"A Contemplation of Asaph.
"Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
"For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
And may not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God."
A Historical Psalm
Psalm 78 is one of the great historical psalms. It is a clarion call for fathers to break old patterns and replace them. It recounts the behavior of fathers of the past and casts a vision for the future. It begins with a charge to fathers (78:1-8). The rest of the Psalm (78:9ff) recounts the history of Israel and identifies Moses’ commands and principles that were violated by those fathers in that historical period.
Asaph is the author of Psalm 78. He writes in the time of David. But in this Psalm, Asaph looks back on the history of Israel -- to Moses’ writing of Deuteronomy 6, specifically. Looking at Israel’s history, Asaph makes connections to his own day by prescribing specific behaviors for future generations.
The fatherhood pattern revealed here in Psalm 78 is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled this Psalm. He was a living picture of the father in Psalm 78. If you want to be a father like Asaph, then look to Christ. Look to the way that He spoke to and led His disciples.
Jesus Fulfilled Psalm 78
In Matthew 13:35, we read:
All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
On this, John Gill comments, “as Asaph, by divine inspiration, delivered these parables and dark sayings, so Christ expressed the Gospel, and the mysteries of it, in a parabolical way.”
In this way, Jesus fulfills Psalm 78.
Our Lord Jesus Christ reveals the Father and fulfills all of Scripture. This is why I believe that the fatherhood passages in the Old Testament are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. From Christ, we learn what it means to be a godly father.
Breaking Free from the Sins of Our Fathers
Psalm 78 is a wake-up call. Asaph is bold before the fathers of Israel. He calls them to break free of old patterns -- their fathers’ patterns. He commands them to
“[N]ot be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.”
Asaph’s message? Don’t be like your fathers. This is the central message of Psalm 78. It is an appeal to break free from the chains of the bad patterns of the fathers of the past. But the true beauty of Psalm 78 is not simply in this command. Asaph unfolds an alternative lifestyle. A powerful one. A happy one.
Breaking the inferior patterns of our fathers can be a challenge. Our imperfect fathers left marks on us. Sometimes teeth marks. Scars. Even the best of fathers pass on flaws to their offspring. And breaking with the past and making new patterns can be a confusing, painful, slow going, and often frustrating business. Amos reveals how devastating this problem can be. He said of the men in his day,
“Their lies lead them astray, lies which their fathers followed” (Amos 2:4b).
We are the walking wounded. We live with the frustrations, roadblocks, and punishments that came from trying to build a life on the lies of our fathers, as men did even in the days of Amos.
Zechariah also cried out, “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds” (Zechariah 1:4-6).
Every man needs to understand what it means to “not follow your father’s idols”. We must avoid our fathers’ idols. A man must ask himself, “What bad patterns in my father’s life should I eliminate?”
Yes, we must honor our fathers, but we must also be honest (and merciful) about what is not worthy in their lives. They did things that require repentance, not reproduction. We need to recognize those things which were a part of our fathers’ lives that we don’t want in ours.
What are the bad patterns that you picked up? What do you need to overcome?
Besides encouraging us to break with the bad patterns of our fathers, the Lord offers us powerful instruction on how a father can be a constant source of encouragement and inspiration to his family. Psalm 78 commands fathers to communicate certain things to their children and their grandchildren. Thus Asaph calls fathers out of an uncommunicative lifestyle, and into a life of personal discipleship. Because the uncommunicative father is death to his family, Asaph helps fathers break that pattern.
When you turn your family around, something happens. In Leviticus 26:40-42, Moses declares God’s mercy towards those who turn away from the sins of their fathers:
"But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt -- then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land."
Only men who accept their guilt and renounce their sins can become the fathers they were meant to be.
The Power of a Good Role Model
"I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
That the generation to come might know them" (Psalm 78:2-6).
Asaph is giving us direction. He is a mentor. But he mentors us with his own actions, which he describes in the Psalm. He is saying, “Here is what I am doing -- take notice.” He is both correcting the fathers of his day and setting us an example. His thrust is this: “I am taking the stories of the fathers of old and declaring them to the next generation. You do the same.”
