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Laid back seal, Narooma New South Wales
Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16 (NIV)
1 My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old –
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
…
12 He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.
14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
We begin by considering a New Testament reference to this psalm, that in Matthew 13: 34-35:
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
Matthew is noted for drawing attention to the fulfilling of “what was spoken through the prophet” (for example 12: 17). Jesus drew on the prophetic word in his teaching but he also taught afresh, as when he likened the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed or to yeast in dough – parables that prompted Matthew’s reference to this psalm.
Why in Psalm 78 did the psalmist refer to uttering “hidden things” (or, in other translations, “dark sayings”)? Was it perhaps because those who would hear his “teaching” (verse 1) had neglected the things which should have been “heard and known” (verse 3), things which their forebears had been duty-bound to tell to the next generation (verse 4a)?
I ask this because much of this psalm is sharply critical of Israel, both in the past and at the time it was written. The section from verse 12 to verse 16 speaks well about the wonders which the Lord had done, his “praiseworthy deeds” (verse 4b) but is followed immediately by sharp criticism of those who saw the miracles introduced in verse 12: “But they continued to sin against (the Lord)” (verse 17a). More criticism follows later in the psalm, aimed at those who, at the time of Samuel, “angered (the Lord) with their high places” and “aroused his jealousy with their idols” (verse 58).
What, then, awaits us as we read the nine verses above?
We are fortunate to be the recipients of things our ancestors have told us, whether those in our families or those who have passed on the word of God through holy Scripture and through their teaching and preaching accurately and clearly the good news of Jesus Christ. We are the link which must tell the next generation (verse 4a) and we must ensure that these truths are not hidden from their descendants. Though governments and secular zealots may try to shut us down, we are to continue to proclaim the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord and the wonders he has done, not only long ago to rescue Israel but to rescue his entire creation through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.