Psalms Of Faith And Doubt In Ancient Times
1 O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
As we noted in the introduction, this psalm begins more like a set of proverbs than a psalm. Asaph calls for all of Israel to listen. We think of “parables” in New Testament terms, as Jesus presented them: earthly stories with heavenly meanings. There is no reason to change our understanding of this even though the Hebrew word mashal is used. In John’s Gospel, especially in the teaching of John the Baptist, we see the mashal used as an enigma that sometimes hid the spiritual meaning from unbelieving ears. The parables that follow in this psalm are true stories that tell the story of God’s love.
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
These verses are a little digression that warns parents: Teach your children. Parents who keep their children from church, or who never tell their children about Jesus are condemning their children. The excuse that “we want to let them decide for themselves” is no excuse and is an irrational reason that stems either from unbelief or a criminal laziness. Withholding the gospel so that a little child “can decide for himself” is like withholding oxygen so that a child can decide for himself to breath, or not teaching a child to speak “so that he can decide for himself if he wants to learn a language.”
Tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.
8 They would not be like their forefathers—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him. (NIV)
The warning takes us back into the story of the Exodus, and brings a frightening memory surging to the surface. The whole adult generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt, a million or more, were condemned by God for their doubt and unbelief. Of that entire generation, only two men and no women lived to see the Promised Land.
But the warning is not just about them. Every generation, every Christian need to take this to heart. And parents who send their children to a Christian school or Sunday School need the warning every bit as much as anyone else: If we don’t model the truths we teach with our lives, the lessons will backfire. If we say one thing and then turn around and do the opposite, then our children won’t see anything but parents who are hypocrites, and who don’t seem to believe what they teach. Christianity for them will seem like an empty morality, dusted off two or three times a year at holidays, but otherwise no more part of our everyday lives than a Christmas tree ornament.
Model your faith; put it into practice. The sins of your past are forgiven in Jesus; put them behind you and become a new person today. Serve your Savior with love and with excitement and with passion.
That’s what he did for you.
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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