Bible Commentaries
Psalms 78

Verse 1

Psalms 78:0.

An exhortation both to learn and to preach the law of God. The history of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient. The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David.

Maschil of Asaph.

Title. ףּלאס משׂהיל maskiil leasaph— This psalm contains a short account of the wonderful things which God had done for his people Israel, from the time of their coming out of Egypt to that of David: and, as it concludes there, Bishop Patrick is of opinion, that probably it was composed by that Asaph, who is called the Singer, and who lived in the time of David. But why might it not have been composed by David himself? From the beginning and the close, there seem to be better reasons to conclude it to be the composition of David, than of any other writer.

Verse 2

Psalms 78:2. I will open my mouth in a parable— I will open my mouth in a wise moral: I will utter mysteries of ancient times. The moral or design of this history is couched in the subsequent verses. See Mudge.

Verse 3

Psalms 78:3. Which we have heard and known— What we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us, Psa 78:4 we will not conceal from their sons of the next generation; relating the praises of the Lord. Mudge. This solemn charge and law, Psa 78:5 does not here mean the whole law of Moses, but that only whereby he enjoined them to deliver down the memory of God's miracles to all generations, That they might trust in God, and not forget his wonders.

Verse 9

Psalms 78:9. The children of Ephraim, &c.— The sons of Ephraim, who were armed with the bow, were put to flight in the day of battle; Psa 78:10 because he kept not, &c. Green: who renders the 12th and following verses in the pluperfect, like the 11th. He had wrought marvellous things; he had divided the sea, &c. The history here referred to seems to be that of the Israelites going up, contrary to God's command, to take possession of the land of Canaan, when they were smitten before their enemies. Deuteronomy 1:42. The Ephraimites are here specified, probably, as being the most warlike tribe, and as having led on, perhaps, the rest of the tribes to the engagement. See Bishop Hare. Others think that the passage refers to a defeat of the Ephraimites, mentioned 1 Chronicles 7:21. Upon which Dr. Hammond observes from Kimchi thus: "This defeat of the Ephraimites was in the desart, and although the history be not mentioned in the Law, or Books of Moses, yet it is written in the Books of Chronicles; where, on occasion of Zabad the Ephraimite, and Shutela, &c. it is, added, whom the men of Gath, who were born in that land, slew; and Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. From the circumstance of Ephraim's mourning it appears, that this happened before the Israelites entered into Canaan; and the manner of the relation shews that it was a considerable slaughter. Kimchi collects the greatness of it, by comparing the sum of the Ephraimites when they came out of Egypt, and were 40,500, with their number in the plains of Moab, which was no more than 32,500; 8000 short: whereas in that time (about 38 years) most of the other tribes were greatly increased. To this defeat and great slaughter of the Ephraimites by the men of Gath, an effect of their cowardice and unbelief, the Psalmist here," says the learned Doctor, most probably refers."

Verse 12

Psalms 78:12. Field of Zoan— Field, or territory of Tanis. Mudge. The land of Zoan, in Dr. Shaw's opinion, was only another appellation for the land of

Egypt, or the land of Ham, by taking, as usual in poetical composition, a part for the whole, or one of the most remarkable places of Egypt, such as Zoan might be in the time of the writer of this psalm, for the whole country. See Travels, p. 304.

Verse 17

Psalms 78:17. And they sinned yet more— Yet they sinned still more.

Verse 18

Psalms 78:18. By asking meat for their lust— See Hasselquist's Travels, p. 290.

Verse 25

Psalms 78:25. Angels' food— Most excellent food—divine food. Hiller. part 2: p. 165. The bread of the mighty. Houbigant. The Chaldee Paraphrase explains it by, food which came from the habitation of angels; so that this verse is almost synonymous with the last; where it is called food, or corn from heaven. Some of the Jewish rabbis tell us, that as the blessed in the future state, children of the age to come, as they call them, shall be fed or sustained by the light and splendor of the divine Majesty; so this manna was no other than the divine light incorporate. That it was no very solid or substantial food, we learn from the complaints of the grosser Israelites, who spoke of it with contempt: Our soul loatheth this light food; Numbers 21:5. But the lighter it was, the better probably it would fit them for contemplation, and so answer one chief end for which we may suppose it given to those whose hopes were terminated as to this world; and who therefore could not possibly be easy under these circumstances, had not their minds been raised, and turned towards those celestial regions from whence this manna came. But, whatever might be the natural effect of this food, that it had a typical reference we are sure, from the words of Him who was the true divine light incorporate; and who calls himself that bread of God which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world, John 6:33; John 6:71. That the Israelites were not unacquainted with this typical reference, appears plain from the testimony of St. Paul, who says of their fathers, i.e. the Israelites in the wilderness, that they did all eat the same spiritual meat, &c. 1 Corinthians 10:3. Here then the manna, for this no doubt is meant, is said to be to the Israelites a spiritual meat; but how was it possible it should be so, unless they were taught the spiritual meaning of it. That it had some reference to another life, seems not obscurely hinted by the great lawgiver himself, Deuteronomy 8:3. He fed thee with manna, &c. as if he had said, "You see from this plain instance, that life depends upon the will of God; who, as he gave it at the first, so he can preserve, restore, and perpetuate it at his pleasure. His word alone gives life; believe it and obey it therefore, live a life of faith, and you will live for ever." Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.—The words that I speak unto you, says our Saviour, in the same divine phraseology, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63. See Critical Dissert. on the Book of Job, p. 297.

