Year 5, Day 214: Psalms 77-78

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Teacher

• Teacher: One who holds forth the truth and is excited by it. The teacher looks for ways to explain, enlighten, and apply truth.  A teacher's authority doesn't come from how smart they are but from the Word of God and the power of a transformed life.

Psalm 77 is a great psalm, but it is much like the psalms we saw yesterday about God and His greatness as king over this incredible world.  What is different than yesterday’s psalms is that psalm 77 contains an honest reflection on how the psalmist relates to God.  He confesses that He feels abandoned by God.  He confesses that he moans when he thinks about God.  But He does not stay there.  He remembers what God has done and his attitude receives the correction hat it needs.

Of course, this is a great introduction to psalm 78.  In Psalm 78 the psalmist recounts God’s interaction with His people from their beginnings in Canaan to their struggles in Egypt to their wanderings in the wilderness.  In Psalm 78 we have a great summary of the history of God’s work and the people’s relationship with Him.  We see the faithfulness of God.  We see the repeated rebellion of the people.  We see how God did not forsake but rather judged, corrected, and loved.

Psalm 78 and psalms like it are important psalms for the community.  When we remember the past we can learn through it.  When we know the pitfalls of those who came before us we can hopefully avoid repeating them!  Having a communal understanding of the past inherently leads us to a better future.

This is one of the reasons why it is important to have teachers in our midst.  Teachers remind us about truth, and one of the primary ways that we are taught truth is by looking into the lives of those who came before us.  Teachers take the lessons of the past and help apply them to the present.  That is exactly what the psalmist is trying to do here.  He wants the people around him to remember the past, to remember the faithfulness of God, and to learn what lessons they can about themselves.

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