Psalm
Psalm 78:32-52
32For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
34 When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
43 How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
44 And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost.
48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
50 He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
52 But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
Outline
God Awakens
Psalm 78:32-52
Sin is Pervasive
Sinners ignore God's Miracles, Psalm 78:32
Sinners live in fear and consumption, Psalm 78:33
Sinners remember God when death strikes, Psalm 78:34-35
Sinners lie to God, Psalm 78:36
Sinners refuse to be holy, Psalm 78:37
God is Persistent
God persistently forgives and withholds His anger, Psalm 78:38
God persistently remembers people are just dust, Psalm 78:39
We provoke and grieve Him, Psalm 78:40
We test and wound Him, Psalm 78:41
We forgotten Him, Psalm 78:42
We forget His miracles on our behalf, Psalm 78:43
We forget His punishment of the oppressors, Psalm 78:44-51
God persistently leads us like sheep to safety, Psalm 78:52
God persistently stops the enemy, Psalm 78:53
Sermon
Pervasiveness of Sin and the Persistence of God!
Psalm 78:32-52
By Pastor Clinton Macomber
God does not sleep, nor does He tire and need to rest. Yet, we think He does, and sometimes we feel that just got up. The facts are that there is a lot of background going on that we soon forget and simply do not bother to learn. The remainder of this Psalm explains this and as a song is there to help us become aware of the power and glory of God.
The first part of the Psalm listed the mighty works of God in freeing Israel from Egypt. Even though God's presence was everywhere evident, and even though there were mighty miracles in the earth, and even though His presence was seen in the fire and cloud that was in the midst of them, they still murmured and questioned whether God would provide their immediate wishes. Yet, even though God did supply their desires, they were so greedy they would not stop and even thank God for His miraculous blessing.
Sin is Pervasive
Sinners ignore God's Miracles
Psalm 78:32 For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
Sin is not something that we can simply wish to disappear; it is something that must continually be resisted. Once a particular sin is allowed to take root in a person, it continues to seek to grow, and needs persistent determination to keep at bay. Some seem to think that when they see a miracle in their life, that they are free to do as they wish, because God has endorsed them. This is not the case. Instead, a person needs to humble themselves more before the throne and take immediate steps to further separate themselves unto that which is holy. God's miracles are not designed to endorse our lives, but our faith. As our faith is strengthened, it should inspire us to use faith in more areas of our lives.
Sin is very much like weeds. We once moved to a house that had a mediocre lawn. It had been there for almost a hundred years, with very little care. The first thing we did was till it to break up the soil. We had to kill lots of pests that promoted weed growth and prohibited lawn growth. There were root eaters, ants, mites, and pesky tree roots. Tilling the soil took care of a lot of woes, but we also had to add good things to the soil, like leaves, fertilizer, and manure. We would let the weeds begin to grow and then till them under to help get the weed seed germinated and eliminated. After the soil was prepared, we had to level it and compact the soil for the grass seed. Then finally we planted grass. After all the preparation work, was our work done? No, the weeds still persisted. We had to gently pull weeds out of the tender blades of grass. The weeds would grow faster then the grass, and so choke out the investment in labor and supplies. As the grass grew, and filled in, was our work done? No, we had to persist against the ever present threat of weeds, pests, gophers, and all sorts of troubles. Plus mowing and consistent watering became the rule. Someone asked me once how I kept the lawn looking so pristine. I said, I go out and crawl over every inch of it every so often, hand pulling out every weed that wanted to start growing. Such intimate contact with the grass also let me know if there were other problems that needed to be addressed. Prompt attention could stave off some grave problems before they became a major problem.
Sin is the same way. It is not easy to stop sin, but getting sin stopped is just the first step. For evermore in this human life, we have to persist in consistently stopping the very start of sin. Once the sin gets a foothold, it is a major chore to eradicate again. When God demonstrates His love and care for us by accomplishing great things, it is our duty to clean up the weeds in our life. God will point them out, and help by giving us the strength and wisdom to destroy them, and when we do not become holy and pure, we openly disdain God.
