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78:1  A well-written song by Asaph. Pay attention, my people, to my instruction! Listen to the words I speak!
78:2  I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past.
78:3  What we have heard and learned--that which our ancestors have told us--
78:4  we will not hide from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the LORD's praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
78:5  He established a rule in Jacob; he set up a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants,
78:6  so that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.
78:7  Then they will place their confidence in God. They will not forget the works of God, and they will obey his commands.
78:8  Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God.
78:9  The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they retreated in the day of battle.
78:10  They did not keep their covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.
78:11  They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them.
78:12  He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
78:13  He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap.
78:14  He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long.
78:15  He broke open rocks in the wilderness, and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.
78:16  He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers.
78:17  Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert.
78:18  They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
78:19  They insulted God, saying, "Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness?
78:20  Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out, streams gushed forth. But can he also give us food? Will he provide meat for his people?"
78:21  When the LORD heard this, he was furious. A fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger flared up against Israel,
78:22  because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them.
78:23  He gave a command to the clouds above, and opened the doors in the sky.
78:24  He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them the grain of heaven.
78:25  Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat.
78:26  He brought the east wind through the sky, and by his strength led forth the south wind.
78:27  He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.
78:28  He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp, all around their homes.
78:29  They ate until they were stuffed; he gave them what they desired.
78:30  They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths,
78:31  when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.
78:32  Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things.
78:33  So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror.
78:34  When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God.
78:35  They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their deliverer.
78:36  But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him.
78:37  They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
78:38  Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury.
78:39  He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.
78:40  How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert!
78:41  They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel.
78:42  They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy,
78:43  when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan.
78:44  He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams.
78:45  He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land.
78:46  He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
78:47  He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
78:48  He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.
78:49  His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster.
78:50  He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction.
78:51  He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham.
78:52  Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
78:53  He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies.
78:54  He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired.
78:55  He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.
78:56  Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands.
78:57  They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.
78:58  They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols.
78:59  God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel.
78:60  He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men.
78:61  He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy.
78:62  He delivered his people over to the sword, and was angry with his chosen nation.
78:63  Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried.
78:64  Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep.
78:65  But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.
78:66  He drove his enemies back; he made them a permanent target for insults.
78:67  He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
78:68  He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves.
78:69  He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.
78:70  He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
78:71  He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation.
78:72  David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill.