The Doors of Heaven

Psalm 78 is the great historical psalm of the Book of Psalms — a maskil of Asaph, the second-longest in the entire book. Part 1 opened the gateway: we tell the coming generation. Part 2 told the wonders of the sea and the rock. In Part 3 comes the painful moment — after all those wonders, the people sin again.

Part 3 (verse 1 and verses 17-24) is built around one daring question: Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? They saw the water gush from the rock — and still they doubted. The answer comes like a storm: first the anger, then one of the greatest wonders in Scripture — the doors of heaven open, and bread rains down.

The central verse, chosen as the name of the song, is:

"Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven"

This is the heart of the chorus: to the doubting question the heavens themselves reply — the doors open and the manna falls. Not because of their faith — in spite of their doubt.