An Example to the Flock
By his own personal example, Asaph shows us how to break free of the ungodly patterns of our fathers. He takes action as a mentor by saying specific things that cast a specific vision of life. Paul demonstrates this same principle in his teaching to the church in Philippi. He says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern” (Philippians 3:17).
The power of example is one reason why an elder of a church must be “one who manages his household well” (1 Timothy 3:4-5). God wants to give men examples to follow. It is always easier to live a godly life when we can see a living example. This is why God gives elders to churches. With elders, people can see how life should be lived. It is the power of example.
This is why “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). In Christ, we can see a living demonstration of the character of God. He walked among us speaking only what His Father spoke; He did the deeds of His Father. When God wants to teach people, He gives them a living example. In Psalm 78, Asaph is setting a pattern for how a father should think and act. If a man would break the bad patterns of the fathers of the past, Asaph tells him how. Asaph does not leave us with the negative. He does not hit and run. He mentors us. He gives us answers.
So how can a man break the bad patterns?
Incline Your Ears in the Right Direction
"Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us" (Psalm 78:1).
Here, a command is issued. A command for men to turn their ears in a different direction. This is something that all men need to do. In modern times, there are a cacophony of voices vying for the attention of our ears. There are more voices calling out to men today than at any time in history. At any given moment, our ears can be captured by phone, social media, computer, radio, DVD, internet sites, email, television, and satellite feeds. It can be deafening. The sounds which are most beneficial to us and our children can be overwhelmed. Because of this cacophony, a man needs to be discriminating about what his ears hear.
Incline Your Ears to God’s Word
In the midst of all of the voices calling out, Psalm 78 lists two things that a man needs to incline his ears to:
In the church and the home, the Word of God is often drowned out by the many voices vying for our attention. The end result? Meditation on Scripture is eliminated from the schedule.
Men should get rid of anything that keeps them from inclining their ears toward the Word of God. Our culture presents thousands of opportunities for distraction. For most families, Scripture reading is edged out by decent things. When this happens, the true treasure is sacrificed on the altar of entertainment, sports, games, or other “lawful” endeavors.
On the contrary, the Word of God is meant to take center stage in the family. In a sermon on Psalm 78, John Piper said:
“It means that the Bible will be the sun and solar system of all that we teach our children. It will not be one among many books. It will be the central book, the all-permeating Book. The other books are dark planets; the Bible is the light-giving sun. All other books will be read in the light of this book. All books will be judged by this book. All books will find meaning in the world view built by this book. Which means that this book must be known first and known better than all the other books.”
Richard Baxter was known for counseling men, to be relentlessly principled in the use of their time. He says:
“Have you not many good works of charity to do? And will you leave the most of this undone, and waste your time in plays, and cards, and feasts, and idleness, and then say, What harm is in all this, and are they not lawful?” (p. 1040, Of Redemption of Time, in The Reformed Pastor)
In most families, the “lawful” thing replaces the perfect thing. Everything in this life wages war against fathers who want to fill their homes with the reading of the Word of God.
Baxter understood the harsh consequences this kind of indolence would have on the souls of the next generation. “Many take more pains about their horses and cattle than they do about their children’s souls”, he said (p. 231, The Poor Man’s Family Book, in The Reformed Pastor).
What are you listening to? What is filling up your time? What are you reading? What are you watching? How much of your life is devoted to passive entertainment? Remember that many things are lawful, but not all things are profitable (1 Cor. 6:12). Too many lawful things steal our time for profitable things. Fathers must be sure that their ears and the ears of their family are inclined toward the Word of God. This cannot happen without reading and meditating on Scripture.
A Father as a Historian
The father that Asaph is advocating in Psalm 78 is a man of history. He tells stories. He inclines his ears to “the things our fathers told us.”
In God’s economy, what fathers say matters. The things they say are represented in verse two as “dark sayings of old” and “a parable”. In the stories of the past, we learn of the drama of redemption in human history. For this reason, history is important to the men who are teaching the next generation. It is not the next new thing that matters. The next new movie isn’t vital to the health of the next generation. The stories of old are.
Fathers are God’s appointed historians for the next generation. When fathers do their jobs well, their children will understand their place in history. They will have two major advantages.
