Tell the Coming Generation
A Maskil78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term of Ps. 50, titleAsaph.
1 [Isa. 51:4]; See Ps. 49:1; 50:7Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 Cited Matt. 13:35;See Ps. 49:4I will open my mouth [Num. 21:27]in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our See Ps. 44:1fathers have told us.
4 We will not Job 15:18hide them from their children,
but [Ex. 12:26,27;13:8,14;Deut. 11:19;Josh. 4:6,7;Joel 1:3] tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and ver. 11, 32the wonders that he has done.
5 He established Ps. 19:7;[Ps. 81:5] a testimony in Ps. 147:19Jacob
and appointed a law in Ps. 147:19Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6 that ver. 4;Ps. 102:18the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget Ps. 77:12the works of God,
but Ps. 105:45keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be 2 Kgs. 17:14;2 Chr. 30:7;Ezek. 20:18like their fathers,
Ex. 32:9;33:3;Deut. 9:7,24;31:27;Jer. 5:23a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation ver. 37;Job 11:13whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The Ephraimites, armed with78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting the bow,
ver. 57turned back on the day of battle.
10 They [2 Kgs. 17:15]did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They See Ps. 106:13forgot his works
and ver. 4the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers ver. 43;See Ex. 7–12;Ps. 72:18he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in ver. 43;Num. 13:22;Isa. 19:11,13;Ezek. 30:14the fields of Zoan.
13 He Ps. 136:13;Ex. 14:21divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters Ex. 15:8stand like a heap.
14 See Ps. 105:39In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He ver. 20;Ps. 105:41;114:8;Ex. 17:6;Isa. 48:21split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of Num. 20:8,10,11the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
ver. 40, 56;Deut. 9:22;Isa. 63:10rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They ver. 41, 56;Ps. 95:9;106:14;Deut. 6:16;1 Cor. 10:9tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
[Ex. 16:3;Num. 11:4;20:3;21:5] "Can God See Ps. 23:5spread a table in the wilderness?
20 ver. 15, 16He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?"
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
Num. 11:1a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they ver. 8, 32, 37did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and Gen. 7:11;[Mal. 3:10]opened the doors of heaven,
24 and he Ex. 16:4rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them Ps. 105:40;[John 6:31]the grain of heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of Ps. 103:20the angels;
he sent them food [ver. 29]in abundance.
26 He Num. 11:31caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained meat on them like [Gen. 13:16] dust,
winged birds like [Gen. 22:17]the sand of the seas;
28 he Ex. 16:13;Num. 11:31let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they Num. 11:19,20ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they Num. 11:4,34craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
Num. 11:33;[Job 20:23]while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed Isa. 10:16the strongest of them
and laid low ver. 63the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they See Num. 14;16;17still sinned;
ver. 22;Num. 14:11despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made Num. 14:29,35;26:64,65their days Ps. 39:5vanish like78:33 Hebrew in a breath,78:33 Or vapor
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they Hos. 5:15sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their Deut. 32:4,15,31rock,
the Most High God their Ex. 15:13;See Ps. 74:2redeemer.
36 But they Isa. 29:13;Ezek. 33:31flattered him with their mouths;
they Isa. 57:11lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their ver. 8heart was not Ps. 51:10steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being Ex. 34:6compassionate,
Num. 14:20atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He [Ps. 103:14;Job 10:9] remembered that they were but Gen. 6:3flesh,
Job 7:7a wind that passes and comes not again.
40 How often they ver. 17, 56;Ps. 107:11rebelled against him in the wilderness
and [Eph. 4:30] grieved him in Ps. 106:14the desert!
41 They See ver. 18tested God again and again
and provoked See Ps. 71:22the Holy One of Israel.
42 They Judg. 8:34did not remember his power78:42 Hebrew hand
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 For ver. 43-51, see Ps. 105:27-36when he performed his Ex. 7:3;[Ps. 106:22]; Acts 7:36signs in Egypt
and his Ex. 4:21;11:9,10marvels in See ver. 12the fields of Zoan.
44 He See Ex. 7:17-24turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of See Ex. 8:21-24flies, which devoured them,
and See Ex. 8:2-14frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to See Ex. 10:12-15the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with See Ex. 9:23-25hail
and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their See Ex. 9:19-21cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of Ex. 12:13,23;[2 Sam. 24:16]destroying angels.
50 He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51 He struck down every Ex. 12:29;[Ps. 105:36;135:8;136:10] firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ps. 105:23,27;106:22Ham.
52 Then he led out his people See Ps. 77:20like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 [Ex. 14:19,20] He led them in safety, so that they [Ex. 14:13] were not afraid,
but Ex. 14:27,28;15:10the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his Ex. 15:17holy land,
Isa. 11:9;57:13;[Ps. 68:16] to the mountain which his right hand had Ps. 74:2won.
55 He See Ps. 44:2drove out nations before them;
he Josh. 23:4;[Ps. 135:12;136:21,22;Acts 13:19]apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Yet they ver. 18;Judg. 2:11,12tested and ver. 40rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like Hos. 7:16;[ver. 9]a deceitful bow.
58 For they Deut. 31:29provoked him to anger with their Lev. 26:30;Deut. 12:2;1 Kgs. 11:7;12:31;Ezek. 20:28high places;
they Num. 25:11;Deut. 32:16,21;Judg. 2:12moved him to jealousy with their Deut. 7:5,25;12:3idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of ver. 62;Ps. 106:40;Deut. 3:26wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He 1 Sam. 4:11;Jer. 7:12,14;26:6forsook his dwelling at Josh. 18:1Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61 and delivered his Ps. 132:8;[Ps. 63:2;96:6] power to captivity,
his [1 Sam. 4:21]glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He [1 Sam. 4:10] gave his people over to the sword
and ver. 59vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 [Ps. 79:5;89:46] Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no [Jer. 7:34]marriage song.
64 Their 1 Sam. 4:11priests fell by the sword,
and their Job 27:15widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord Ps. 73:20;See Ps. 35:23awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66 And he [Ps. 40:14]put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67 He rejected the tent of Ps. 80:1;81:5Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he Ps. 87:2loves.
69 He See 1 Kgs. 6built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70 He 1 Sam. 16:12,13chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from 2 Sam. 7:8following the nursing ewes he brought him
to 2 Sam. 5:2;[Ps. 28:9] shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his 1 Sam. 10:1inheritance.
72 With Ps. 101:2;1 Kgs. 9:4upright heart he shepherded them
and [Ps. 77:20]guided them with his skillful hand.