psalms 39:5; Psalms 39:11; Psalms 62:9): with sudden terror (Leviticus 26:16).... [ Continue Reading ]
When he slew them, then they would inquire after him: And return and seek God earnestly. The tenses denote the repeated alternations of punishment and repentance. Cp. Judges 2:11 ff.... [ Continue Reading ]
_their rock_ Cp. Deuteronomy 32:4 ff. _the high God_ God Most High, _El Elyôn_, a combination found elsewhere only in Genesis 14:18 ff. But cp. Psalms 73:11; and Psalms 7:17; Psalms 47:2, _Jehovah Elyôn;_Psalms 57:2, _Elôhîm Elyôn_.... [ Continue Reading ]
But they flattered him with their mouth, And lied unto him with their tongue (R.V.). As though God were a man who could be deceived by hypocrisy. Cp. Isaiah 29:13. According to the Massoratic reckoning, this is the middle of the 2527 verses of the Psalter, but it must be remembered that the title... [ Continue Reading ]
_right … stedfast_ Or, stedfast … faithful. Cp. Psalms 78:8, where the same words are used. _The heart_is the organ of thought and will, which determines the moral and religious character, the seat of true repentance and amendment of life (Psalms 51:10; Psalms 57:7).... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse describes the general attributes of God, in virtue of which (Psalms 78:39) He spared Israel in spite of their guilt. Render: But he, being full of compassion, forgiveth iniquity and destroyeth not, And offtimes turneth his anger away, And stirreth not up all his wrath. Cp. Exodus 34:6... [ Continue Reading ]
_For_&c. And he remembered &c. _Flesh_denotes the frailty of human nature, including moral as well as physical weakness: _a wind_&c. symbolises the transitoriness of human life. Cp. Psalms 56:4; Psalms 103:14 ff.; Genesis 6:3; Job 7:7 ff.... [ Continue Reading ]
But as God multiplied His mercies, Israel multiplied its acts of rebellion: and in order to set the heinousness of their ingratitude in a still stronger light, the Psalmist goes back to recount the miracles which preceded and prepared for the Exodus.... [ Continue Reading ]
An emphatic repetition of Psalms 78:17. _provoke him_ Rather, as in Psalms 78:8_; Psalms 78:17; Psalms 78:56_, rebel against him. Both words, _rebel against_and _grieve_, occur together in Isaiah 63:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
And they turned again and tempted God, And provoked the Holy One of Israel. _limited_(A.V.) would mean "entertained mean and circumscribed notions of His power and goodness and faithfulness" (Kay), or -hindered His action by their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58). But more probably the word means _provok... [ Continue Reading ]
_his hand_ His power exerted on their behalf. See Exodus 3:19, and often. nor _the day_&c. Nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary (R.V.).... [ Continue Reading ]
How he set his signs in Egypt (R.V.): words borrowed from Exodus 10:1-2, "my signs which I have set among them." Cp. Psalms 105:27. Only six, or, if Psalms 78:48 or Psalms 78:50 refers to the murrain, possibly seven, plagues are mentioned, the plagues of lice, boils, and darkness being omitted. The... [ Continue Reading ]
And turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink. See Exodus 7:17 ff. The word for -rivers" (_y"ôr_) is one specially used of the Nile and its canals.... [ Continue Reading ]
The fourth and second plagues, Exodus 8:20 ff., Exodus 8:1 ff. The word rendered _divers sorts of flies_, or, swarms of flies (R.V.), is used only with reference to this plague (Exodus 8; Psalms 105:31), and probably means some venomous kind of fly, such as abound in Egypt.... [ Continue Reading ]
The eighth plague, Exodus 10:1 ff. _their increase_ The produce of the land (Psalms 67:6). The word rendered -caterpillar" is not used in Exodus, but often occurs elsewhere, and probably denotes the locust in the larva or pupa state.... [ Continue Reading ]
He killed their vines &c. The seventh plague, Exodus 9:13 ff. Cp. Psalms 105:33. Grapes and figs are among the fruits frequently represented in paintings in Egyptian tombs. The sycomore was and is one of the common trees of Egypt, much valued for its durable wood, of which mummy cases were commonly... [ Continue Reading ]
And he gave over their beasts to the hail, And their cattle to fiery lightnings. As the text stands, the reference is to the destruction of the Egyptian cattle as well as the crops by the lightning which accompanied the hailstorm (Exodus 9:28). But two Hebrew MSS., with which agrees the version of... [ Continue Reading ]
The culmination of the plagues in the death of the firstborn.... [ Continue Reading ]
_He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger_ Lit., _he sent_, as in Psalms 78:45. The same phrase is found in Job 20:23. by _sending evil angels_among them] R.V., a band of angels of evil: lit. _a mission of evil angels:_not wicked angels, but destroying angels, commissioned by God to execute Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
_He made a way to his anger_ Lit., he levelled a path for his anger, i.e. gave it free course. _but gave their life over to the pestilence_ This is the natural rendering of the words in this context. The rendering of R.V. marg., _gave their beasts over to the murrain_, is that of the Ancient Versio... [ Continue Reading ]
_the chief of_their _strength_ The beginning, or, firstlings of strength, a term applied to firstborn sons in Genesis 49:3; Deuteronomy 21:17. So Psalms 105:36. _in the tabernacles of Ham_ R.V. tents. Ham was the ancestor of Mizraim, i.e. Egypt, Genesis 10:6. Cp. Psalms 105:23; Psalms 105:27; Psalm... [ Continue Reading ]
_But made_&c. But he led forth his people like sheep. The verb is that which is commonly used of the journeyings of the Israelites from stage to stage through the wilderness (Exodus 15:22 &c.). The figure of Israel as Jehovah's flock is a favourite one in the Asaphite Psalms (Psalms 74:1 note).... [ Continue Reading ]