Sinners live in fear and consumption
Psalm 78:33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
Sin causes a person to live in fear, knowing there will be a time of reckoning. The days are spent doing nothing of eternal value. A person whittles away at the life God gives and leaves nothing so show for it.
Live is a gift from God. God alone grants us life, and He will demand we account for His generous gift. Using life to do things contrary to the design of God, is sure to bring a loss of reward and privilege, and more usually results in eternal damnation.
It is common to look back on this story and think the Israelites were really stupid, but that is only because we are not used to examining our lives and considering our own place before God. Should Moses write about us, the message would be quite the same and probably much worst. God's biography of a person looks nothing like the biography that friends would right. God gives an honest appraisal of the facts, even those things that are dark and secret.
Sinners remember God when death strikes
Psalm 78:34 When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God. 35And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
Human Nature is blind to the realities of a spiritual life until death smites and does great damage. Then the memories are fleeting, but God is always there to respond to the least endeavor on our part to reach out to Him. With the flood of disaster, and death everywhere, we will turn to God and come back to seek God's will and ways. We remember how strong God is, and how protective He is, but only when death is striking around us.
Sinners lie to God
Psalm 78:36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
Worship is done in spirit and in truth. Idolatry is fake through and through. It is all lies. Treating God as do we other thing, making promises, saying things flippantly, and then not fulfilling our word, is recorded. Our praise becomes flattery because our life does not prove we truly worship and adore God. Our tongues are counted deceitful, because they do not speak the truth.
Sinners refuse to be holy
Psalm 78:37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
When we accept Jesus, we take Him into our heart. This means, He is placed at the very center of our lives, actions and desires. We no longer care about our own desires, lives, or activities. We are to come to the place where we recognize that we are failures and incapable of making things work or doing right. Such a decision is not a passive decision but a life changing decision. It means we are going to stick with God persistently and only do what He would have us to do. It means we are really going to invest our lives daily in Bible Study and prayer. It means we are going to seek to change things in our life so that we do not have to be disciplined by God.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Baptism is to follow this sincere heart change.
Acts 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
God is Persistent
God persistently forgives and withholds His anger
Psalm 78:38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
The amazing thing about God is that He just keeps on forgiving. If a person turns to Him, even if it is not a genuine repentance, He will forgive and give the person a chance to demonstrate a change of life and heart.
This specific question was personalized by the disciples:
Matthew 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
God is always ready to forgive. And He forgives long past humans would say He should. But a change of heart means that we also will forgive, no matter how many times we are asked and no matter what the occasion.
The prayer we are to use as a pattern for the development of a proper prayer asks God to forgive us, to the same degree we forgive others! In other words, if we are not a forgiving person, but hold ill will toward others, we should not expect God to forgive us.
Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3Give us day by day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Now there is a misunderstanding here. There is a phrase that has been around that says we will forgive but not forget. That is a good thing, to a degree. True forgiveness means that we pardon the person, and do not hold a grudge against them. It does not mean that we remove the penalty of the law against them. When a person has committed a crime, they need to face justice and be held accountable for the crime. Restitution is to be made. The process insures that there will be a chance for a change of heart.
God still punishes sin, but will forgive the sinner. When you break the law, there is a penalty that must be paid. When you break your word, there is a penalty that must be paid. When you harm someone else or even yourself, there is a penalty to be paid. While the sin is forgiven, the penalty of sin still has to be exacted. A murder, rapist, homosexual, etc. is to be forgiven by his victims, but still must face the death penalty under civil law. His crimes need to be dealt with swiftly and with finality. Then the city can be purged of the judgment that comes from letting the oppressors live.