First, they will be able to look back and see God’s power throughout six thousand years of history. In every decision, they will have dozens of examples in history to draw wisdom from. In every trial, they will understand that they are not alone in their troubles. Nor are they alone in their deliverances. As the people of God, we have the blessing of recalling past heroes of the faith. Children need to learn history under the teaching of their fathers.
This is why the prophet Joel says:
“Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation” (Joel 1:3).
Second, their children can look back on their family history to see vivid illustrations of God’s sustaining power in times of trial. For example, when Hezekiah recovered from his sickness (Is. 38) he reflects on it. It hits him that his sickness had a purpose. It actually had a positive purpose for his children. Hezekiah is a picture of an honest man before God, living according to the knowledge he has. He is in pain, interacting with God in the midst of difficulty.
This is one of the blessings of the Bible. It gives us pictures of real people, real problems, and real consequences for real sin. It shows us God’s people in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and riches and in poverty. Everyone has troubles, and everyone learns something from their troubles. Troubles always change you. There is a process that you go through in your thinking, feeling, and acting. You arrive at a set of new conclusions. Here is one of Hezekiah’s conclusions:
“The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
The father shall make known Your truth to the children” (Isa 38:19).
Still, we must know how our troubles have changed us. Fathers should seek an understanding of history on three levels: biblical history, church history, and family history. The most important kind of history is biblical history, because it contains everything that is profitable for life and godliness; it is the only sure basis for teaching the other two types of history. If a man would break bad patterns, he must focus on communicating the ancient words of Scripture to his children.
Fathers are God’s appointed historians. A brilliant example of this is seen two years after the Exodus from Egypt, when Moses was reporting on the status of the households of Jacob (Num. 1-3). These people were historically astute enough to recite their family history. Moses carefully documented the numbers of fighting men over age twenty who came from each of the sons of Jacob.
“[A]nd they recited their ancestry by families, by their fathers houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and above, each one individually” (Numbers 1:18-19).
An Ancient Book
It is noteworthy that God gave His people an ancient book with timeworn stories. God wants us to ponder lessons from the past. History is meant to be in the mouths of our fathers. God commands his people to use “the things our fathers told us” as their guide in the future. He calls his people to look back.
Through the accounts of the Bible, we learn and bring ourselves into line with their truth. Some stories in Scripture present wonderful patterns that inspire us, while others are despicable and are there to warn us. We see the latter in Judges 21:25, when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Many of the stories in Judges communicate the penalty for failing to pass along the knowledge of God from one generation to the next.
In Numbers 1:18-19, we see a model for how to think of children; we see the dynamic legacy they can leave. Two things jump out at us from this story in Numbers. First, these children were good enough historians to recite their ancestry. This is in sharp contrast to our age of extreme individualism, when most people can only think as far back as their grandparents. This should instruct us not to be so individualistic and contemporary. We are better off if we look back to our genealogical heritage, and remember “the dark sayings of old” and the “parables of old” that “our fathers told us.”
Second, this passage illustrates the tremendous power that exists in families. It is thrilling to notice that each son of Jacob had 30,000 to 75,000 fighting men alive at the time of the Exodus. This shows the difference that one household can make on future generations.
God places great significance in remembering family history. Exodus 12:26 tells us of a time in Israel when fathers did tell their children:
‘“And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.’
Of course, salvation is not guaranteed. A man may tell the stories of the greatness of God, but that will not guarantee that his children will turn to the Lord. Obviously, that does not change the command to speak, but it should give fathers a realistic understanding of what may happen. Matthew Henry speaks of Hezekiah’s experience:
“It is the duty of parents to possess their children with a confidence in the truth of God, which will go far towards keeping them close to the ways of God. Hezekiah, doubtless, did this himself, and yet Manasseh his son walked not in his steps. Parents may give their children many good things, good instructions, good examples, good books, but they cannot give them grace.”
Fathers are God’s appointed historians. You don’t need a B.A. in history to be a historian for your family. You only need to know your Bible. That way, you can communicate the rich contours of the history of the world from God’s perspective. Don’t let your children leave home without that framework.
