March 19, 2017: Day 78 – Psalm 78

I really hope you were able to read through this psalm in one sitting.  It is powerful.  The entire premise is built around vs.1-4 where the author states that we will not hide, we should not hide, all the glorious deeds of the Lord from our children.  We have to pass on the memories of God’s actions in our midst to our children.  I also think of:

A scripture which is a classic which reflects what this author is trying to say at the beginning, that we will never forget to tell our children of the wondrous things of the Lord, is called the Shema which is found in Deuteronomy 6:4.  It is called Shema because that is the Hebrew for hear or listen.  In the Shema we find the author telling his audience of how crucial it is for the next generation to hear and understand what God has done for the nation in the past.  The passing down of the faith from one generation to the next is crucial for the Israelites, and equally crucial to us.  At least it should be.

Once vs.4 is over do you see what the author does?  He launches into a reflection of what God has done, and specifically what God has done in relationship to the time of Israel in Egypt.  He goes through the plagues, he goes through the people being led out and crossing the red sea.  He goes through the continual betrayal of the people time after time.  It sounds like the book of Judges where we hear consistently and constantly: “And the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

This Psalm contains one of my favorite references or metaphors for the Lord.  Look at vs.65 where the author basically compares God to a drunken sailor.  Do you see that?  Like a soldier who wakes from his stupor after a long night of drinking God comes to the battle and slays the enemy.  Not one I would use often in my sermons, but effective and it gets the point across.