Psalm 78:2 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 78:1-8

These verses, which contain the preface to this history, show that the psalm answers the title; it is indeed Maschil?a psalm to give instruction; if we receive not the instruction it gives, it is our own fault. Here, I. The psalmist demands attention to what he wrote (Ps. 78:1): Give ear, O my people! to my law. Some make these the psalmist's words. David, as a king, or Asaph, in his name, as his secretary of state, or scribe to the sweet singer of Israel, here calls upon the people, as his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 78:2

I will open my mouth ,.... Speak freely, boldly, and without reserve, Ephesians 6:19 , so Christ opened his mouth, Matthew 5:2 , in a parable ; not that what follows in this psalm was such, but what were delivered by our Lord in the days of his flesh, who spake many parables; as of the sower, and of tares, and of the grain of mustard seed, and many others, and without a parable he spake not, and so fulfilled what he here said he would do, Matthew 13:34 . I will utter dark... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 78:2

In a parable - Or, I will give you instruction by numerous examples; see Psalm 49:1-4 ; (note), which bears a great similarity to this; and see the notes there. The term parable, in its various acceptations, has already been sufficiently explained; but משל mashal may here mean example, as opposed to תורה torah , law or precept, Psalm 49:1 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:1-8

The introduction calls special attention to the teaching that is about to be put forth, which it declares to be traditional ( Psalms 78:3 ), and, further, to be the sort of instruction which God had especially commanded to be given to his people by their teachers ( Psalms 78:5 , Psalms 78:6 ) for their edification ( Psalms 78:7 , Psalms 78:8 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:1-72

The psalm is, as the title also declares, one of "instruction." It seeks to keep the people faithful to David and his house, and to check their tendency to place themselves under the leadership of the tribe of Ephraim, by recalling the whole course of God's dealings with Israel in the past, from the time of the sojourn in Egypt to the establishment of David's kingdom. It also seeks to keep them faithful to God, by showing how all their past calamities and sufferings had arisen out of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:1-72

Whole psalm: Warnings against unbelief. I. ITS PURPOSE . 1 . To warn Ephraim; not to taunt and exult over him, but to warn. This psalm seems to belong to the period of the disruption. Ephraim, with the other northern tribes, had broken away from Judah and from the worship of God, and this psalm seems designed, by its recital of their old sins and the consequences thereof, to warn them against like sin in the future (cf. 2 Chronicles 13:1-22 .). 2 . To warn Judah. If... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:2

I will open my mouth in a parable . The facts of Israelitish history. are the "parable," the inner meaning of which it is for the intelligent to grasp. They are φωνᾶντα συνετοῖσιν . I will utter dark sayings of old (comp. Proverbs 1:6 ). Khidoth ( חידות ) are properly "riddles" (see 14:12 ). Here the idea is that God's dealings with his people had been "riddles," whereto the psalmist would give the clue (comp. Psalms 78:21 , Psalms 78:22 , Psalms 78:33 , Psalms... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:2

History a parable. In Matthew 13:1-58 . this verse is quoted as the ground of our Lord's teaching by parables. He never used fables—stories which contain the unnatural and grotesque,—but parables—stories of what were, or might have been, actual occurrences. Probably many of them were. And all history is a parable, and ought to be so used by us in teaching far more than it is; for, like the parables, history has for— I. ITS AUTHOR —God. The story of the nations often seems to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:2

Teaching by parable. The answering word to "parable," in this verse, is "dark sayings," or "hard sentences," which reminds us of the Queen of Sheba, who journeyed to Jerusalem to prove Solomon with "hard questions." We cannot bring the precise New Testament ideas of the word "parable" to bear upon the word as used in this psalm, and yet its meaning is very exact. The parable is treated as a setting of truth which veils or hides the truth, and compels the hearer to search, if he would find... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 78:2

I will open my mouth in a parable - See the notes at Psalms 49:4. The word “parable” here means a statement by analogy or comparison; that is, he would bring out what he had to say by a course of reasoning founded on an analogy drawn from the ancient history of the people.I will utter dark sayings of old - Of ancient times; that is, maxims, or sententious thoughts, which had come down from past times, and which embodied the results of ancient observation and reflection. Compare Psalms 49:4,... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 78:1-8

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 78:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 78:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:1-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:1-72

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:1-72

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:2

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 78:2

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