TELLING THE STORY AGAIN

He brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness. He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies. —Psalm 78:52, 53

One of the recurring praises of the faithful people of Israel was to tell and re-tell the ways in which God had rescued and led them in their history.

Moses had urged this as something the people should do (see Deuteronomy 11:29–31), and Psalm 78 is one of those recitations, written in poetic form: “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done” (Psalm 78:4). This particular re-telling of Israel’s story recounted their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and how God had intervened to wear down their captors and defeat their pursuers, particularly in the story of crossing the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:10–31). At that time, Moses had admonished the people, “Do not be afraid. . . . The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:13, 14). Retelling this story hundreds of years later was a reminder to the people of their past, but it also reminded them of God’s continuing power and presence with them in the present. Psalm 78 was also a song in praise of David, whom God brought “to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them” (Psalm 78:71, 72).

This is an example of how David, when at his best, was identified by God as “a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). But it was also a re-echoing of the call to not be afraid. The God who had rescued them from Egypt was their God still, whatever might assail and whoever might attack or threaten them.