Psalm 78;

Psalm 78
This is a long psalm in which Asaph reflects on the long history of Israel. I will have to wait until a later time to really contemplate all it says. v. 4-7 gives his purpose, and it is one that every generation should remember. "We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them--even the children not yet born--and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands." What a challenge to think that we can even influence generations not yet born!

Asaph honestly tells of Israel's many failures, how they were disobedient and rebellious. God was angry with them because "they did not believe God or trust him to care for them." v. 22  God sometimes judged them, they repented and He was merciful, forgiving them and blessing  them again and again. And then they would return to their sin. All the time, though He did judge them, "He remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns." v. 39 The main thing I get out of this Psalm is that God will give us many chances, though sometimes He must discipline us for the purpose of reminding us to obey (just as good parents do). That God is merciful and patient should not be an excuse to sin, but rather it should be a reminder that when we do sin, we should confess and repent and turn back to God as quickly as possible.