Practice the singing for this week here.

From the ESV Study Bible

This is a “historical psalm” (cf. Psalms 105; 106) recounting events from Israel’s past that show how God persevered with his people, even when they disbelieved—while at the same time he cleansed his people by purging them of the unbelievers along the way. The psalm has selected events primarily from the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel, ending with the reign of David. The psalm is clear about its purpose: to recount these events in song so that future generations of God’s people might take the lessons to heart, particularly that they not be unbelieving and rebellious like the generations described here. The emphasis is on the people as a whole and the members’ obligation to embrace the covenant faithfully in each generation. Terms for “remember” and “forget” run through the psalm (Ps. 78:7, 11, 35, 42; cf. v. 39, where God remembers): the psalmist hopes that those who sing this will never again forget. The psalm opens with its purpose statement (vv. 1–8), followed by several episodes of sin and unbelief, each new section beginning with “they sinned” or “they rebelled” (vv. 17, 32, 40, 56), followed by a final section on God’s gift of David as the pinnacle expression of his enduring commitment (vv. 65–72). Christians will of course see the final section, on David, as important: Jesus is David’s heir, who now occupies his throne. At the same time, they should not overlook God’s patient preservation of his people, the descendants of Abraham—the people into which God has engrafted Gentile Christians. Christians may properly see themselves as the beneficiaries of God’s patience: without it, there would be no people for them to be part of! And God will continue his purposes for his people until the very end.

From the Literary Study Bible

Ps. 78 The glorious deeds of the LORD: a historical psalm This long psalm is a rehearsal of Israelite history, viewed through the interpretive lens of Israel’s disloyalty to God. The sequence is as follows: an orienting section in which the speaker summons his audience to listen, as in the mode of OT wisdom teachers (vv. 1–4); a section in which the speaker announces his purpose in rehearsing history—that God’s works will be passed from one generation to the next and that God’s covenant people will not perpetuate the rebelliousness of the exodus generation (vv. 5–8); a litany of national ignominies during the wilderness journey of the exodus (vv. 9–55); still more apostasy after the nation entered the Promised Land (vv. 56–58); God’s anger displayed against the nation (vv. 59–66); God’s choice of Judah and David as his people’s last best hope (vv. 67–72).

Something to Listen To