FROM EACH GENERATION July 28, 2020

The Word we read today is the 145^th chapter of the book of Psalms, entitled, “David’s Psalm of praise.”  In here, King David extolled GOD’s power, goodness, mercy and justice, with His promised deliverance to those who fear and trust Him, but destruction to those who will continue on with their wicked ways not ascribing to Him all that is in life.

I think many would find this hard to reconcile with the sufferings the world is experiencing now, because it seems that no matter the promises of medical breakthroughs, all people could feel are fear and anxiety, stress and depression, particularly with the loss of income and means to support the family and to keep ourselves healthy and safe.

If we read and understand the psalm in its entirety however, we can see that GOD is indeed just, and whatever suffering we may be experiencing now is partly due to our own careless and thoughtless ways.  It has come to haunt us, who were not mindful that what we did for the past generations have been anything but contrary to good stewardship of creation.  We have let our greed and pride take control of our lives, and the condition we find ourselves now, the rising cases particularly, is due to the fact that we do not want to be disciplined, and we do not want to follow good advice and wise direction.

But there remains hope for us, for the psalm itself says that GOD is merciful.  He is near to all who call upon Him with sincerity, to those who invoke His name with truth.  He is compassionate, and He will yet hear our prayers.

I recently read that one of the key attitudes a person must have in order to survive and thrive during this crisis is having reserves of inner strength.  Indeed, we can have this if we know whom to trust and call, and if we are convinced through our life experiences that He is trustworthy.  Our weakness is His strength, and whatever difficulties we face, we know that He can sort them out for us.

But this privilege comes with responsibilities too—to be His peacemakers and messengers of good news, amidst a world awash in fear, chaos, confusion, lies and hypocrisy.  From each of our generations, we need to praise His works to one another, and declare His mighty acts (verse 4).  From each of our generations we need to speak His praises, and lead all flesh in blessing His holy name for ever (verse 21).