Psalm 78:35

Psalm 78:35, in plain English

They remembered who God actually is—their strength and their redeemer. For a moment, truth cut through the fog.

Why it's here

They recalled that God had been their Rock—solid, unmovable, trustworthy. They'd experienced His redemption in Egypt; they just had a habit of forgetting it in the wilderness. This verse shows what right thinking looks like: remembering God's faithfulness.

Who's speaking

Asaph, describing the moment of spiritual clarity.

Where it sits in the story

Remembering God's character is foundational to faith—a spiritual discipline that protects you from the cycle of doubt and rebellion.

The scholarly reading

In these moments of crisis, Israel remembered God's foundational identity—that He was their Rock (their unshakeable foundation) and their Redeemer (their liberator from bondage).

Language and setting

The verb וַיִּזְכְּרוּ (va-yizkru, 'they remembered') carries covenantal weight; זכר (zakhar) implies not merely mental recall but rekindling of relationship, often connected in Hebrew thought to God's covenant faithfulness (זִכְרוֹן, zikaron, 'memorial'). The epithet צוּר (tzur, 'Rock') appears throughout the Psalter (18:2, 71:3, 89:26) as a designation for God's stability and protective strength—the metaphor invokes geological permanence against which water, wind, and time prove ineffectual. The term גָּאַל (ga'al, 'Redeemer') carries specific legal and theological resonances: in Levitical law, the redeemer (go'el) was the kinsman who purchased freedom for enslaved relatives (Leviticus 25:48-49). Applied to God, it asserts His familial obligation to Israel and His redemptive power.

Voice

The psalmist reports the content of Israel's remembrance—the theological self-understanding that resurfaces under duress.

Significance

These two titles—Rock and Redeemer—encapsulate covenantal theology: Rock emphasizes God's constancy and protection, Redeemer emphasizes His liberation of the enslaved. Together they recall the Exodus narrative and ground Israel's survival in both God's immutability and His redemptive initiative. Isaiah will later develop the redeemer theology extensively (Isaiah 43:14, 44:24), and the New Testament applies גָּאַל (redemption) to Christ's atoning work. This verse shows that even hardened hearts retain some capacity to remember God's identity when stripped of other resources.

33So He ended their days in futility, and their years in sudden terror.

34When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.

35And they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.

36But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.

37Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.

Read all of Psalm 78 — The longest historical psalm — a retelling of Israel's journey from Egypt to David. Remember, so the next generation won't forget.