I want to read the first eight
verses. I'm going to read the whole psalm.
And this is the second longest psalm in the Bible. And it's
one of three historical psalms, Psalm 105, Psalm 106, and this
78th psalm. And reading this psalm, it has one message. Israel's failure, God's faithfulness. That's the one message. And before
I read this psalm, I'd like to read a couple of scriptures that
pretty much say the same thing. Psalm 106. This is one of those historical
psalms, verse six. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy
wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude
of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red
Sea, Nevertheless, he saved them for his name's sake, that he
might make his mighty power to be known. Now turn to Isaiah
43. Verse 21. This people have I formed for
myself. They shall show forth my praise, but thou hast not
called upon me, O Jacob, but thou hast been weary of me,
O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the
small cattle of thy burnt offerings, neither hast thou honored me
with thy sacrifices. I've not caused thee to serve
with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. Thou hast
bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled
me with the fat of thy sacrifices, but thou hast made me to serve
with thy sins. Thou hast wearied me with thine
iniquities. I, even I, am he. that blotteth out thy transgression.
Why? For my own sake. There's the
reason. For my own sake. And will not
remember thy sins. Now back to Psalm 78. And one of the things that you'll
notice in these initial verses is he talks about the necessity
for our children and our children's children to hear the gospel. Now think of the emphasis of
this. Let's read these first eight
verses. Give ear, O my people, to my law. Incline your ears
to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable.
I will utter dark sayings of old which we have heard and known
and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their
children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord
and his strength and his wonderful works that he hath done. For
he established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in
Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make
them known to their children, that the generation to come might
know them, even the children which should be born, who should
arise and declare them to their children, that they might set
their hope in God. and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments, and might not be as their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their
heart aright, and in whose spirit was not steadfast with God."
Now, He speaks, and I don't want us to miss this, of the importance
of our children and our children's children and our children's children's
children on down the line hearing the gospel. We want everybody to hear the
gospel, don't we? That's our purpose, is to preach the gospel. And we want everybody to hear
the gospel. Now, you'll notice when he summarizes that he does not want us to be
like our fathers. When we read this psalm, he doesn't
have one good thing to say about Israel. Not one. He says, we don't want to be
as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a
generation that set not their heart aright, and in whose spirit
was not steadfast with God. That's what he said of this generation.
Now here's his purpose, verse seven, that they might set their
hope in God. This is what we want for us and
for our children, that our hope might be in God and not forget
the works of God, his work of salvation, but keep his commandments. Now that's believing the gospel.
Keeping his commandments is believing the gospel. Somebody says, well,
it's keeping the Ten Commandments. Well, I hope you do, but do you?
He's not talking about keeping the Ten Commandments. Now, in
the Lord, I have kept the Ten Commandments, and I wouldn't
want to sin, but I'm just talking about reality with us. Somebody
says, well, I partially keep them. Partial obedience is disobedience. Don't call it anything else.
When he's talking about keeping the commandments, he's talking
about actually believing the gospel and actually loving God's
people. Now let's go on reading. That's
verse nine, the children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
turn back in the day of battle. Now when he's talking about the
children of Ephraim, that's talking about all of Israel. Quite often
in the prophetic writings, Israel is called Ephraim. The children
of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day
of battle. They kept not the covenant of God and refused to
walk in his law. They forgot his works and his
wonders that he had showed them. Marvelous things did he in the
sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the field of
Zoan." He's talking about what took place in the Exodus. He
divided the sea and caused them to pass through. and he made
the waters to stand up as an heap. I love to think of that taking
place. Them standing before the Red Sea and the waters part,
and they walk through as on dry land, and when their enemies
attempted to walk through, what happened to them? He brought
the sea back on them. Verse 14, in the daytime also
he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of
fire. talking about the pillar of cloud that they would follow
the day, the pillar of fire at night. He led them, he guided
them. Verse 15, he claved the rocks
in the wilderness and gave them drink out of the great depths. He brought streams also out of
the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers out of this
rock. What a beautiful type of the
gospel. And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians
10, that rock was Christ. When the rock was smitten, water
came out. When Christ was smitten, his
salvation flows. And I love the next time the
Lord told Moses, speak to the rock. Moses didn't speak to the
rock, did he? He disobeyed God, he smote the
rock twice. The rock had already been smitten.
It's never to be smitten twice. Verse 17, after all of this,
they sinned yet more against him by provoking the Most High
in the wilderness. And they tempted God in their
heart by asking meat for their lust. Now, they'd been given
manna, every day, water from the rock, and they got tired
of it. They said, our souls loathe this
light bread. We want meat. We want meat. We're tired of this light bread. And that's what happens when
people grow weary of the gospel. We're tired of the gospel. It's
dry. It's just doctrine. It's not
speaking to us. That's what they were saying.
