Psalm 78
Psalm 78 Meaning
Psalm 78 is a long retelling of Israel's history, meant to teach the next generation not to repeat their ancestors' unbelief. It recalls God's wonders in Egypt and the wilderness and the people's repeated forgetting.
Through all their faithlessness, God remained compassionate, and at last He chose David to shepherd His people with integrity of heart.
Key verses from Psalm 78
“I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:”
Psalm 78:2
“We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.”
Psalm 78:4
“But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.”
Psalm 78:38
“So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.”
Psalm 78:72
How Psalm 78 points to Jesus
Matthew sees Jesus in this psalm's promise to open His mouth in parables. He is the true shepherd of David's line who leads God's people with integrity, and the faithful God this history reveals.