GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
PSALM 71:16-18
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts,
O Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.
God has done so much!
Our author is coming to the Lord’s house (the temple) to proclaim what God has done. This could refer to any of God’s great miracles, from the parting of the Red Sea to the defeat of Sennacherib on the approaches to Jerusalem in Isaiah’s time. It could be the forming of Eve from the rib, or the miracle of my baptism. All of God’s actions proclaim his righteousness. Whether he was shaping the world in the act of the creation, condemning the fallen angels to eternity in hell, consoling Hagar as she wept in the wilderness, or when he was planning your salvation in the eternity before the world began, everything he does and has done is righteous and glorious.
When we proclaim the righteous things he has done, we carry out his will in the world.
17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.
There is so much more to be done!
The aging author (David? Isaiah?) is filled with the urgency that advancing years brings. Having spent a lifetime learning lessons from the Lord, a desire grows within us to want to pass those lessons along—and sometimes we forget that each generation needs to learn some lessons for itself. Still, we want to encourage our children to be faithful; not to forget their Lord.
This prayer is for the strength and time to carry out the task of teaching the next generation. We want our children to be able to say, “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me.” Most of us have a sense of nostalgia about our childhood. We think that because we’ve turned out just fine (if that’s what we truly think) then there’s no sense doing anything any differently for our children. But don’t we want our children to be as close to their Savior as they can be? Shouldn’t we do whatever we can to bring them to their Savior’s feet, to hear the gospel preached and taught, so that they can know and be certain about their place in God’s plan? There is so much more to be done!
But we must also trust that God will accomplish what he needs to get done, with us or without us. And so we have a kind of paradox. We must behave on the one hand as if everything depends on our efforts with the gospel, and yet we must never imagine that we, personally, are the only means by which God might carry out his plan. No, we must understand the truth of our lives. God has chosen to use us and to give each of us the gifts we have. He does this so that we can serve him and give him glory, but he could accomplish his goals in other ways. So serve God with all your might. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Make big, big, plans for your life and for your life’s work in God’s service, but be ready at a moment’s notice to be called home to glory. It’s okay, either way. Paul said, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:23-24). So whether you remain for a while and serve here below, or whether you are called away to join the eternal banquet, rejoice! You are a part of God’s kingdom, and he will never forsake you.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota