Psalm 78:59

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 78:40-72

The matter and scope of this paragraph are the same with the former, showing what great mercies God had bestowed upon Israel, how provoking they had been, what judgments he had brought upon them for their sins, and yet how, in judgment, he remembered mercy at last. Let not those that receive mercy from God be thereby emboldened to sin, for the mercies they receive will aggravate their sin and hasten the punishment of it; yet let not those that are under divine rebukes for sin be discouraged... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 78:59

When God heard this ,.... Their building high places, and sacrificing on them, their making and worshipping graven images, and the language which such actions spoke; who also heard what they said to their idols, when they paid their devotion to them, acknowledging them to be their gods; he took notice of and observed all this, for nothing could pass his all seeing eye and hearing ear; and who acted as a righteous Judge, first heard, and then proceeded to give and execute the sentence; by... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 78:59

Verse 59 59God heard it, and was wroth. The prophet again shows that God, when he found that no good resulted from his long-suffering, which the people abused, yea, even treated with mockery, and perverted as an encouragement to greater excess in sinning, at length proceeded to inflict severe punishments upon them. The metaphor, which he borrows from earthly judges, is frequently to be met with in the Scriptures. When God is said to hear, it is not meant that it is necessary for him to make... 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 78:9-72

The historical portion of the psalm now follows. It commences with some general remarks on the transgressions of Ephraim, i.e. of Israel while under the guidance of Ephraim—from Joshua to Samuel (verses 9-11). It then proceeds to details, and sketches the Israelite history. from the deliverance out of Egypt to the establishment of David's kingdom (verses 12-72). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:59

When God heard this, he was wroth (comp. above, Psalms 78:21 ). And greatly abhorred Israel . Not Israel, as distinct from Judah, but Israel in the broadest sense, the entire nation, as in Psalms 78:55 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:59

God turned against his people. I. THIS AN AWFUL POSSIBILITY . We have an instance here told of. And the history of nations, Churches, individuals, furnish many more. II. BUT GREATLY DISBELIEVED . The devil will do his bad best to make men not believe it. Therefore uses: 1 . False theology, wresting the Scriptures. There were people in St. John's day (see 1 John 1:1-10 .) who said they had no sin. Some trusted in their Abrahamic descent; others did not believe in... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 78:59

When God heard this - literally, “God heard;” that is, he understood this; he was acquainted with it. He heard their prayers addressed to false gods; he heard their praises sung in honor of idols.He was wroth - This is language taken from the common manner of speaking among people, for language derived from human conceptions and usages must be employed when we speak of God, though it may be difficult to say what is its exact meaning. The general sense is that his conduct toward them was as if... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 78:57-59

Psalms 78:57-59. And dealt unfaithfully like their fathers They imitated their forefathers, both in their frequent apostacies from God, and in their falseness to their promises, when they pretended to repent of them. They were turned aside like a deceitful bow Which seems likely to send the arrow to the mark, but, when it is drawn, breaks, and drops the arrow at the archer’s foot, or shoots awry, and thereby frustrates his design and expectation: so their depraved hearts made them turn... read more

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