8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that prepared not their heart, and whose spirit was not stedfast with ùGod.
For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
And Jehovah said to Moses, I see this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
But they would not hear, and hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, who did not believe in Jehovah their God.
for I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck. Lo, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against Jehovah; and how much more after my death!
into a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in the midst of thee, for thou art a stiff-necked people, -- lest I consume thee on the way.
Our fathers in Egypt considered not thy wondrous works; they remembered not the multitude of thy loving-kindnesses; but they rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea.
O stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, *ye* do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers, *ye* also.
So that ye bear witness of yourselves that ye are sons of those who slew the prophets: and *ye*, fill ye up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, offspring of vipers, how should ye escape the judgment of hell?
But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: none of them cast away the abominations of his eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I thought to pour out my fury upon them, so as to accomplish mine anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me unto this very day; and these children are impudent and hard-hearted: I am sending thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah. And they, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear -- for they are a rebellious house -- yet shall they know that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, and be not afraid of their words; for briars and thorns are with thee, and thou dwellest among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, and be not dismayed at their faces; for they are a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear; for they are rebellious. And thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah;
God maketh the solitary into families; those that were bound he bringeth out into prosperity: but the rebellious dwell in a parched [land].
If thou prepare thy heart and stretch out thy hands toward him,
Only, the high places were not removed; and as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.
Nevertheless there are good things found in thee; for thou hast put away the Asherahs out of the land, and hast directed thy heart to seek God.
And my brethren that had gone up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed Jehovah my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, The land whereon thy feet have trodden shall assuredly be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever! for thou hast wholly followed Jehovah my God.
Ye have been rebellious against Jehovah from the day that I knew you.
Know therefore that Jehovah thy God doth not give thee this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people. Remember, forget not, how thou provokedst Jehovah thy God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came to this place, ye have been rebellious against Jehovah.
but ye that did cleave to Jehovah your God are alive every one of you this day.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 78
Commentary on Psalms 78 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 78
This psalm is historical; it is a narrative of the great mercies God had bestowed upon Israel, the great sins wherewith they had provoked him, and the many tokens of his displeasure they had been under for their sins. The psalmist began, in the foregoing psalm, to relate God's wonders of old, for his own encouragement in a difficult time; there he broke off abruptly, but here resumes the subject, for the edification of the church, and enlarges much upon it, showing not only how good God had been to them, which was an earnest of further finishing mercy, but how basely they had conducted themselves towards God, which justified him in correcting them as he did at this time, and forbade all complaints. Here is,
As the general scope of this psalm may be of use to us in the singing of it, to put us upon recollecting what God has done for us and for his church formerly, and what we have done against him, so the particulars also may be of use to us, for warning against those sins of unbelief and ingratitude which Israel of old was notoriously guilty of, and the record of which was preserved for our learning. "These things happened unto them for ensamples,' 1 Co. 10:11; Heb. 4:11.
Maschil of Asaph.
Psa 78:1-8
These verses, which contain the preface to this history, show that the psalm answers the title; it is indeed Maschil-a psalm to give instruction; if we receive not the instruction it gives, it is our own fault. Here,
Psa 78:9-39
In these verses,
Psa 78:40-72
The matter and scope of this paragraph are the same with the former, showing what great mercies God had bestowed upon Israel, how provoking they had been, what judgments he had brought upon them for their sins, and yet how, in judgment, he remembered mercy at last. Let not those that receive mercy from God be thereby emboldened to sin, for the mercies they receive will aggravate their sin and hasten the punishment of it; yet let not those that are under divine rebukes for sin be discouraged from repentance, for their punishments are means of repentance, and shall not prevent the mercy God has yet in store for them. Observe,