God our Father is prepared to do "exceeding abundantly" for His children; but too often we become so engrossed with His gifts as to forget and neglect the Giver. We allow ourselves enjoyment to point of satiety; and then, by an inevitable revulsion, we begin to suffer. Always acknowledge God while enjoying His gifts. Do not separate the gifts of His grace and those of His providence. All good and perfect gifts are from Him, and are to be received with equal thanksgiving. Do not use them in excess, but in moderation; and let not the enjoyment of their sweetness be your main object, but that you may be fitted to play your part and do your work in the world.
It must greatly wound the love of God that we need to be placed on short rations in order to bring us back to Himself. But how true is Psalms 78:34 of us all! We sadly require to have the stedfast heart, and to be faithful to our side of the Covenant, for we must all confess to the sin of fickleness and changeableness in our religious life. Our constant prayer should be that of Psalms 51:10, Renew a stedfast spirit within me. But how can this be ours, except by the dwelling and uprising within us of the life of God? [source]
Chapter Summary: Psalm 78
1An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God 9The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient 67The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David
What do the individual words in Psalms 78:36 mean?
And nevertheless they flattered Himwith their mouthand with their tonguethey liedto Him
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּתָה
Sense: to be spacious, be open, be wide.