Psalms 78:35 Meaning and Explanation
“And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Memory can awaken faith when ease has made faith careless. Psalm 78:35 gives words to Israel's renewed recognition during a painful season: the God whom they had tested in the wilderness was also the One on whom their life had always depended. The verse asks us to consider what we remember about God when need strips away false confidence.
Israel remembered, under the pressure of judgment, that God alone had been their secure refuge and their deliverer. The verse recalls both his sustaining care and his power to rescue his covenant people.
The Context of Psalms 78:35
Psalm 78 is a historical instruction psalm, addressed to God's people so that one generation may tell the next of the LORD's works and commandments. The poet recounts Israel's deliverance from Egypt, provision in the wilderness, unbelief, and repeated rebellion. Verses 34 through 37 describe a familiar movement: after God brought death and trouble among them, many sought him earnestly and remembered his character. Verse 35 records what they recalled. The following verses expose the weakness of that response, since their speech did not arise from a faithful heart. Verse 38 then turns to God's compassion and his repeated restraint of anger.
What Does Psalms 78:35 Mean?
The verse joins two names for God with two vivid descriptions of his care. Calling God their "rock" speaks of firmness, safety, and provision. Earlier in the psalm, God had cleft rocks in the wilderness and given Israel water in abundance. Their confession therefore grows out of remembered experience, not an abstract idea. He had sustained them where they could not sustain themselves. "The high God" declares his greatness above every rival and every circumstance. Yet this exalted God is also called "their redeemer." He was personally involved in delivering Israel from bondage and danger. The people remembered that their security and freedom had come from him.
Psalm 78 repeatedly treats remembrance as a covenant responsibility. The opening verses urge parents to make God's strength and wonderful works known to their children, so that later generations may set their hope in God. Israel's earlier failures had included forgetting his works and refusing to trust his salvation. Here remembrance returns when judgment has exposed their need. Such memory is valuable because it names God's past faithfulness truthfully. Still, the next two verses show that recalling true words about God is not the same as remaining faithful to him. The psalm carefully preserves both realities: Israel's confession had sound content, and their inward response remained unstable.
The Bible's redemption story gives this confession lasting weight. God revealed himself as Israel's Redeemer in bringing them out of Egypt, and the psalm remembers that rescue while recounting the plagues. Later Scripture speaks of the LORD as a rock and a redeemer in prayer and praise. These titles direct attention to God's dependable character across changing human circumstances. Christians also hear an explicit apostolic connection between the wilderness rock and Christ, while the psalm itself keeps its focus on the God who fed, led, judged, and preserved Israel. The verse invites reverent confidence in the God whose greatness does not place him beyond rescuing his people.
Bible Verses Related to Psalms 78:35
“Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.”
- Exodus 15:13
“He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
- Deuteronomy 32:4
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
- Psalm 19:14
“And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:4
Where Psalms 78:35 Echoes in Scripture
1 Corinthians 10:4 offers a strong canonical echo by identifying the spiritual rock connected with Israel's wilderness provision as Christ. Paul's argument remembers the same exodus generation in order to warn believers against repeating its unbelief and idolatry. Psalm 78:35 supplies the historical and devotional language of God as Israel's rock, while Paul's teaching draws the reader to Christ's presence and sustaining provision within that story.
How to Apply Psalms 78:35 Today
We may practice this kind of remembrance with honesty. It helps to name particular mercies: a time of protection, needed provision, forgiveness received, wise correction, or strength given when our own strength failed. Such remembrance can become gratitude, prayer, and steadier trust in the present. Psalm 78 also encourages us to examine the response that follows our words. When we call God our refuge and deliverer, our habits, promises, and treatment of others can gradually come into agreement with that confession. Families and congregations can keep these memories alive by telling God's works carefully and truthfully.
Reflection & Prayer
Where have we seen God provide safety, endurance, or deliverance that we are in danger of treating as ordinary? Consider writing one memory of his faithfulness and sharing it with someone who may need encouragement. Suggested prayer: "High God, our rock and redeemer, keep your works before us. Give us grateful hearts and faithful lives as we remember your care."