A Father as a Teacher
In Psalm 78:4-8, Asaph sets an example for all fathers to be teachers:
“We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
“For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children.”
Note the gravity and importance of the tone:
“He established a testimony in Jacob,
He appointed a law in Israel.”
Asaph is speaking here of a law that needs to be followed. It is an ancient law. However, it is for contemporary use. What is this “law in Israel” that he is referring to? It is the law in Deuteronomy 6:1-9, which commands fathers to teach their children in the way that Deuteronomy 6:1-9 describes.
From the time of Moses to the time of David, Deuteronomy 6 remained the central manner for the discipleship of the next generation. It is a timeless discipleship methodology. Asaph believes that the commands in Deuteronomy 6 are critical.
Training the Trainer
A faithful father not only teaches his children, but he also teaches his son how to teach, so that through him, he can teach the children yet to be born. In other words, he is training a trainer. He is training a leader, who will train another leader who is not yet on the scene. Even though his grandchildren are not yet born, he has an agenda. He is training a father to be a trainer.
Fathers are not only trainers of their children -- they are trainers of trainers. Not only are they delivering the law of God to their sons -- they are training their sons to teach the law as well. This requires two different kinds of teaching: the teaching itself, and the teaching of the teacher to teach.
Thinking Multigenerationally
In our culture, fathers consider themselves “free” when their youngest child turns eighteen years old. They believe that their child-raising responsibility has ended at this magic age. This is not a biblical idea. Instead of quitting the child-raising responsibility when children enter into adulthood, the Lord reminds fathers that they have only just begun. When their children become adults and have children of their own, they have more responsibility, not less. Again, they don’t need prestigious teaching credentials. They need only the most credible textbook -- the Bible.
A Man with a Message
God has appointed fathers to be men with a message. Their duty?
“Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done” (Psalm 78:4).
Men need to break the patterns of their fathers by delivering the right messages. The godly man is a man with a message. He has something to say. Men have a responsibility to declare certain messages. Today, it is popular for us men to create our own personal “life message” or “vision” that is unique to our personal lives. But Asaph warns us not to try to create a one of a kind, life message. No, our message is an ancient message which finds its source in the faithfulness of God. Our message is spelled out in the graphic simplicity that Scripture provides.
Verse four clearly and succinctly describes what our message should be, what we are to tell the next generation. A man’s discipleship message to his family must include the following three elements:
Full of Praises to the Lord
Asaph models the father who is filled up with “the Praises of the Lord”.
Asaph is a thankful man. The man who praises the Lord spreads enthusiasm for the faithfulness of God wherever he goes. He inspires his family by telling of the praises of the Lord. He is full of the good news of God’s mighty hand in history -- including his own history. When a man sings for joy at the work of the Lord, it changes the atmosphere of his household. For he sees God working everywhere. This man is truly happy because he knows that God is faithful and worthy of praise. This man has an unshakable joy in the Lord. He delights in Him. This man is not filled with head knowledge only. Rather, he walks around with a song in his heart. Truly, the joy of the Lord is his strength.
Who can calculate the impact of a happy man who sings the praises of the Lord?
A Home Full of Joy
You can usually detect godliness in a home by how much joy the people have registered on their faces. The face reflects the heart. Look at the faces in a home. Most of the time, you can see how well a father is doing in filling his home with the praises of the Lord. This is critical. If it’s not full of the joy of the Lord, a home will corrode and disfigure the knowledge of the true God. The hearts of the children will then gravitate toward other things.
Contrast the Psalmist’s words:
“Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
In Your name they rejoice all day long” (Psalm 89:15-18).
Since God is the God of hope, a wise father fills his family with hope in God.
Be an Inspiration Machine
A man can only be full of praises to God if he feeds himself on the good news recorded in Scripture; he must find his joy there. And he will only feed himself with it if he believes that Scripture’s way is the happiest and most wonderful way. A man cannot be filled with the praises of the Lord unless he truly understands what David understood:
“You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
Men who get too “stressed out” need to reconsider what God says is acceptable behavior (proclaiming the praises of the Lord) and what is not acceptable (being stressed out). Men say they are stressed out and it sounds so harmless. In actuality, though, they are disobeying God’s commands to “fear not” (Is. 41:10) and “be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6). God’s households are designed for joy. Christian homes should be the happiest places on earth. This is only possible when a home is full of the knowledge of the promises of God toward them -- when a family believes that they are “more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37). For a home to be this way, it needs a father who is adept at spreading enthusiasm for the goodness of God.
