God's Anger In Psalm 78

I love Psalm 78. I just finished reading it in the NLT Study Bible. I love this Bible, very helpful notes. The translation takes some time getting used to, but the notes are just what you want. They explain the scripture, fairly, evenly, and thoroughly. They also add in what they call theme notes. These are extended notes, that look at a theme in one section of Scripture, but then place it in the lager context of Scripture. I like Biblical theology, and these short concise segments are awesome additions to a study Bible. Here is great note on God's anger as seen in Psalm 78.

The psalmists understood Israel’s exodus from Egypt as an object lesson about God’s anger (78:18-64). God expressed his anger against the Egyptians while sparing his people (78:49-50). But Israel became the object of his wrath during the wilderness journey, when the people provoked the Lord to anger through their rebelliousness (78:31; 106:29, 32; see Rom 2:5). God took an oath that that rebellious generation would not enter his place of rest (95:8-11), and they died in the wilderness. But he restrained his wrath (78:38) and did not destroy Israel as it deserved.

The Lord is just and righteous in his judgment (7:11); he is patient and slow to anger (86:15; 103:8; 145:8). The wicked have stirred up God’s wrath and deserve his judgment (see 2:5, 12; 21:9; 56:7; 59:13; 69:24; 79:6; see also Rom 1:18). The purpose of his wrath is to remove evildoers and extend his kingdom. Evil must come to an end, and the wicked must perish for the godly to inherit the earth (Ps 37).

God’s people experience his wrath when they sin. The experience, though painful, is brief in comparison to their joy in God’s mercy and goodness (30:5). He will not be angry forever (103:9). God’s wrath brings death (106:23), but his forgiveness and mercy restore his people (see 85:2-7).

God is love, and he loves people with justice and holiness. In love for us, he poured out his anger on Jesus Christ (Rom 3:25; 5:9). Jesus received the full brunt of God’s wrath so that he could atone for our sins and reconcile us to God. He saves his people (1 Jn 2:2) and rules from heaven at God’s right hand (Heb 2:17). Jesus is now the agent of God’s wrath against the wicked (2:5-9; 110:5-7; Eph 5:6; Rev 6:15-17; 11:18; 19:11-16).

Have a great weekend, read your Bibles. Pastor Phillip