The Meaning of Psalms 78:35 Explained

Psalms 78:35

KJV: And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.

YLT: And they remember that God is their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.

Darby: And they remembered that God was their rock, and God, the Most High, their redeemer.

ASV: And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their redeemer.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they remembered  that God  [was] their rock,  and the high  God  their redeemer. 

What does Psalms 78:35 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 78:25-37 - Blessed Yet Ungrateful
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: Psalms 78

1  An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God
9  The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient
67  The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David

What do the individual words in Psalms 78:35 mean?

And they remembered that God [was] their rock and the God Most High their Redeemer
וַֽ֭יִּזְכְּרוּ כִּֽי־ אֱלֹהִ֣ים צוּרָ֑ם וְאֵ֥ל עֶ֝לְיוֹן גֹּאֲלָֽם

וַֽ֭יִּזְכְּרוּ  And  they  remembered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
כִּֽי־  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
אֱלֹהִ֣ים  God  [was] 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
צוּרָ֑ם  their  rock 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: צוּר 
Sense: rock, cliff.
וְאֵ֥ל  and  the  God 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
עֶ֝לְיוֹן  Most  High 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עֶלְיׄון 
Sense: high, upper.
גֹּאֲלָֽם  their  Redeemer 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: גְּאוּלִים 
Sense: to redeem, act as kinsman-redeemer, avenge, revenge, ransom, do the part of a kinsman.