Psalm 78:1-3

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Psalm 78:1 This lengthy sermon is given us as a lesson in wisdom: if the People of God wish to understand their destiny, they must reflect on their origins and meditate on the Exodus, which is a history of divine grace and human infidelity. In effect, their ancestors never responded with anything but ingratitude to the miracles that God multiplied for them. He rolls back the sea and brings water from a rock; the people already clamor for another prodigy (vv. 12-20). Filled with the manna and the quail, the people still murmur (vv. 23-30)! Then the Lord becomes angry and metes out punishment, but he soon grants pardon to them out of pity for their human weakness (vv. 31-39). On their behalf, he had also brought about the plagues (vv. 43-51), and guided them through the wilderness and into the Promised Land (vv. 52-56). Still, offenses multiplied; so he also resorted anew to chastisement. But ultimately, he reserved for his people the privileged holy place, Zion, and the shepherd after his own heart, David (vv. 59-72).
   Thus, the psalm emphasizes the infidelity of Ephraim (the ancestor of the Samaritans), the choice of Judah, and the call of David. Its lesson is that in spite of the successive about-faces of the people, God accomplished his design.
   Is this not also our history? To acknowledge God’s love does not keep us from infidelities; at such times, the word of God challenges us but also brings pardon, and the Eucharist is given to sustain our steps. In Jesus, the new David and Good Shepherd, the People of God find a model and perfect guide to the new Promised Land, the heavenly Jerusalem, where the Father waits.
2. Psalm 78:1 Maskil: see note on Ps 32:1a. Asaph: see notes on Pss 73–89.
3. Psalm 78:1 Remembrance of the great deeds of the Lord should serve to strengthen the people’s faith in his power and fidelity. Thus, they will not forget what the Lord has done for their ancestors, which was a blessing for their descendants, and what God has demanded from his covenant people.
4. Psalm 78:2 Parables in Hebrew means comparisons, or any sayings with deeper meaning, which are to be understood via the hidden comparison; in this case, the parable is the whole psalm. This passage is used by Mt 13:35 as a foreshadowing of Christ’s teaching in parables (see also Ps 49:5; Ezek 17:2; 24:3).
5. Psalm 78:3 Israel is the people of tradition (see Deut 4:9; 32:7; Job 8:8; 15:18; Isa 38:19; Joel 1:3); what its people hand down is, above all, the remembrance of the Exodus (see Ex 10:2; 13:14) and the covenant statutes (Deut 4:9-14; 6:20-25).