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Matthew Henry

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 78:8

And might not be as their fathers ,.... This chiefly respects the Jews in Christ's time: though it also is an admonition to them in succeeding ages, and especially in the latter day, when they shall be instructed, called, and converted; and even to us, to whom the Gospel is preached, on whom the ends of the world are come, not to be disobedient, as the Jewish fathers were, and to take care we do not fall after the same example of unbelief; this opens the whole scope and general design of the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 78:8

Verse 8 8.And that they might not be as their fathers, a rebellious and provoking generation. The Psalmist here shows still more distinctly how necessary this sermon was, from the circumstance that the Jews were exceedingly prone to revolt from God, if they were not kept in subjection by powerful restraints. He takes it as a fact, which could not be questioned, that their hearts were in no respect better than the hearts of their fathers, whom he affirms to have been a treacherous, rebellious,... 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 78:3-8

The Divine object of revelation. In this paragraph we have stated the object which God had appointed Israel to fulfil—to receive his Law and truth, that they might transmit them to posterity, and that they and their posterity might be brought to a living trust in God, and obedience to his will. Suggests— I. GOD HAS MADE THE FULLEST REVELATION OF HIMSELF AND HIS WILL TO MANKIND IN JESUS CHRIST . 1 . He has gloriously revealed his character in Christ ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:8

And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation (comp. Deuteronomy 21:18 , Deuteronomy 21:20 , for the combination of the two words). The "stubbornness" of Israel is noted in Deuteronomy 9:27 ; 2:19 ; and frequently by Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 3:17 ; Jeremiah 7:24 ; Jeremiah 9:14 ; Jeremiah 11:8 , etc.); their "rebelliousness" in Deuteronomy 9:7 , Deuteronomy 9:24 ; Isaiah 30:1 , Isaiah 30:9 ; Isaiah 65:2 ; Jeremiah 5:23 ; Ezekiel 2:3-8 ; ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 78:8

And might not be as their fathers - Their ancestors, particularly in the wilderness, as they passed through it to the promised land. See Exodus 32:7-9; Exodus 33:3; Exodus 34:9; Acts 7:51-53.A stubborn and rebellious generation - Stiff-necked, ungovernable; inclined to revolt. Nothing was more remarkable in their early history than this.A generation that set not their heart aright - Margin, as in Hebrew, “prepared not their heart.” That is, they took no pains to keep their heart aright, or to... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 78:7-8

Psalms 78:7-8. That they might set their hope in God That by the consideration of God’s gracious promises, and his wonderful works wrought for his people, they might be encouraged to adhere to him, and trust in him alone. And might not be as their fathers Who, though they were the seed of Abraham, the father of the faithful, taken into covenant with God, and, it appears, the only professing people he had then in the world, yet were stubborn and rebellious, walking contrary to God, and in... read more

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