Psalms 78:1-16: a reflection

1Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth. 2I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, 3which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done. 5For he established a covenant in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; 6that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born; who should arise and tell their children, 7that they might set their hope in God, and not forget God’s deeds, but keep his commandments, 8and might not be as their fathers— a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was not steadfast with God. 9The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. 10They didn’t keep God’s covenant, and refused to walk in his law. 11They forgot his doings, his wondrous deeds that he had shown them. 12He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. 13He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap. 14In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire. 15He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths. 16He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

This psalm sets out a solemn purpose: to tell the next generation the deeds of the LORD, so that they too might set their hope in God. We will not hide them from their children, the psalmist says, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous works. And the aim is clear: that the generation to come might know them, and arise and tell their children, that they might set their hope in God, and not forget his works, but keep his commandments. The deeds of God are to be passed on from one generation to the next, so that each new generation might come to know God, hope in him, and not forget. Passing on God's works to the next generation leads them to hope in him. The deeds of God are to be told to the children who come after. We tell the next generation God's works so they may hope in him. God's deeds are passed on so each generation may know and hope in him.

Notice the purpose behind the telling: that the next generation might set their hope in God. The psalmist is concerned not merely to preserve history, but to pass on the knowledge of God's works so that the children who come after will know God, put their hope in him, and keep his ways, and not become like the forgetful, unfaithful generation before. The deeds of God, told and retold from parents to children, are the means by which faith and hope in God are carried forward from one generation to the next. This reminds us of a real responsibility and gift: to pass on to those who come after us what we know of God, his works, his faithfulness, his ways, so that they too might come to hope in him. Faith is not automatically inherited; it is passed on, told, taught, from one generation to the next. We do well to tell the next generation what God has done, that they might set their hope in him. Passing on the knowledge of God carries faith to the next generation. To tell the children what God has done is to help them hope in him. Faith in God is passed on by telling his works to those who come after.

That is worth taking to heart, for the deeds of God are to be passed on to the next generation, so that they too might set their hope in him. We can keep what we know of God to ourselves, or assume the next generation will come to faith on their own; but the psalmist saw a responsibility to tell the children who come after the works of God, so that they might know him, hope in him, and not forget. Faith is passed on by telling. Tell those who come after you what God has done, that they might set their hope in him, as the psalmist resolved not to hide God's works from the children. Take to heart the resolve to pass on to the next generation what you know of God, telling them his works and his faithfulness so that they too might set their hope in him, as the psalmist said, we will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD and his wondrous works, that the children who come after might know them, and arise and tell their own children, and set their hope in God; for faith in God is not automatically inherited but passed on, told and taught from one generation to the next, and we bear a real responsibility and gift to tell those who come after us what we know of God, his works and his faithfulness and his ways, so that they too might come to know him and hope in him rather than forgetting, and we do well to tell the next generation what God has done.

Lord, this psalm sets out a solemn purpose: to tell the next generation your deeds, so that they too might set their hope in you. We will not hide them from their children, the psalmist says, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous works. And the aim is clear: that the generation to come might know them, and arise and tell their children, that they might set their hope in God, and not forget his works, but keep his commandments. Your deeds are to be passed on from one generation to the next, so that each new generation might come to know you, hope in you, and not forget. Show me the purpose behind the telling: that the next generation might set their hope in you. The psalmist is concerned not merely to preserve history, but to pass on the knowledge of your works so that the children who come after will know you, put their hope in you, and keep your ways. Your deeds, told and retold from parents to children, are the means by which faith and hope in you are carried forward from one generation to the next. This reminds me of a real responsibility and gift: to pass on to those who come after me what I know of you, your works, your faithfulness, your ways, so that they too might come to hope in you. Faith is not automatically inherited; it is passed on, told, taught. Take that to my heart, for your deeds are to be passed on to the next generation, so that they too might set their hope in you. Keep me from keeping what I know of you to myself, or assuming the next generation will come to faith on their own; help me tell those who come after me what you have done, Lord, telling them your works and your faithfulness, so that they too might set their hope in you rather than forgetting.