Today's Verse
We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
Psalm 78:4
Historical Context
Psalm 78 is the second longest psalm in the Psalter and belongs to a small group called maskils, a Hebrew term suggesting a teaching poem meant to give insight. It is attributed to Asaph, the Levite whom David appointed to lead worship before the ark (1 Chronicles 16:4-5). Asaph and his sons founded a guild of temple singers whose work shaped Israel's sung theology for generations.
The psalm was likely composed after the division of the kingdom, since it ends by celebrating God's choice of Judah and David over Ephraim (verses 67-72). Its purpose is bluntly stated in the opening: to rehearse Israel's history so that a new generation will not repeat the sins of the old. Asaph walks his hearers through the Exodus, the wilderness, the conquest, and the judges, showing a pattern of rescue, rebellion, judgment, and mercy.
The opening four verses set the frame. In the ancient Near East, memory was communal and oral. Fathers taught sons at the table, on the road, and at the feasts. There were no printed Bibles in every home. If the previous generation went silent, the covenant story died with them. The Shema had already commanded Israel to teach these things diligently to their children (Deuteronomy 6:7), and Asaph now sings that command into worship.
The reference to a parable and dark sayings does not mean riddles for their own sake. It means the deep, weighty truths of God's dealings, truths that require pondering. Israel's history is not a chronicle; it is revelation. To forget it is to forget who God is and who they are.
Reflection
There is a quiet assumption in verse 4 that our age has largely abandoned: that the faith is something handed down, not something each person invents for himself. Asaph does not say the children will figure it out. He says we will tell them. If we do not, no one will.
We live in a culture that tells parents to stay neutral, to let children choose their own spirituality when they are old enough. This sounds humble. It is actually a betrayal. No parent stays neutral about nutrition, or safety, or education. To go silent about the Lord who made your child and died to save him is not respect. It is abandonment dressed up as tolerance.
Asaph gives the content of what is to be told: the glorious deeds of the LORD, his might, and his wonders. Not moral tips. Not vague spirituality. Deeds. What God has actually done, in history, for real people. He brought Israel out of Egypt. He split the sea. He raised His Son from the dead on the third day. These are not stories we tell because they are edifying. We tell them because they are true, and because our children's lives depend on knowing them.
This is not only a task for parents. Godparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, Sunday school teachers, older friends in the pew: every believer stands somewhere in this chain. Someone told you. The question is whether the chain continues through you or breaks.
And if you have been silent, or if you have failed, the same God who is mighty to save is mighty to restore. Start today. Tell one child, one grandchild, one neighbor, one small true thing about what the Lord has done.
For Reflection
Who told you the glorious deeds of the Lord, and to whom are you telling them now?
Prayer
Father, we thank You for the faithful voices who told us of Your Son, Your cross, and Your empty tomb. Forgive us for the times we have been silent when we should have spoken, or hurried when we should have taught. Give us courage and patience to hand on what we have received. Make our homes places where Your wonders are remembered and Your name is loved. Raise up a generation that knows You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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