Verse 30

Psalms 78:30. They were not estranged from their host— But before they were averse to what they had desired, and while their meat was still in their mouths, the wrath of God, &c. Green: who, instead of the fattest of them, reads, the wealthiest. Mudge renders it, They were not come to nauseate their desire: their meat was yet in their mouths. Psalms 78:31. When the wrath of God came upon them, and he slew them amidst their indulgences, and smote, &c.

Verse 32

Psalms 78:32. Believed not for, &c.— Believed not, &c.

Verses 34-38

Psalms 78:34-38. When he slew them, &c.— When he slew them, and they sought him, and returned, &c.—Ver. 35. And remembered, &c.—Ver. 36. Though they did flatter him—and lied, &c.—Ver. 37. And their heart, &c.—Ver. 38. Yet he, being full of compassion, &c.

Verse 41

Psalms 78:41. Yea, they turned back, &c.— And repeatedly put God to the proof, and set limits to the Holy One of Israel. Mudge.

Verse 47

Psalms 78:47. He destroyed their vines— Egypt is not by any means a wine country, nor ever was; so far from it, that they were forced to use a sort of beer for common drink, and do so to this day, made of barley and some intoxicating drug; this country not producing, like other countries in the east, wine in such quantities, as to be tolerably proportionate to the wants of its inhabitants. We may therefore, perhaps, wonder that their vines should have been considered by the Psalmist as so important to be singled out, together with their sycamores, from their other trees, in his account of the destruction made among them by the hail; and may fancy that there must have been other trees of much more consequence to them, and in particular the date, which Maillet affirms to be the most esteemed at this time in Egypt on account of its profitableness. But it ought to be remembered, that many trees which are now found in Egypt, might not have been introduced in those times. Dr. Pococke supposes, that very few of the present Egyptian trees are natives; the sycamore and the vine might at that time therefore be very well thought the most valuable that they had. Their sycamores were undoubtedly very important to them, and their destruction a heavy loss. The ancient Egyptian coffins were made of this kind of wood, as are the modern barques according to Norden, of which they have such numbers on the Nile; and, consequently, we may believe that their ancient barques, of multitudes of which they must always have stood in great need, on account of their country, were made of the same wood. But beside these uses, they produce a sort of fig upon which, Norden informs us, the people, for the greater part, live; thinking themselves well regaled when they have a piece of bread, a couple of sycamore figs, and a pitcher filled with water from the Nile. If their vines too were as useful then as they are now, the loss of them was very great. Their fruit serves for a considerable part of the entertainments that they give their friends: so Norden was treated by the Aga of Essuaen with coffee, and some bunches of grapes of an excellent taste, but small. If we may believe Maillet, they make still more of the leaves of their vines than they do of their fruit, using them when young prodigiously; for, minced-meat being one great part of their diet, they wrap it up in little parcels in vine-leaves, and, laying thus leaf upon leaf, season it after their mode, and so cook it, and make it a most exquisite sort of food, and one of the most delicious that comes upon their tables. But, beside these uses, they make some wine, which, though now it is made in very small quantities, as it is also in other Mahometan countries, yet was anciently much more plentiful, and even exported: for though, as was before observed, Egypt never produced wine in such quantities as to be tolerably proportionate to the number of its inhabitants, as in many other countries; yet they made so much, and that so delicious, as that it was carried to Rome, and so much drank there, as to be very well known in that seat of luxury; insomuch that Maillet, who never forgets any of the excellencies of this country, tells us, it was the third in esteem of their wines. It was made then, without doubt, and in considerable quantities, for the use of Pharaoh, and of his court, (Genesis 40:9; Genesis 40:23.) who, probably, could procure no such wine from abroad, nor were acquainted with such liquors as the great now drink in Egypt; and consequently the loss of their vines must have been considerable. As to the date-trees, which are said to be the most important now of any to the Egyptians, and which are mentioned neither in this psalm nor in the 105th; may we not suppose that the storm of hail did not reach them? The trees, it is certain, which produce the best dates in Egypt, grow in the desarts, where it seems nothing else grows, and there they are in great numbers; and as hailstones are not wont to extend very far, so there is no reason in the world to suppose that this storm reached to those desarts. It was sufficient if it fell with severity before the eyes of Pharaoh, and demolished the country which was cultivated, and particularly that part which was near to him; agreeable to which, we may observe, that the vineyards of Egypt were in the country of Fioum, which, according to William of Tyre, is but one day's journey from Cairo, and consequently less from Memphis, the old royal city; Memphis and Fioum lying both south-west of Cairo. As for the sycamores,

Dr. Pococke tells us, they are planted near villages, especially about Cairo, and consequently not far from Memphis. Upon the whole, it is no wonder that we have no account of any damage done to their date-trees, and that their sycamores and vines are distinguished from their other trees in the Mosaic history of this desolation. See Observations, p. 370.

