A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 78, verses 1 to 8, not hide them from their children

 

Psalm 78:1 ¶  «Maschil of Asaph.» Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2  I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 3  Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4  We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. 5  For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 6  That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7  That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8  And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

 

A Maschil is an instructive or doctrinal Psalm as per John Gill. See Psalm 32:1. Asaph is listed as the author of some Psalms. He is listed as a seer, which is a prophet.

 

2Chronicles 29:30  Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.

 

In this regard he represents Christ, who spoke in parables.

 

Matthew 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

 

Asaph gives a brief religious discourse on Israel’s past admonishing the present generation not to do as they had done and ignore God’s commandments. Dark sayings would be sayings that had not been understood fully or at all.

 

Clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ, including His death, burial, and resurrection were not understood as I have stated repeatedly in my comments on the gospels that the Jews did not understand that He was to die and to rise again. They were looking for a conqueror, not a suffering God in the flesh.

 

Jesus’ Jewish followers literally had no clue what He was talking about when He referred to His impending agony on the Cross or understood anything about His Resurrection.

Matthew 16:21 ¶  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

 

Mark 9:9  And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. 10  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean…31  For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. 32 

But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

 

Luke 18:31 ¶  Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33  And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. 34  And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

 

John 20:9  For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

 

I read in a book entitled A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel from the First through the Seventeenth Centuries by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver that there was an expectation of two messiahs at times, one; Messiah ben Joseph and, two; Messiah ben David. One is a conqueror and one suffers for the people of Israel and dies fighting the enemies of God and Israel. Jewish tradition also refers to, “The Four Craftsmen,”  a subject more for a study of Daniel or Revelation than here.

 

Acts 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

 

Asaph’s Psalm is a warning and a plea to the people of Israel.