Psalm 78: of Asaph

The psalm that we say, sing or chant on Sunday mornings is meant to affirm the Old Testament reading in some way. We may enjoy the whole psalm; or, as tomorrow when the Exodus reading is about God giving the people water in the wilderness, the psalm is quite long and so we sing only a relevant portion. Psalm 78 rehearses the salvation history of the stiff-necked people of Israel from the time of Jacob, through the exodus from Egypt and grumbling travail in the wilderness, and the shifting of God’s favor from the tribe of Joseph to the tribe of Judah, to God’s choosing the shepherd boy David as king. 
This psalm, along with several others, is called a psalm of Asaph. A little exploration (see 1 Chronicles 25:1f below) tells us that Asaph was one of three men whom David chose to be his ministers of music in worship. They and their families seem to have been composers, poets, and accomplished musicians. Sometimes, as with Psalm 78, their psalms wove long stories about the children of Israel and their relationship with God. Long sessions of choir practice must have been required, and their productions must have been marvelous to behold. 
Seeing the thinly-veiled flattery at the end, it doesn’t take much imagination to reckon that this worship psalm was meant to be sung while King David was in the congregation.
Psalm 78 (The Message version is not set for singing, but makes a great story)
An Asaph Psalm
 1-4 Listen, dear friends, to God's truth, bend your ears to what I tell you. 
   I'm chewing on the morsel of a proverb; 
      I'll let you in on the sweet old truths, 
   Stories we heard from our fathers, 
      counsel we learned at our mother's knee. 
   We're not keeping this to ourselves, 
      we're passing it along to the next generation— 
   God's fame and fortune, 
      the marvelous things he has done. 
 5-8 He planted a witness in Jacob, 
      set his Word firmly in Israel, 
   Then commanded our parents 
      to teach it to their children 
   So the next generation would know, 
      and all the generations to come— 
   Know the truth and tell the stories 
      so their children can trust in God, 
   Never forget the works of God 
      but keep his commands to the letter. 
   Heaven forbid they should be like their parents, 
      bullheaded and bad, 
   A fickle and faithless bunch 
      who never stayed true to God. 
 9-16 The Ephraimites, armed to the teeth, 
      ran off when the battle began. 
   They were cowards to God's Covenant, 
      refused to walk by his Word. 
   They forgot what he had done— 
      marvels he'd done right before their eyes. 
   He performed miracles in plain sight of their parents 
      in Egypt, out on the fields of Zoan. 
   He split the Sea and they walked right through it; 
      he piled the waters to the right and the left. 
   He led them by day with a cloud, 
      led them all the night long with a fiery torch. 
   He split rocks in the wilderness, 
      gave them all they could drink from underground springs; 
   He made creeks flow out from sheer rock, 
      and water pour out like a river. 
 17-20 All they did was sin even more, 
      rebel in the desert against the High God. 
   They tried to get their own way with God, 
      clamored for favors, for special attention. 
   They whined like spoiled children, 
      "Why can't God give us a decent meal in this desert? 
   Sure, he struck the rock and the water flowed, 
      creeks cascaded from the rock. 
   But how about some fresh-baked bread? 
      How about a nice cut of meat?" 
 21-31 When God heard that, he was furious— 
      his anger flared against Jacob, 
      he lost his temper with Israel. 
   It was clear they didn't believe God, 
      had no intention of trusting in his help. 
   But God helped them anyway, commanded the clouds 
      and gave orders that opened the gates of heaven. 
   He rained down showers of manna to eat, 
      he gave them the Bread of Heaven. 
   They ate the bread of the mighty angels; 
      he sent them all the food they could eat. 
   He let East Wind break loose from the skies, 
      gave a strong push to South Wind. 
   This time it was birds that rained down— 
      succulent birds, an abundance of birds. 
   He aimed them right for the center of their camp; 
      all round their tents there were birds. 
   They ate and had their fill; 
      he handed them everything they craved on a platter. 
   But their greed knew no bounds; 
      they stuffed their mouths with more and more. 
   Finally, God was fed up, his anger erupted— 
      he cut down their brightest and best, 
      he laid low Israel's finest young men. 