Verse 49

Psalms 78:49. By sending evil angels among them— I join the latter end of this verse to the beginning of the next (says Mudge) in one sentence, which is a very noble one. He nicely weighed or marked out a mission of evil angels, to be a path for his anger. This refers to his slaying the first-born, which is described as performed by a destroying angel. The path of his anger is considered as a certain width or extent of destroying powers, which he exactly measured out. He renders the whole verse thus, He measured out a mission of evil angels, to be a path for his anger; spared not their persons from death, and delivered over their cattle to the pestilence. Others by evil angels, understand the various plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians by the ministry of evil angels. Or, possibly, the plagues themselves may here be figuratively called evil angels or messengers, as they were the messengers of death and evil to them. See Exodus 12:23.

Verse 55

Psalms 78:55. Divided them an inheritance by line— Or, Divided them by line for an inheritance.

Verse 57

Psalms 78:57. They were turned aside, &c.— This is explained by Psa 78:9 where the same word is used. The bow means a body of bowmen, who in the crisis of battle, like the Ephraimites above, either turn their bows against you, or run away. Mudge.

Verse 60

Psalms 78:60. So that he forsook the tabernacle— This relates to that part of the history of the Jews which is given 1 Samuel 4:0.; for, upon their sending for the ark of God from the tabernacle, in which it was deposited at Shiloh, God smote them, and suffered the Philistines to take the ark. And so true it is that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, that he never returned to it again. See 1 Samuel 6:1.; 1 Samuel 2:0 Samuel 6.; 1Ki 8:1 where the several removals of the ark are spoken of, which explain the remaining part of this psalm. Because God suffered the Philistines to take the ark, it is said, Psalms 78:61. That he delivered his strength and glory, i.e. the ark, into the enemies' hand; and Psalms 78:67. That he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, &c. for Shiloh was in the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph; and God did not suffer his ark to return thither, but to go to Kirjath-jearim, which was in the tribe of Benjamin; from thence to the house of Obededom, and so to Sion, in the tribe of Judah, as it follows, Psalms 78:68.

Verse 63

Psalms 78:63. Their maidens were not given to marriage— Were not celebrated or praised. Mudge. i.e. They lost all their charms and agreeableness; or, perhaps, were no longer serenaded and praised in poetry and music. The next verse refers to Hophni and Phinehas, and the widow of the latter, who, at her delivery, took no notice of the death of her husband.

Verse 66

Psalms 78:66. He smote his enemies, &c.— This refers to the emrods of the Philistines, which were remembered to their everlasting disgrace, by the golden ones which were kept ever after.

Verse 69

Psalms 78:69. Like high palaces— Like the mountains, the high places. This version is made probable by the next words, like the earth: standing upon the top of Sion and making the summit of it, the sanctuary had the air of a mountain; and the firmness of one now, being fixed there; for before it had been ambulatory. Mudge. See Psalms 68:18.

REFLECTIONS.—This psalm opens with a solemn call from the Lord Christ to attend the instructive truths here recorded: they are addressed to his people, the Jews in general, who are called his own, Joh 1:11 and who were peculiarly bound to remember the wonders he had wrought on their behalf, to incline their ears to the words of his mouth; that everlasting gospel, which, in the law and the prophets, was declared to them, and in the fulness of time preached by himself among them.

1. The matter required attention. I will open my mouth in a parable; which was his usual method of teaching, Matthew 13:34-35. I will utter dark sayings of old; truths which challenge the most serious regard, and which have antiquity to recommend them, the gospel being as old as the first man, though more clearly and plainly dispensed when Christ the Substance came, and the shadows fled away: which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us; those holy ancestors, of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who carefully transmitted the revelation which God had made to them, and the memory of his wonderous works, to their posterity: and we will not hide them from their children, the Jewish people, to whom Christ and his apostles fully published the glorious gospel, shewing to the generation to come, in a constant succession of ministers, the praises of the Lord; those truths of gospel grace, which will furnish matter for the everlasting praises of the faithful; and his strength, manifested in the redemption, conversion, and salvation of sinners; and his wonderful works that he hath done for his people in all ages, in delivering them from the hands of their enemies. Note; (1.) The concerns of our salvation are infinitely important, and demand our most serious attention. (2.) Among all the most precious treasures that we can transmit to our children, we must ever esteem the doctrines of the grace of God in Jesus Christ to be the chief, and carefully instruct them in this most inestimable wisdom.

2. The two chief particulars of those instructions, which, with such care, are here enjoined to be delivered down successively through all ages, are the word and works of God: the word of God containing both the law and gospel; the works of God containing all his providential dispensations in behalf of the faithful; and these are carefully to be inculcated in the rising generation: [1.] That they might set their hope in God, and in him alone; renouncing all other confidences, expecting pardon, holiness, strength, and salvation, from his free grace and mercy in Christ Jesus, and not forget the works of God, manifold and marvellous, working for the good of his faithful people; but keep his commandments from a principle of love, and through the grace ministered to them from God. [2.] That they might not be as their fathers, whose ill examples should be their warnings.