To say that Psalm 78 is a parenting psalm might be a bit of an interpretive stretch. Nevertheless, this psalm is laden with insight into the way in which God intends the knowledge of his greatness to be relayed from one generation to the next. It highlights the central role of fathers in the spiritual instruction of their children, thereby perpetuating the commands of God.
In the opening verses of this psalm, we see an important paradigm presented. The psalmist declares his intention to speak of the glorious deeds of God, noting that these are things which the people have received from their fathers (v. 3), and which the people are instructed to tell to their own children (v. 4).
The next few verses unpack this idea, declaring that God set his law among the people of Israel with the intention that fathers would teach it to their children, so that they might know it and teach it to their children, so that children yet unborn might set their hope in God and keep his commandments (vv. 6-7). This establishes an intergenerational network for proclaiming God’s wonders, relying upon faithful proclamation of parents from one generation to the next. It’s a monumentally important yet astonishingly simple model. “Fathers, teach your kids. Tell them of the great works of God.”
But let’s not think that the psalmist is introducing anything new here. When God chose Abraham many years earlier, he made this statement concerning him (Gen. 18:19): “For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
And when Moses recounted the law to the people of Israel in the wilderness, he gave them this command (Deut. 6:6-7): “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Both of these texts point to the reality that this model of parents (particularly fathers) instructing their children is something deeply ingrained in the fabric of the community of God. In fact, it is apparently such a vital part of covenant faithfulness that it is reinforced in the New Testament, when Paul instructs fathers to bring up their kids in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Even New Testament fathers have the responsibility to teach the coming generation.
Based on these observations, we might honestly say that God is the ultimate champion for grass-roots education. He doesn’t choose intricate systems or institutions wherein new generations might be systematically instructed in his ways. Rather, he chooses moms and dads, working alongside other moms and dads within the community of the church, to pass along the knowledge of his great works through the practice of regular instruction, proclamation, and worship.
The implication of Psalm 78 for parents today cannot be overstated. Parents must be passing along the knowledge of God to their children. To fall short in this regard is to put our kids in jeopardy of becoming a “stubborn and rebellious generation” that is not faithful to God (v.8). And I’m quite sure none of us want to be responsible for that.
We fathers need to love our families, wash our wives in the word, and patiently instruct our children in the gospel. We need to be faithful in the discipline of family worship, providing regular times for everyone in our home to gather for prayer and instruction from Scripture. We need to be examples of God’s grace, confessing our own sins and patiently forgiving the sins of others. We need to soak in the presence of God’s majesty, so that his praises will be perpetually on our lips.
But perhaps more than anything else, we need to nurture a culture of declaration within our churches and homes. We don’t necessarily need to home school our kids or even put them in Christian schools. We simply need to be faithful heralds of God’s glorious deeds. Our life together as a community of believers should be marked by the way in which we constantly declare God’s goodness to one another, lifting up his praises at every opportunity.
The main body of Psalm 78 (the last 64 verses) is simply a recital of some of God’s great works on behalf of his people. This example should compel us to follow suit. So let’s be a declaring people—a people who can’t help but tell of the glorious deeds of God that we have both seen and heard.
