“He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.”
Psalm 18:5-7
This psalm is unusual because, though written for public performance (vv. 1, 2), it is neither prayer nor praise. Its purpose is to instruct one generation so that it can pass on its faith to the next (vv. 3–6). Here the purpose goes beyond learning to warning: to help future generations not just remember past mistakes but to learn from them. Yes, future generations need to know ‘the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done’ (v. 4), but they also need to learn not to become ‘like their ancestors—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God.’ The psalmist wrote to help God’s people break this repeating pattern (v. 1).
During the national days of prayer called in the UK at the height of the Dunkirk crisis and the Battle of Britain, churches across the nation were full as people prayed for deliverance. The six days after the first day of prayer saw unusually calm seas and 334,000 troops were rescued while Hitler unaccountably hesitated. The ‘riddle’ (v. 2)3 is: why do we behave as we do, knowing God to be as he is? And why does God behave as he does, knowing his people to be persistent in going their own way? Still, he abounds in love and has to be driven to anger.
APPLY
As your own purposeful remembering, record the past times and seasons when you’ve been particularly conscious of God’s presence and his power at work.
CLOSING PRAYER
Almighty God, thank you that you are always present with me, offering grace and mercy—whether or not I sense you, or even acknowledge you. Thank you for your boundless love—help me to share it with others, especially with this next generation.
(Edited from Encounter with God)