Psalm 78:1-8 - Tell Your Children

The coming generations depend upon you to teach them.

Psalm 78:1–8 (NASB95)

¹ Listen, O my people, to my instruction;

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

² I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old,

³ Which we have heard and known,

And our fathers have told us.

⁴ We will not conceal them from their children,

But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,

And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

⁵ For He established a testimony in Jacob

And appointed a law in Israel,

Which He commanded our fathers

That they should teach them to their children,

⁶ That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born,

That they may arise and tell them to their children,

⁷ That they should put their confidence in God

And not forget the works of God,

But keep His commandments,

⁸ And not be like their fathers,

A stubborn and rebellious generation,

A generation that did not prepare its heart

And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 103

Q. What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment?

A. First,

that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained,

and that, especially on the festive day of rest,

I regularly attend the assembly of God’s people

to learn what God’s Word teaches,

to participate in the sacraments,

to pray to God publicly,

and to bring Christian offerings for the poor.

Second,

that every day of my life

I rest from my evil ways,

let the Lord work in me through his Spirit,

and so begin already in this life

the eternal Sabbath.

Q&A 104

Q. What is God’s will for you in the fifth commandment?

A. That I honor, love, and be loyal to

my father and mother

and all those in authority over me;

that I obey and submit to them, as is proper,

when they correct and punish me;

and also that I be patient with their failings—

for through them God chooses to rule us.

Summary

Psalm 78 is a historical psalm that accounts two events from generations past.

These first eight verses of the psalm lay out the purpose of this poem.

The author of Psalm 78 uses poetic language to share historical accounts

familiar to the Israelites which detail God’s justice and mercy. In each of these

accounts, the Israelites responded with faith and obedience.

The remembrance of these ancient events has been passed down from

generation to generation. The author had been taught this as a child and is now

recording these events in this psalm for the following generation to hear.

The purpose of passing down this testimony of past events was more than to

keep their memory alive. These accounts were shared to inspire future

generations to keep God’s commandments and avoid the stubborn rebellion of

previous generations.

  Dig Deeper  

In this retelling of past events, the author of Psalm 78 demonstrates a necessary

responsibility for believers, sharing the history of our faith with the next

generation. Even when children go to Sunday School or receive a Christian

Education, the primary place that they will learn or not learn about God is at

home.

The Church and/or Christian School is not a substitute for modeling Christian

behavior in the home. Instead of relying on others to teach the faith, it is the

duty of every parent to share the stories of our faith with their children. Let the

Church supplement, not replace, your God-given responsibility to teach the faith

to the next generation.

The stories shared in Psalm 78 were meant to remind following generations of

the dangers of rebelling against God. By learning from the mistakes of previous

generations, they would hopefully avoid making the same mistakes themselves.

I too often hear believers complain about upcoming generations and how they

are too disrespectful or don’t take church seriously. My question is, what have

they been taught?

How much time have you spent investing in passing on the stories of our faith to

next generation? If you want to see God at work in the next generation, be

more than just a silent observer to their faith journey.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who established a testimony that we must teach our children;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God will use you as a teacher of generations to come, even the children yet to be born;

  ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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