Verse 17, and they sin yet more against him by provoking the
most high in the wilderness. They tempted God in their heart
by asking meat for their lust. Yea, they spake against God.
They said, can God furnish a table in the wilderness? We already
had. Yea, they spake against God.
Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Behold, he smote
the rock, the waters gushed out, the streams overflowed. Can he
give us bread also? Can he provide flesh for his
people? Therefore the Lord heard this
and was wroth. So a fire was kindled against
Jacob and anger also came up against Israel because they believed
not in God and trusted not in his salvation. If we know the character of God,
if we know him, here's one thing we know, he is trustworthy. Amen? He is trustworthy. And they did not trust Him, because
they believed not in God, and trusted not in His salvation. Though He had commanded the clouds
from above, and opened the doors of heaven, and He rained down
manna upon them to eat, and given them the corn of heaven,
man did eat angels' food, He sent me to them, to the fool."
Now, that manna coming from heaven, what a glorious picture of what
faith is. He would bring manna down, and
they were to gather it that very morning. By noon, it would melt
away. And they could only gather enough
for that day. None for tomorrow, only for that
day. Faith is always in the present. Always. I don't look... What would have happened if they
would have eaten manna that had been gathered yesterday and saved
it? It would breed worms and stink. Faith is always for the present.
You're not allowed to save manna for tomorrow. It's always for
today. And they would eat every day. It was miraculous. Man did eat
angel's food, and he sent the meat to the fool. Verse 26. He
caused an east wind to blow in heaven, and by his power he brought
in the south wind. He rained also flesh upon them
as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea.
They got up and there were just all kinds of quails, all they
could eat. He gave them what they asked
for. And I would say to myself and to you, watch out for what
you ask for. Be careful. He let it fall in the midst of
the camp round about their habitations, 28. So they did eat and were
filled for he gave them their own desire. They were not estranged
from their lust, but while the meat was yet in their mouth,
the wrath of God came upon them and slew the fattest of them
and smote down the chosen men of Israel. For all this, they sin still. They sinned still. Now, like
I said, there's not one good thing in all of this passage
said about the children of Israel. For all of this, they sinned
still and believed not for his wondrous works. Therefore, there
are days that he consumed in vanity and there are years in
trouble. When he slew them, then they
sought him. And they returned and inquired
early after God, and they remembered that God was their rock and the
high God their Redeemer. Nevertheless, even in this seeming
appearance of seeking the Lord, nevertheless, they did flatter
him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues,
for their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast
in his covenant. Now this is talking about all
the children of Israel. This is the summary of these
people. Their heart was not right. They
were not steadfast in the covenant, but, verse 38, but. Here's the difference, but. He,
being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity. and destroyed
them not, yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not
stir up all his wrath." Now, the scripture that I think of
is Ephesians 4, verse 32. Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God, for Christ's sake. That's his reason
for compassion. That's his reason for grace,
for Christ's sake. Now, can I emphasize that too
much? But, that's the same but God who is rich in mercy, that's
the same but. But he being full of compassion
forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not, yea, many a time turned
he his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath for he
remembered that they were but flesh." You'll notice the word
but is in italics. He remembered that they flesh. A wind that passeth away and
cometh not again. Do you remember when the Lord
in the Garden of Gethsemane asked the disciples, pray with me. Pray with me. He knew he was
getting ready to go to the cross. He wanted the encouragement of
his disciples. And he said, pray with me. And
he comes back after he had prayed to the father and they were all
asleep. Sound like anybody you know?
And he goes and prays again and comes back and they were sleeping
again. And he said, sleep on now, the
spirit is willing and the flesh is weak. And you know that about
yourself, don't you? The flesh is weak. And I love that scripture in
Psalm 103 verse 14. He knoweth our frame. He remembereth
that we're dust. And that's what's being said
in this passage of scripture. Verse 40, how oft did they provoke
him in the wilderness and grieve him in the desert? Do not think for one second that
the sins you and I commit, God is indifferent toward them. And we read of grieving the Holy
Spirit and quenching the Spirit. And while it's true that I stand
before God without guilt, perfectly righteous before His law, it's
also true that my sin and your sin, He's not indifferent, it
grieves Him. Someone says, explain that to
me. I can't. But how can I be just before God and yet my sin
grieve Him? Be sure it does. We wouldn't
have scriptures like grieve not the Holy Spirit if that were
not the case. How often did they provoke Him in the wilderness
and grieve Him in the desert? Yea, they turned back. That's
the summary of the children of Israel. They turned back and
tempted God and limited. the Holy One of Israel." Now,
what in the world does that mean? They limited the Holy One of
Israel. The word limited is the word
grieved. This is not saying, and this
is the way most people look at this passage of Scripture. I
don't know why the translator translated limited. Most people
say we limit God's blessings by our disobedience. Now, I guess
there's a sense in which that's true. But you can't limit God. God's all-powerful. Your unbelief
is not going to frustrate His purposes. It's just not gonna
happen. God's will shall be done. But, oh, may the Lord give us
the grace to not sin. These things write unto you that
you sin not. I think of David. The scripture
says, the thing David did, David was a child of God. The thing
David did displeased the Lord. Talking about that thing of Bathsheba
and Uriah. The thing David did displeased
the Lord. Verse 42, they remembered not
his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from their enemy.