God persistently remembers people are just dust
Psalm 78:39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
God knows us, and never has a problem remembering from what we are made and that we are limited by the laws He set. There is nothing we can do against God, and He has done everything possible for us. The problem is with human beings. They take everything seriously that is not, and everything casually that involves life and death and eternity. We make a big fuss about things that are trivial and totally ignore the issues that are eternal. When was the last time you heard anyone fussing about not being able to spend time alone in prayer because of company? When was the last time you heard anyone carrying on because they were not getting enough time in Bible Study with all the chores that had to be done? When was the last time you heard anyone bemoaning the fact that a day had passed and a verse had not been memorized from the Word of God. These things matter. Yet you don't hear any complaints about them. Instead you hear complaints about how the laundry is being done, or not, or the taste of the food, or that rotten person… These things always pass and are forgotten usually the next day.
God knows we are nothing but dust and a little water. We blow through, and pass away, changing very little in our path or life. This is a sad tale.
We provoke and grieve Him
Psalm 78:40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
Some fuss that God does not care about us. Yet if we take any time to read God's Word, He explains the sorrow, frustration and anger that He feels when working with people.
The word provoke is to be rebellious against. It is to openly be contentious. It is the worst thing a person can do!
1 Samuel 12:14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God: 15But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.
Again, Samuel under Divine guidance stated that rebellion is just as bad as witchcraft.
1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
We test and wound Him
Psalm 78:41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
In spite of God's forgiveness and provision, we turn our back on Him, test God's patience and then wound Him! How true this is! Our rebellion is not limited to a quiet and obscure rejection, but is loud, raucous and harmful. There is no justification of it at all. God creates us, sustains us, creates a beautiful world in which to live, with the absolute perfect environment in which to function, and we obnoxiously distain God and do all in our little power to show contempt toward God.
We forgotten Him
Psalm 78:42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. 43 How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
Some have very selective memories! They seem to work hard at forgetting everything they can possibly forget, unless it is completely useless information. Sports, movies, and other trivia are simply worthless information in the kingdom of God, because it centers around the worship of the created more than the Creator.
This lack of memory of the important things is evident in our lack of memory when it comes to holy matters. Instead of learning from the work of God in our lives, we completely forget about what God has done, and act as if God has never done anything for us, our entire lives. God is not obligated to do anything more than to save us from sin. His provision is an amazing benefit, His love is overwhelming. His guidance is incredible, yet, we remember not His help or guidance all along the way. We cry angrily and bitterly out to God as if He has never done anything.
We forget His punishment of the oppressors
Psalm 78:44 And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink. 45He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. 46He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust. 47He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost. 48He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. 49He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. 50He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; 51And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
God completely devastated Egypt, and does the same with our enemies, and yet we forget all about it! We have annual thanksgiving days, and yet we do not remember anything to thank God for doing. What does God have to do in order for us to remember His love and generosity? The following summary of an article tells the damage of just one of the plagues:
Aramco World Magazine in 1987 carried an incisive article about the menace of the locust to the Middle East. Some of the observations mentioned are almost unbelievable. Locusts can fly 5000 feet high at over 10 miles an hour. Swarms of billions of them literally blot out the sun. They can eat the equivalent of their body weight daily. That is, they eat 60 to 100 times as much as a human. A square-mile swarm (not at all unusual) will contain 100 to 200 million locusts and can eat 220 to 720 tons of food every day , enough to feed 200,000 humans!
Locusts lie dormant for as long as a quarter of a century then, when conditions are right, hatch and swarm. Each female may lay 400 eggs in a lifetime which, when hatched, can breed in as little as two months.
As many as 65 countries harbor locusts, but the crossroads of the nations, as far as locusts are concerned, is Saudi Arabia. To and from here locusts swarm west to Africa, north to Israel, Jordan, Syria and Iraq, and east to Iran, India and Pakistan. To fight them means having to monitor an "intelligence agency" covering millions of square miles. By cooperating as a mighty army, nations of the Middle East have had considerable success in subduing the locust menace. But it takes early discovery and coordinated effort — mostly by spraying huge areas. 1
Now multiply that by the rest of the plagues and you have an idea of the damage done.
