Tell what God has done
A teaching for fathers · Psalms 78:1–7
1Give ear, O my people, to my instruction; listen to the words of my mouth. 2I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning, 3that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us. 4We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed. 5For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6that the coming generation would know them— even children yet to be born— to arise and tell their own children 7that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments.
Context
Psalm 78 is attributed to Asaph, one of the temple musicians in David’s day. It is a long poem that retells Israel’s history: the exodus, the wilderness, the people’s rebellions and God’s faithfulness. It was written to be sung in public, as collective memory. The first verses explain why to tell old stories: so that no generation grows up without knowing what God has done.
What the Bible teaches
The psalm thinks of four generations at once: the fathers who told (v. 3), those listening now, their children, and “children yet to be born” (v. 6). When you tell your children what God has done, you’re also speaking to grandchildren and great-grandchildren who don’t exist yet. Biblical faith is passed down as a family inheritance.
Look at the content: “the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed.” The center isn’t the house rules but the works of God. Rules without a story sound arbitrary; a story without practice becomes mere memory. And the psalm is honest: the rest of it also tells of the people’s failures. Telling your children where you went wrong and how God was faithful teaches more than a spotless biography.
The goal appears in v. 7: “that they should put their confidence in God,” and not in the father. The father isn’t the hero of the story; he’s the narrator pointing to someone else. That lifts a huge weight off your shoulders, especially if you’re raising kids alone or came to faith late. It’s never too late to start telling.
In practice
At a meal this week, tell your children one true story in which God helped you and one in which you got it wrong and were forgiven. Write both down in a family notebook.
To talk about
What story from our family would you like your own children to know someday?
Prayer
Lord, I don’t want to hide from my children what you have done. Give me memory, simple words and honesty to tell of my falls and your faithfulness. May they and their children put their hope in you, and not in me. Amen.