Oh, they forget so quickly. how he had wrought his signs
in Egypt and his wonders in the field of Zoan, that's talking
about the Exodus. And now he talks about the plagues
that he sent Egypt. He turned their rivers into blood
and their floods that they could not drink. He sent diverse sorts
of flies among them, which devoured them. Could you imagine? Oh,
I hate house flies. You know, you think, can you
imagine just swarms covering you? Well, they had that. The frogs, which destroyed them.
I mean, when they go to cook, there would be frogs in their
ovens everywhere, in their beds. He sent frogs, which destroyed
them. He gave also their increase under the caterpillar and their
labor under the locust. He destroyed their vines with
hail and their sycamore trees with frost. He gave up their
cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
This is talking about what happened to the Egyptians in the 10 plagues.
He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation,
and trouble by sending evil angels among them. He made a way to
his anger. He spared not their soul from
death, but gave their life over to pestilence, and smote all
the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tabernacles
of Ham. He made his own people to go
forth like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. Don't you love the buts of scripture? But he made his own people. Hold your finger there and turn
to Exodus 11 for just a moment. Verse five, and all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh
that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the
maidservant that's behind the mill, and all the firstborn of
Bees. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of
Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it
any more. But, there's that but, but, against
any of the children of Israel, Shall not a dog move his tongue
against man or beast, that you may know how that the Lord doth
put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel? I mean, we read of Israel's history. Were they morally better in and
of themselves than Egypt? They weren't, were they? Now
this is the scriptural testimony. All he talks about is how they
never, all they did was turn back. All they did. But here's
the difference. But God, he made a difference. And if I am a believer, it's
because God has made a difference with me. Let's go on reading. He, verse 53, he led them on
safely so that they feared not, but the sea overwhelmed their
enemies. And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary,
even to this mountain, which is right-handed purchase." This
is talking about Mount Sinai where they were given the law.
He cast out the heathen also before them and divided them
in inheritance by line and made the tribes of Israel to dwell
in their tents. This is talking about Joshua bringing them into
the promised land, casting out the heathen to bring them there.
Yet, verse 56, yet they tempted and provoked the Most High God
and kept not his testimonies, but turned back. There we have
that again, but turned back and dealt unfaithfully like their
fathers. They were turned aside like a
deceitful bow, for they provoked him to anger with their high
places. and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. Now what did Israel continually
do? They were continually going back
to idolatry, false images, false ideas of God over and over and
over again. How much trouble did they have
with Baal worship? I love the way that while David was king,
Baal's not as much as mentioned. But with every other king, the
continual struggle with Baal worship. Verse 59, when God heard this, he was wroth
and greatly abhorred Israel. so that he forsook the tabernacle
of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men with the holy
and the holy of holies and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
the place where the priests would go in with the blood. God forsook
that. And he delivered his strength
into captivity and his glory into the enemy's hand. This is
talking about them being given over to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed them. He gave his, verse 62, he gave
his people over also into the sword and was wroth with his
inheritance. The fire consumed their young men and their maidens
were not given to marriage. Their priests fell by the sword
and their widows made no lamentation. Couldn't be much worse than that,
could it? Verse 65. Then the Lord awaked as one out
of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine,
he smote his enemies in the hinder parts, however you pronounce
it. He put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover, he refused the tabernacle
of Joseph and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe
of Judah. Who did Christ come from? Judah. He chose the tribe of Judah,
the Mount Zion, which he loved, the church. And he built his
sanctuary. You know, the Lord said, I'll
build my church. Aren't you thankful for that? You know, when people
go to plant a church, they say, I'm a church planter. Oh, okay. He builds his church. He built his sanctuary like high
places, like the earth which he had established forever. He
chose David, also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
He was just a 17-year-old shepherd. From following the ewes great
with young, he brought him to feed Jacob his people and Israel
his inheritance. So he fed them. according to
the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness
of his hands. His continual faithfulness. Now,
like I said, you read this psalm, and there's only one conclusion
you can come from this. You can get from this. Israel's
constant unfaithfulness, turning back, and failures, and His faithfulness
for His namesake, for Christ's sake. I know why that's the case. Second
Corinthians 4-7, we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellency of the power may be of God, not of us. I want to be faithful to the
Lord, but when I read this, I read my history, don't you? Thank
God for His grace, for Christ's sake. Amen.