God's guidance of Israel through the wilderness into Canaan. Cp. Exodus 15:13-17. The circumstances of the Journey have been already recounted in Psalms 78:13 ff.... [ Continue Reading ]
_feared not_ In contrast to their enemies, who were seized with panic (Exodus 14:25), Israel had no cause for fear (Exodus 14:13). Not of course that they never gave way to fear (Exodus 14:10). _overwhelmed_ The same word as that rendered _covered_in Exodus 15:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The border of his sanctuary_may mean the land of Canaan, as that in which He purposed to place His temple, and _this mountain_may denote Mount Zion. But it is preferable to render to his holy border, the land separate from all other lauds, to be consecrated by His Presence, and known henceforth as... [ Continue Reading ]
And he drove out the nations before them, And allotted them for the portion of their inheritance: i.e. distributed the land of the Canaanites among the Israelites by lot. Cp. Joshua 23:4; Psalms 105:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
The unfaithfulness of Israel in Canaan during the period of the Judges.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet_&c. Yet they tempted and rebelled against God the Most High. In spite of all God's goodness to them, they persisted in their old unfaithfulness. Cp. Psalms 78:17_; Psalms 40, 41. God the Most High_is not _El Elyôn_, as in Psalms 78:35; but _Elôhîm Elyôn_, the equivalent of _Jehovah the Most Hig... [ Continue Reading ]
_unfaithfully_ Or, as R.V., treacherously. Cp. Hosea 5:7; Hosea 6:7. _like a deceitful bow_ Which misses the mark and disappoints its owner. Cp. Hosea 7:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
They provoked Jehovah, the "jealous God" Who can tolerate no rival (Exodus 20:5), by their adoption of Canaanite idolatries. Cp. Deuteronomy 32:16; Deuteronomy 32:21.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Psalms 78:21. _and greatly abhorred Israel_ Better, and utterly rejected Israel. Israel here can hardly mean Ephraim only, as some commentators hold; for neither sin nor punishment was limited to Ephraim, and the sanctuary of Shiloh, though in Ephraimite territory, was the sanctuary of all Israe... [ Continue Reading ]
Once more therefore God punished them for their sins, abandoning them to their enemies and even suffering the Ark to be captured.... [ Continue Reading ]
_placed_ Lit. _caused to dwell_. The use of this word here and in Joshua 18:1 (A.V. _set up_) was probably suggested by its frequent use with reference to the dwelling of God among His people. Cp. Jeremiah 7:12. On the position and history of Shiloh see note on 1 Samuel 1:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
_his strength … his glory_ The Ark, the symbol and seat of His majesty (1 Samuel 4:21 f.; Psalms 132:8), was suffered to fall into the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:11 ff.). _the enemy's hand_ The adversary's hand. (R.V.)... [ Continue Reading ]
See 1Sa 4:2; 1 Samuel 4:10; 1 Samuel 4:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
Fire devoured their young men; And their maidens had no marriage song. (R.V.) The fire of war (Numbers 21:28) consumed the young men, so that the maidens remained unmarried.... [ Continue Reading ]
_and their widows_&c. This line recurs word for word in Job 27:15. In the universal distress the customary rites of mourning were not performed, even for a husband (2 Samuel 11:26-27).... [ Continue Reading ]
While His people were at the mercy of their enemies He seemed to be asleep. Cp. Psalms 44:23, note. _that shouteth_&c. Cp. Isaiah 42:13-14. "The daring figure of God's awaking 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 mor... [ Continue Reading ]
At length Jehovah took pity on His people, and delivered them from their adversaries.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he smote_&c. Render with R.V., And he smote his adversaries backward, a general allusion to the victories over the Philistines and other enemies of Israel under Samuel, Saul, and David. The A.V. follows Jewish authorities in seeing a reference to 1 Samuel 5:6 ff.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover_&c. And he rejected the tent of Joseph, i.e. Shiloh in the tribe of Ephraim. The Ark was never brought back there, and if Shiloh was not actually destroyed by the Philistines, it ceased to be the sanctuary of the nation. Jeremiah points to the fall of Shiloh as a warning to his incredulous... [ Continue Reading ]
The choice of Zion.... [ Continue Reading ]
_which he loved_ Cp. Psalms 87:2; Psalms 47:4.... [ Continue Reading ]
_like high_palaces] Rather, like the heights of heaven, which along with the earth are emblems of grandeur and stability.... [ Continue Reading ]
_David his servant_ Though any Israelite might profess himself Jehovah's servant in addressing Him, only a few who were raised up to do special service or who stood in a special relation to Jehovah, such as Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Job, are distinguished by this title of honour. Cp. 2 Samuel 3... [ Continue Reading ]
The choice of David as king.... [ Continue Reading ]
From following the ewes with their young ones he brought him, To be shepherd of Jacob his people &c. This natural metaphor for the ruler's care of his people was especially appropriate in the case of David, who was taken from being the shepherd of Jesse's flock to be the shepherd of Jehovah's floc... [ Continue Reading ]
_the integrity of his heart_ Cp. 1 Kings 9:4; Psalms 7:8; Psalms 101:2; and the use of the cognate adjective in Psalms 15:2; Psalms 18:23. _the skilfulness_ The regal faculty of _discernment_which Solomon desired (1 Kings 3:9), and with which he was so richly endowed (1 Kings 4:29).... [ Continue Reading ]