Proclaim the Strength of God
It takes a humble man to deliver a strong message. A father who has humbled himself before the Lord, as a servant of the Lord, has an important message to deliver. It is a message of power, and is, therefore, an empowering message. Fathers are charged by God to communicate “His strength” (Ps. 78:4). In other words, fathers are obligated to explain the ins and outs of the unquenchable power of God.
A father’s view of God is perhaps the most defining matter of fatherhood. There are only two types of fathers. Those with a big God and those with a little god. There are those who think of God as omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and life-giving, and there are those who feel, act, and talk like He is impotent, ignorant, distant, and harmful. Asaph is calling for valiant men with a big God. A God of strength. A man with “big God” theology talks about the power of God with his children. He calmly faces troubles and says, “God is in control.” This kind of man is never afraid of men, weather, kings, or economies, because he is well-schooled in the history of the display of God’s power.
A “Hand-Wringing” Family?
Perhaps you’ve been a member of a hand wringing family where there was worry about the dangers of the future, dwelling upon the sorrows of the past, or bitterness over the way that people had wronged you. You talked about the problems people are causing you. You spent time meditating on how you will speak to these people who have done you wrong. You nurse hurt feelings and examine the injustices that have been dealt you.
If you have this kind of background, Asaph is saying to break it. Become a man who speaks of the power of God, not the impotence of man. It makes a big difference when a man shifts the focus of his family to the omnipotence of God and His power to execute His will. I have known dads who unwittingly teach their children to be angry and bitter about all of the things that have happened to them. Such men concern themselves with the wrongs committed against them, the inadequacies of the people they deal with, the sorrows that have come upon them, and the stresses of the life they live.
Men like this are unable to see “wonderful works.” They go blind to the greatness of God because their eyes are turned in the wrong direction. These dads make life rough for their children because they teach them to see history as one wrongful deed after another. Through all the smoke and fire of difficult events, they do not see the works of the Lord. Instead, they are filled with regret and hurt feelings.
Know the Power of God
How does the young man understand the sovereignty of God? This is one of the questions that I encourage fathers to consider when interviewing their daughter’s potential suitors. I want my daughters to marry fearless men whose joy cannot be quenched by the vicissitudes of life. I want my daughters to marry happy men -- not dumb and happy men, of course, but men whose happiness rests in the knowledge that God is omnipotent and sovereign in all things. I do not want my daughters to marry “hand-wringers” who are always worried about what bad thing will happen next or about how someone did them wrong.
The key to a heart filled with the praises of the Lord is found in the affections. Until he realizes that only God can give him the joy that he is looking for, a man will not speak of the praises of the Lord. It matters where a man’s affections lie. If a man thinks that he can be satisfied by anything other than the Lord, he will not be able to genuinely sing the praises of the Lord. As their shepherd, you need to help your family see how important it is to focus their affections toward Christ, the Word. “All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3).
A man’s life is always restrained by narrow affections. In 1 Corinthians 6:11-12, Paul referred to this situation:
“We have spoken openly to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide. You are not limited by us, but you are limited by your own affections.”
Through right affections, a man brings out the joy that comes from being filled up with the praises of the Lord. This stands in sharp contrast to the man who spreads gloom and heaviness in his household.
Fathers must humble themselves before Almighty God, and manage their lives so that they can to communicate the strength of God to their children.
A Father is a “Detail Man”
When they say that “the devil is in the details”, they mean that details matter. Details do matter. God obligates fathers to be men of details. Specifically, fathers are to know the details of “His wonderful works” (Ps 78:4). Be a man who knows the details of how God has worked.
