Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. (vv 1-4)
The second longest psalm in the bible serves as a summary of Israelite history, spanning their deliverance from Egypt to the time of Israel's return to captivity. The narrator asks his listeners to pay careful attention: he's about to pass on accounts that transcend generations. In verse 4, we come to understand why he has gone to all the trouble of recounting and recording what his listeners must have heard a thousand times: to ensure future generations do not forget God's power and goodness.
In these few verses, we discover a very crucial reason to know God through studying His word. The removal of Christian prayers from class assemblies in the 1960s was at a terrible cost, as forty years later, our society continues on a downward spiral. In a once-Christian nation many freely blaspheme using the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Atheism is a valid religion, as Christianity continues to be marginalised. The teenage pregnancy rate is scandalous, and drugs and STD problems have the authorities stumped. Children are led by their television idols to believe that celebrity status, the latest fashions and toys all make life entirely meaningful. The endless list of atrocities is heartbreaking.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD," we are told in Psalm 33:12, and fearfully, we have to admit that the nation who abandons God is in great danger.
As Christian parents, writers, musicians, politicians or leading figures, we must listen to psalmist's cry in Psalm 78, and assign ourselves the same task. Let us tell show:
...to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. (v 4b)
Let us regale our children with wondrous deeds of an almost-forgotten God, because, as the writer tells us, we make it easier for them to: set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments (v7) when they know Him.
If they hear often of His miraculous doings that cannot be replicated in what they see on television, or on the streets, we give them hope. When the church begins to walk in the mighty power of God, they will sit up and take notice. If we pass on the good news that God loves and is willing to do great things on their behalf, we give them a legacy that God can work with.
Dear friend, open your mouth today, and utter hidden things of old, that God's glory might once again be revealed to today's youth.
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