 32-37 And—can you believe it?—they kept right on sinning; 
      all those wonders and they still wouldn't believe! 
   So their lives dribbled off to nothing— 
      nothing to show for their lives but a ghost town. 
   When he cut them down, they came running for help; 
      they turned and pled for mercy. 
   They gave witness that God was their rock, 
      that High God was their redeemer, 
   But they didn't mean a word of it; 
      they lied through their teeth the whole time. 
   They could not have cared less about him, 
      wanted nothing to do with his Covenant. 
 38-55 And God? Compassionate! 
      Forgave the sin! Didn't destroy! 
   Over and over he reined in his anger, 
      restrained his considerable wrath. 
   He knew what they were made of; 
      he knew there wasn't much to them, 
   How often in the desert they had spurned him, 
      tried his patience in those wilderness years. 
   Time and again they pushed him to the limit, 
      provoked Israel's Holy God. 
   How quickly they forgot what he'd done, 
      forgot their day of rescue from the enemy, 
   When he did miracles in Egypt, 
      wonders on the plain of Zoan. 
   He turned the River and its streams to blood— 
      not a drop of water fit to drink. 
   He sent flies, which ate them alive, 
      and frogs, which bedeviled them. 
   He turned their harvest over to caterpillars, 
      everything they had worked for to the locusts. 
   He flattened their grapevines with hail; 
      a killing frost ruined their orchards. 
   He pounded their cattle with hail, 
      let thunderbolts loose on their herds. 
   His anger flared, 
      a wild firestorm of havoc, 
   An advance guard of disease-carrying angels 
      to clear the ground, preparing the way before him. 
   He didn't spare those people, 
      he let the plague rage through their lives. 
   He killed all the Egyptian firstborns, 
      lusty infants, offspring of Ham's virility. 
   Then he led his people out like sheep, 
      took his flock safely through the wilderness. 
   He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear. 
      The Sea took care of their enemies for good. 
   He brought them into his holy land, 
      this mountain he claimed for his own. 
   He scattered everyone who got in their way; 
      he staked out an inheritance for them— 
      the tribes of Israel all had their own places. 
 56-64 But they kept on giving him a hard time, 
      rebelled against God, the High God, 
      refused to do anything he told them. 
   They were worse, if that's possible, than their parents: 
      traitors—crooked as a corkscrew. 
   Their pagan orgies provoked God's anger, 
      their obscene idolatries broke his heart. 
   When God heard their carryings-on, he was furious; 
      he posted a huge No over Israel. 
   He walked off and left Shiloh empty, 
      abandoned the shrine where he had met with Israel. 
   He let his pride and joy go to the dogs, 
      turned his back on the pride of his life. 
   He turned them loose on fields of battle; 
      angry, he let them fend for themselves. 
   Their young men went to war and never came back; 
      their young women waited in vain. 
   Their priests were massacred, 
      and their widows never shed a tear. 
 65-72 Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet 
      like someone roused from deep sleep, 
      shouting like a drunken warrior. 
   He hit his enemies hard, sent them running, 
      yelping, not daring to look back. 
   He disqualified Joseph as leader, 
      told Ephraim he didn't have what it takes, 
   And chose the Tribe of Judah instead, 
      Mount Zion, which he loves so much. 
   He built his sanctuary there, resplendent, 
      solid and lasting as the earth itself. 
   Then he chose David, his servant, 
      handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens. 
   One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs, 
      the next day God had him shepherding Jacob, 
      his people Israel, his prize possession. 
   His good heart made him a good shepherd; 
      he guided the people wisely and well.
Here’s the background about Asaph:
1 Chronicles 25:1f (The Message)
The Musicians for Worship
... David and the worship leaders selected some from the family of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun for special service in preaching and music. Here is the roster of names and assignments: From the family of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah; they were supervised by Asaph, who spoke for God backed up by the king's authority. ... Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman took their orders directly from the king. They were well-trained in the sacred music, all of them masters. There were 288 of them.
Wow, what a choir! Sabbath. Right shoe first and praise the Lord. 
Shalom!
TW+