There are two categories of the works of the Lord. First, there are the works of God recorded in Scripture. Reciting to his children the deeds of God (as recorded in Holy Scripture) is the father’s most critical responsibility. This is why men must lead their children to memorize Scripture. If children do not know the facts of God’s wonderful works, they cannot communicate them to others. They will not know how to address the difficulties they are facing.
Second, there are the works that God has done since the writing of Scripture. These works can range from God’s works in the early church to the ways that God has worked in your family. How fathers interpret history makes all the difference in the world.
The Results?
What are the observable results of a father’s good teaching? Asaph presents to us four results that we will see in our children when they have been properly taught. This is a very helpful section in this psalm. It shows us how to evaluate the results of our teaching. Notice that the results Asaph looks for have nothing to do with career goals, financial security, or education. They have to do with our children’s attitudes, which will affect everything that they do.
Fathers must be looking out for the right results. What results should they expect to see in a home in which the truth of God has been fought for and bled for?
1. Hope in God
Fathers should see that their children “set their hope in God” (Psalm 78:7). When children are confident in God, they will be characterized by hope. Parents must strive to present their child with a heart full of hope. If a child puts his hope in this world, his heart will be fragile!
2. Remembrance of God’s Works
Secondly, fathers should see that their children do “not forget the works of God” (Psalm 78:7). Fathers need to help their children acquire a memory of the works of God; they need memories of Noah, Moses, Joseph, Job, and the rest of the saints throughout biblical history. When biblical truths are etched your children’s memories, they will come back to them in times of need.
Our children need to know the “works of the Lord”. When they don’t know where their next meal is coming from, will they be fretful? How about when they experience a job loss, a betrayal, a failure, a market crash, or a barren womb? Will they be downcast? Or will they remember that God will care for them as He cared for the children of Israel in the wilderness? Will they remember that God fed the children of Israel with the food of angels, even when there was no other food within a thousand miles? When they find themselves in danger, will they collapse in fear? Or will they remember the words that Moses spoke before the Red Sea: “The Lord will fight for you” (Exodus 14:14)? When life is hard, will they become depressed? Or will they remember that God made water flow from a rock in a desert?
Patrick Henry was perhaps the greatest orator of the American Revolution. Why?
When he was a child, his mother took him to church every week to hear Samuel Davies, one of the greatest preachers of the colonial era. On the way home from church, she would quiz him about the sermon. She would require that young Patrick recite the entire sermon -- even reproducing the oratorical inflections for which Davies was famous! She was imprinting the great principles of Scripture on his memory.
This kind of constant conversation about important matters is critical. I am often astounded at how children find so much joy in quoting one-liners from movies they have seen. Yet they can’t remember a single line of Scripture’s great stories. A faithful father will lead his family in quoting the great “one-liners” of Scripture. By building the right things into their memories, you serve your children well.
3. Keeping His Commandments
The third result? Fathers want to see that their children “keep [God’s] commandments” (Ps. 78:7). Yes, we should be vigilant to see if our children are obedient. Obedience is out of style in our “anything goes” culture. Nonetheless, we should monitor our children’s obedience.
There are two components to obedience. The first is a matter of the heart. Do our children have a heart for obedience? Do they desire to obey, or to kick against authority? Do our children believe that obedience is good, or simply necessary? In Psalm 19:11 we read that “in keeping [God’s commandments] there is great reward”. Do your children understand this?
Of course, keeping God’s commandments also requires outward obedience, which is expressed in the words, actions, and attitudes of our children. Outward obedience often reflects inward obedience. This is why outward obedience is so important. It reflects the thoughts and meditations of the heart.
Parents are given the responsibility to secure honor and obedience in their children. By raising up a new generation of obedient children, they can break the poor patterns of the previous generation. To do this, fathers must be detail-oriented. They must communicate specifics. Vague generalities won’t do. Broad strokes are thin strokes. God calls fathers to concern themselves with the details of the “works He has done” (Ps. 78:4).
Specific Patterns to Break
One of the historic confessions of faith describes the doctrine of repentance and explains that, in order for there to be true repentance, we must repent of “particular sins, particularly” (Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch. 15.5). In Psalm 78, Asaph makes it very clear that the fathers of previous generations were guilty of specific sins. The current generation needs to turn away from those sins -- specifically.