God persistently leads us like sheep to safety,
Psalm 78:52 But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
In spite of all our failures and complete lack of memory, God still leads us along. He still guides us and protects us. He still cares about us and wants to see us grow and prosper.
God persistently stops the enemy,
Psalm 78:53 And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
God still overwhelms the enemy and He makes sure they cannot do us any real damage.
So, what do we need to know? Sin is persistent. It takes a great deal of vigilance to keep sin where it belongs. We are forgetful. We need to work at remembering the work of God. We will always be led and directed by a caring and loving God that will continue to destroy the enemies that come against us.
1 Associates for Biblical Research, Bible and Spade Volume 4 (Associates for Biblical Research, 1991; 2004). vnp.4.2.54.
Topic Study
Quote
Devotions
Monday, Psalm 78:33-39 and Ecclesiastes 7:1-5
Solomon presents the case for the value of death, sorrow, and mourning, over birth, joy and mirth. This is quite true. Spiritually people become vile and worthless when they are coddled, celebratory, or cocky. When they are suffering, sorrowful, and sad, they can be receptive to God's leading and provisions. Have you fallen into the slump of thinking that loud laughter is the sign of God's blessing? Thank God instead for the sorrows and thorns of life, they are the things that cause us to become aware of the realities of God.
Tuesday, Psalm 78:40-46 and Ecclesiastes 7:6-10
There is a great evil that lurks in our minds. It forgets the truth of what has happened, and garnishes the past with unwholesome frosting. Instead of remembering the facts of the past, and the incredible pain and suffering we endured, we think about how wonderful things were. We long to return to the former days, not realizing that God in His mercy has taken from those days and brought us to the present. Spiritual eyes can see what the soul refuses to see. Being fond of anything but God and His present work, is covetousness. Daydreaming is just as bad as fantasizing over the past. Learning from the past is valuable, seeking to go back and repeat it is foolishness. Where does your mind wonder? Prayer can stop such activities in a heartbeat.
Wednesday, Psalm 78:47-53 and Ecclesiastes 7:11-15
The way of wisdom is that of following God. Where He leads, we follow. Going another way is pure foolishness and brings certain judgment. God is the only one that can lead us safely through whatever hindrances and problems that will certainly arise. Going any other way is sure to bring grief and sorrow beyond measure. God appoints the events of life, and either we can follow Him and enjoy the great miraculous paths and sights, or we can find ourselves floundering and being tortured because of our foolishness.
Thursday, Psalm 78:54-60 and Ecclesiastes 7:16-20
There is a danger of thinking that we are righteous and above everything else, because that attitude is as vile as the most wicked, and is utter foolishness. The proper attitude is one of deep respect and fear of God, looking to Him for direction, and trusting in Him for provision. Wisdom begins with the fear of God and makes one stronger than a band of 10 rulers. It also takes into consideration the every present footfall of sin. Just because God is providing for you, does not mean that your attitude will not offend God and drive Him away. Promoting anything else but God and His honor is the only way to continue in His blessing.
Friday, Psalm 78:61-67 and Ecclesiastes 7:21-25
The key to blessing is working at learning all we can from God and His Word. We cannot take to heart the things that people say, because they are not spoken in awareness of the truth. Instead wisdom has to be searched out and learned. Even though there are times when God delivers us to the destroyer, He will not abandon us, if we learn to turn to Him and trust Him. When God's people cry out to Him for help and guidance, He delivers them with a mighty and glorious hand.
Saturday, Psalm 78:68-72 and Ecclesiastes 7:26-29
There is something that causes more suffering and loss than death, and that is women, who lay traps and snares and feed the lust of men. Sinners fall prey to such evil, but the wise will take not and not come near such evil. The benefits of following God and avoiding such plagues of evil is that God sees, and takes note of the young man that walks uprightly and forthrightly. He chooses such that trust Him and act responsibly with the duties they are given. Those are the ones who will become kings and rule with a perfect heart. Where is our heart? Where do we apply our energies? The answer to those questions is sure to explain where our future will lay.
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