Psalms 78 Devotional
by Pastor Mark Hudson
This long Psalm (72 verses) is called a parable which a flexible term in the Bible. This use is more of a true story since this is a history lesson. One would hope this would be the last time this history would be recounted. But alas, this is a history that was true, is true, and sadly will be true in the future. Witness the unfaithfulness of God’s people and the gracious response of God in the Psalm
In vs. 1-8, we read the benefit or studying the history of God’s people. We are to tell the next generation so they will pass this knowledge of God on to those “yet unborn.” This is not a mere recounting of people and events but drawing out the meaning of sin, grace, forgiveness, and mercy.
Derek Kidner in the Tyndale series, commenting on vs. 7-8 writes, “Here is the main burden of the psalm, in positive and negative terms. The three phrases of verse 7 show a threefold cord of faith, as personal trust, informed and humble thinking, and an obedient will. If these qualities strike us as unadventurous, verse 8 depicts the rebel against the covenant in his true colors, not a hero but a renegade: perverse, infirm of purpose and unfit for trust” (pp. 281-282).
Robert Godfrey sees vs. 9-33 as focusing on the unfaithfulness of the people in the wilderness. The second section vs. 34-55 begins by showing that the anger of God led the people to repentance. But this section also shows the people’s disloyalty. The third section vs. 56-64 focuses on disobedience. The final section brings us back to the central problem of Book Three (of the entire book of Psalms): If the solution to Israel’s faithlessness is to be found in king and temple, what happens when the kingship fails and the temple is destroyed? (Godfrey, Learning to Love the Psalms pp. 138-139.
This is not so much a story of them but of us. This story is repeated in every age. This Psalm is not merely describing an ancient people that might be interesting to reflect on. Rather, it is profitable because we demonstrate our inclinations toward rebellion and sin just like they did.
You can tell most of this Psalms is about the Exodus and wilderness wanderings. As you read this Psalm, one begins to ask if God’s people have ever been obedient, engaged in pure worship, and exhibited an unsullied faith. This Psalm, and the rest of the Bible, answers that question. There are a number of ways to use this Psalm for our good.
One is to be warned about sin and do our best to war against sin. To use the means of grace, to resist sin, and to follow after Christ is great application. We can see the pain to God and the pain to God’s people because of their sin. One can almost see cycles of sin, rebellion, unfaithfulness. By noticing these trends, we hopefully can look at our lives. We can see our own idolatry, our worldliness, or lack of faith in God in contemporary colors. This one way to apply these truths. But we cannot stop here.
The other way to apply this Psalm is not to focus on the first Adam but the last Adam. We must work at resisting sin. We must call on God to provide the Holy Spirit so we strive to resist sin. But more than that, we look to Christ who was also tempted in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11). Like the people of Israel, Jesus faced a temptation related to food. Instead of turning stones to bread, Jesus trusted God and His Word. The people of God failed in their temptation with power – they forgot the power of God leading them out of Egypt. Jesus did not fail in his temptation and refused to test God’s power by jumping off the temple. The people of Israel did not worship God only but our Lord did. Jesus refused a shortcut and gained God’s intended status as the Lamb of God.
The gospel is not just doing better. The gospel is not us resisting sin by grit and determination. The essence of the gospel is believing what Christ has done for us. He gained our salvation by his perfect life and His substitutionary death on the cross. We believe in Him. We trust Him. We have to keep going back to the fact that the gospel is something done for us. We believe and trust in Christ’s work for us. We look away from ourselves. We trust Someone else not ourselves.
Father, I need to work harder at resisting sin. I don’t know very well, but I know in part how destructive sin is. Help me to not be passive but vigorous in resisting sin. But more than that, remind me to believe the gospel when I am weak. Help me to glory in looking away from myself to Christ who gave Himself for me. Thank you that You provided the perfect sacrifice for all my rebellion and sedition. Remind me that I am no better than the first Adam which is why I need the Second Adam. In the name of the perfect Son of Man. Amen.