As I continue to work on Psalm 78, I’m meditating on the use of תרה (torah) for God’s people in the new covenant.

Revisiting the Historical Pattern

Asaph sets before us a repeating pattern in Israel’s history, particularly the history of the generation who died in the wilderness and the wayward generations in the period of the judges. Asaph does so out of obedience to God’s commandment to teach the divinely given תרה to the next generations (cf. Deut 11.19; Ps 78.1–6; etc.).

Yet the purpose of re-teaching Israel’s history is far from what one might expect: the recounting of this history is not about hero-worship or self-promoting propaganda or nostalgia. The ultimate goal of the משל (māšāl, “parable,” Ps 78.2a) and חידות (ḥîdôt, “riddles,” v. 2b), put negatively, is that the hearers and singers of Ps 78

     "would not be like their fathers—
          a generation stubborn and rebelling,
     a generation whose heart was not steady,
          whose spirit was not faithful toward God" (v. 8, italics added).

Positively, Asaph hopes that they

     "would set their confidence in God
          and would not forget the deeds of God
          but would observe his commandments" (v. 7).

We find Asaph here confirming what Paul would later say about the generation that died in the wilderness in 1 Corinthians 10: “And these things [i.e., the judgment of the generation who died in the wilderness] happened as patterns [τύποι] for us, so that we would not be desirous of evil things as those people desired [them]” (v. 6). Again, “these things befell them in a figure [τυπικῶς], but it was written down to warn us to whom the ends of the ages have arrived” (v. 11). Paul says that the new-covenant community, we of the visible church, are likewise going to be tempted to put the Christ to the test (v. 9), so “whoever thinks he stands, let him beware lest he fall” (v. 12). What is remarkable is that the warning for Israel under the Davidic monarchy in Ps 78 matches the warning that Paul gives to the faithful under the administration of the new covenant.

Warnings against Apostasy and Perseverance

All of this touches upon the often misunderstood doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Helpful for this point is Michael J. Glodo’s (2016) connecting the example of the wilderness generation used in Ps 78 to a discussion of the perseverance of the saints:

“Herein lies the critical distinction in doctrine between so-called ‘eternal security’ and ‘perseverance of the saints.’ The former is associated with the view that there’s nothing the believer can do to lose his salvation and to fall away from God’s favor. ‘Once saved, always saved.’ While this may be true in itself, it is precarious by itself. For the Scriptures also teach that there is something that every believer will do in order not to fall away from God’s favor—he will persevere in faith. While the ultimate cause of the believer’s security is found in God and his decree, the instrumental means of his perseverance is a faith that obeys. So when we encounter the New Testament’s elaboration on this doctrine, we must not blunt the warnings with false assurance. Rather, we should make full use of the warnings as a means of grace so that the Spirit-awakened conscience will ‘examine [himself], to see whether [he is] in the faith’ (2 Cor. 13:5)” (130, italics added).

I was so struck by Glodo’s description of the warnings in Ps 78 and elsewhere as “means of grace” for us. A helpful commentary on the balancing act in WCF 14–17.

Bibliography

Glodo, Michael J. 2016. “Numbers.” Pages 107–31 in A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised. Edited by Miles V. Van Pelt. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.