Following are some of the specific sins Asaph warns about. Each one is a bad pattern that we and our children may need to identify and break. Take note of these problems. Are any of them yours?
This psalm makes it clear that the fathers of old were stubborn, cowardly, forgetful, doubting, flattering, provoking, and unfaithful, just like their own fathers. Because of this, they lost their ability to acknowledge the faithfulness of God, even though it was demonstrated repeatedly through miraculous acts. Their unfaithfulness marred their appreciation for the salvation of the Lord and filled their hearts with gloom.
There are consequences for neglecting the admonition of Psalm 78. As we read later in the Bible, Israel did not heed Asaph’s warning. They did not break the sinful patterns of their fathers. So the Lord judged them. Their destruction was terrifying. In Jeremiah 16:11-13, we read:
“Because your fathers have forsaken Me, says the Lord; they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold each one follows the dictates of his own heart, so that no one listens to Me. Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.”
Fathers, break the cycle of rebellion against God. It is a marvelous ministry to break the cycle of unfaithfulness in family history, and there is a special glory attached to it.
Young men, break the bad patterns of your fathers. No one has a perfect home life, but each generation can improve theirs. All parents are flawed in their techniques and their training, but as one generation succeeds another, they can improve upon the work of their parents. In this sense, we should pray that our children will exceed us in every way.
Asaph calls upon fathers to break the cycle of rebellion against God. How can we do it? By filling our hearts with the knowledge of the faithfulness of God, and then spreading enthusiasm for Him to our children, our children’s children, and generations yet to be born.
But as we considered earlier, it is critical that we first repent of “particular sins, particularly.”
Getting Our Homes in Order
I know an exemplary Christian man who conducted Bible studies with businessmen for many years. But one day, the Lord convicted him for not teaching the Scripture to his own wife and children. So for a period of ten years, he quit teaching the Bible study with businessmen. He decided that he must lead his family before leading other men. What a powerful example of obedience!
You may be a leader in your church. You may be a popular Bible study leader. You may be serving effectively on many fronts. Nonetheless, if you are not leading at home, you need to put a hold on your other ministries. Get your own house in order. Then, once your own home is in order, consider resuming some of your former ministries.
If you are a pastor, do you have any men in your church who teach others, but neglect their own families? If so, encourage them to stop leading others for a time, and focus on leading their family. After they succeed in shepherding their own households, they will be ready to shepherd others. Their effectiveness will increase.
Controlling Your Schedule
It’s not enough to prioritize your schedule, you must schedule your priorities. Don’t have time to disciple your family? The problem is not usually a lack of time, but an abundance of time spent in occupations of little importance.
Commenting on Psalm 78, Charles Spurgeon paints a beautiful picture of the man who invests his time in teaching his children:
“Around the fireside fathers should repeat not only the Bible records, but the deeds of the martyrs and reformers, and moreover the dealings of the Lord with themselves both in providence and grace … What happy hours and pleasant evenings have children had at their parents knees as they have listened to some “sweet story of old” (p. 331, Treasury of David, Vol. II, Hendrickson Publishers).
Spurgeon’s picture of family discipleship is a difficult one to paint in the twenty-first century. Almost every force around you is saying that there are better things to pursue. Sadly, even the church schedule can prevent you from replicating this beautiful scene in your home. Churches in our day are a flurry of activity. Programs. Programs. Programs. People are busy maintaining church programs, and church leaders are often focused on ensuring that the programs are fed. Family discipleship is often forgotten.
As Christians, our time must be stewarded. God has given us the time and the resources to do what He has called us to do. But we often spend our time, money, and effort on the wrong things, and have little left for the important things.
Final Thoughts
Let me close with a few suggestions on making the changes that Psalm 78 calls us to make.
Fathers, let’s apply Psalm 78. Break the sinful patterns of your fathers. Celebrate God’s mighty works. And prepare your children to teach future generations.
Questions for Fathers
“This is all the Inheritance I can give to my dear Family. The Religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”
Patrick Henry’s last will and testament, November 20, 1798 (p. 395, Patrick Henry, by Moses C. Tyler [1898, reprinted 1972]).