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Pentecost Season · Proper 27 · Year A

Psalm 78:1-7

Tell the Coming Generation

November 8, 2026

Old Woman Reading a Lectionary, Gerrit Dou
Old Woman Reading a Lectionary, Gerrit Dou, c. 1631-1632Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
One lamp, one book, one pair of hands. The page is painted finely enough to read: the gospel of Luke, chapter 22.Things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us, we will not hide from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn.Gerrit DouRembrandt's first pupil (1613-1675), who went the opposite way from his master: very small panels, a magnifying glass, and a finish so fine the brushwork disappears.Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamThe Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMatt. 25:1-13Mt 25:1-13
Epistle1 Thess. 4:13-181 Thes 4:13-18
Old TestamentJosh. 24:1-3a, 14-25Jos 24:1-3a, 14-25Alt. OTWis. 6:12-16Wis 6:12-16 orAmos 5:18-24Am 5:18-24
PsalterPs. 78:1-7Ps 78:1-7Alt. PsalmWis. 6:17-20Wis 6:17-20 orPs. 70Ps 70

Overview & Insights

“We will tell the next generation… so the next generation would know them.” (Psalm 78:4, 6)

Like most psalms, Psalm 78 is explicitly meant for public performance (“O my people, hear,” and “things we have heard . . . we will tell,” vv. 1–4), but unlike most, which are either prayers (Hb. tepillâ) or praises (Hb. tehillâ), this one is explicitly teaching (Hb. tôrâ; only here in the Pss. does this term not denote God’s “teaching/law”). Like Psalm 49 (v. 4, cf. Prov. 1:6), it designates itself as a parable (or “comparison,” Hb. māšāl) and as “riddles” (rendered “things hidden” in the NIV). Thus, we should expect to find in Psalm 78 explicit teaching and lessons but also something of a puzzle and mystery (as in 49:5–6, 15). The lessons are clear in virtually every verse (esp. in light of vv. 5–8), but the mysteries become apparent only after considering the psalm as a whole. To this we shall return.

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Commentary

Psalm 78 - Learning from Israel's HistoryPs 78 - Learning from Israel's History Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the call to remember and teach God's works.

Psalm 78:1 CommentariesPs 78:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the parable of Israel's past.

Psalm 78:1 Verse-by-Verse CommentaryPs 78:1 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight

A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the psalm.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 78 (Hebrew and English)Ps 78 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

The Hebrew of the psalm alongside English with linked Jewish commentary.

The Church Fathers

Psalms 78 (Catena)Ps 78 (Catena) Catena

Early church readings of the psalm that recounts God's deeds for a new generation.

Questions preachers ask

Why Psalm 78 again?

Psalm 78 teaches faith to the coming generation by retelling God’s deeds; paired with Joshua’s covenant, it presses the same question of remembering and choosing to serve the Lord.

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