(A special psalm by Asaph.)

What God has done for his people

1My friends, I beg you

to listen as I teach.

2I will give instruction78.2: Mt 13.35.

and explain the mystery

of what happened long ago.

3These are things we learnt

from our ancestors,

4and we will tell them

to the next generation.

We won't keep secret

the glorious deeds

and the mighty miracles

of the LORD.

5God gave his Law

to Jacob's descendants,

the people of Israel.

And he told our ancestors

to teach their children,

6so that each new generation

would know his Law

and tell it to the next.

7Then they would trust God

and obey his teachings,

without forgetting anything

God had done.

8They would be different

from their ancestors,

who were stubborn, rebellious,

and unfaithful to God.

9The warriors from Ephraim

were armed with arrows,

but they ran away

when the battle began.

10They broke their agreement

with God,

and they turned their backs

on his teaching.

11They forgot all he had done,

even the mighty miracles

12he did for their ancestors78.12: Ex 7.8—12.32.

near Zoan78.12 Zoan: A city in the eastern part of the Nile Delta. in Egypt.

13God made a path in the sea78.13: Ex 14.21,22.

and piled up the water

as he led them across.

14He guided them during the day78.14: Ex 13.21,22.

with a cloud,

and each night he led them

with a flaming fire.

15God made water flow78.15-16: Ex 17.1-7; Nu 20.2-13.

from rocks he split open

in the desert,

and his people drank freely,

as though from a lake.

16He made streams gush out

like rivers from rocks.

17But in the desert,

the people of God Most High

kept sinning and rebelling.

18They stubbornly tested God78.18-31: Ex 16.2-15; Nu 11.4-23,31-35.

and demanded from him

what they wanted to eat.

19They challenged God by saying,

“Can God provide food

out here in the desert?

20It's true God struck the rock

and water gushed out

like a river,

but can he give his people

bread and meat?”

21When the LORD heard this,

he was angry and furious

with Jacob's descendants,

the people of Israel.

22They had refused to trust him,

and they had doubted

his saving power.

23But God gave a command

to the clouds,

and he opened the doors

in the skies.

24From heaven he sent grain78.24: Jn 6.31.

that they called manna.78.24 manna: When the people of Israel were wandering through the desert, the Lord gave them a special kind of food to eat. It tasted like a wafer and was called “manna”, which in Hebrew means, “What is this?”

25He gave them more than enough,

and each one of them ate

this special food.

26God's mighty power

brought a strong wind

from the south-east,

27and it brought birds

that covered the ground,

like sand on the beach.

28Then God made the birds fall

in the camp of his people

near their tents.

29God gave his people

all they wanted,

and each of them ate

until they were full.

30But before they had swallowed

the last bite,

31God became angry and killed

the strongest and best

from the families of Israel.

32But the rest kept on sinning

and would not trust

God's miracles.

33So he cut their lives short

and made them terrified.

34After he killed some of them,

the others turned to him

with all their hearts.

35They remembered God Most High,

the mighty rock78.35 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.

that kept them safe.

36But they tried to flatter God,

and they told him lies;

37they were unfaithful78.37: Ac 8.21.

and broke their promises.

38Yet God was kind.

He kept forgiving their sins

and didn't destroy them.

He often became angry,

but never lost his temper.

39God remembered that they

were made of flesh

and were like a wind

that blows once

and then dies down.

40While they were in the desert,

they often rebelled

and made God sad.

41They kept testing him

and caused terrible pain

for the Holy One of Israel.

42They forgot about his power

and how he had rescued them

from their enemies.

43God showed them all kinds

of wonderful miracles

near Zoan78.43 Zoan: See the note at 78.12. in Egypt.

44He turned the rivers of Egypt78.44: Ex 7.17-21.

into blood,

and no one could drink

from the streams.

45He sent swarms of flies78.45: a Ex 8.20-24; b Ex 8.1-6.

to pester the Egyptians,

and he sent frogs

to cause them trouble.

46God let worms and grasshoppers78.46: Ex 10.12-15.

eat their crops.

47He destroyed their grapevines78.47,48: Ex 9.22-25.

and their fig trees

with hail and floods.78.47 floods: Or “frost”.

48Then he killed their cattle

with hail

and their other animals

with lightning.

49God was so angry and furious

that he went into a rage

and caused them great trouble

by sending swarms

of destroying angels.

50God gave in to his anger

and slaughtered them

in a terrible way.

51He killed the firstborn son78.51: Ex 12.29.

of each Egyptian family.

52Then God led his people78.52: Ex 13.17-22.

out of Egypt

and guided them in the desert

like a flock of sheep.

53He led them safely along,78.53: Ex 14.26-28.

and they were not afraid,

but their enemies drowned

in the sea.

54God brought his people78.54: Ex 15.17; Js 3.14-17.

to the sacred mountain

that he had taken

by his own power.

55He made nations run78.55: Js 11.16-23.

from the tribes of Israel,

and he let the tribes

take over their land.

56But the people tested78.56: Jg 2.11-15.

God Most High,

and they refused

to obey his laws.

57They were as unfaithful

as their ancestors,

and they were as crooked

as a twisted arrow.

58God demanded all their love,

but they made him angry

by worshipping idols.

59So God became furious

and completely rejected

the people of Israel.

60Then he deserted his home78.60: Js 18.1; Jr 7.12-14; 26.6.

at Shiloh, where he lived

here on earth.

61He let enemies capture78.61: 1 S 4.4-22.

the sacred chest78.61 sacred chest: The Hebrew text has “his power”, which refers to the sacred chest. In Psalm 132.8 it is called “powerful”.

and let them dishonour him.

62God took out his anger

on his chosen ones

and let them be killed

by enemy swords.

63Fire destroyed the young men,

and the young women were left

with no one to marry.

64Priests died violent deaths,

but their widows

were not allowed to mourn.

65Finally the Lord woke up,

and he shouted

like a drunken soldier.

66God scattered his enemies

and made them ashamed

for ever.

67Then the Lord decided

not to make his home

with Joseph's descendants

in Ephraim.78.67 with…Ephraim: Ephraim was Joseph's youngest son. One of the twelve tribes was named after him, and sometimes the northern kingdom of Israel was also known as Ephraim. The town of Shiloh was in the territory of Ephraim, but the place where God was worshipped was moved from there to Zion (Jerusalem) in the territory of Judah.

68Instead he chose the tribe

of Judah,

and he chose Mount Zion,

the place he loves.

69There he built his temple

as lofty as the mountains

and as solid as the earth

that he had made

to last for ever.

70The Lord God chose David78.70,71: 1 S 16.11,12; 2 S 7.8; 1 Ch 17.7.

to be his servant and took him

from tending sheep

71and from caring for lambs.

Then God made him the leader

of Israel, his own nation.

72David treated the people fairly

and guided them with wisdom.