Lessons from Israels Past
A Maskil of Asaph.
“1 My people, hear my instruction;
listen to what I say.
2 I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past —
3 things we have heard and known
and that our fathers have passed down to us.
4 We must not hide them from their children,
but must tell a future generation
the praises of the Lord,
His might, and the wonderful works
He has performed.
5 He established a testimony in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
to teach to their children
6 so that a future generation —
children yet to be born — might know.
They were to rise and tell their children
7 so that they might put their confidence in God
and not forget Gods works,
but keep His commands.
8 Then they would not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not loyal
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”
Psalm 78:1-8
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In the remaining 64 verses, Asaph recalls God’s faithfulness and judgment, both for and against Israel. They were clearly His chosen ones, but they fought back against Him and rejected His leading so many times. Asaph reminds the people what happened to Egypt and how God’s judgment lashed out against them. He reminds them about what happens to those who stand against God, not because He is angry at them, but so that they may never forget.

This telling and re-telling of their history was mandated by God. He commanded each generation to tell the next over and over again why things were the way they were, How God had helped them, saved them, and why they should be faithful to the One who has defined faithfulness. And so Asaph is a continuing partner in that act of remembrance and obedience. And as it was good for Israel to remember what God had done, it is still good for us today.

He is our Faithful One, our Lord and our Liege. He is our Rescuer and our Salvation. His mighty works have saved us from death itself and the least that we can do is to thank Him through remembering what He has done. Remembering, both in this way and when we take communion, is an act of worship. It is a recalling and a thanaksgiving. It is a proclamation of the goodness of God, and that recalling worships Him because it draws hearts & minds to Him, it gives Him glory and it stands as a testimony.

As we GoLove others for His sake, we need to recall to them what He has done, not only for Israel, but in our own lives. Our testimony of His faithfulness stands as a witness to them as we share the good news of the Gospel of Christ. There is no retelling of God’s faithfulness that is not worship and a joy to the hearts of those who still live in darkness.