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Each month I pray my way through the complete psalter as I say morning and evening prayer. This practice is a rich gift that I commend to each of you.
This evening, I will pray Psalm 78. Near the beginning, the psalmist writes:
We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord, *
and the wonderful works he has done.
Much of the rest of the psalm tells stories from the ancient people of Israel, how God freed his people from Pharaoh’s yoke and led them to the promised land. The stories tell of God’s mighty works and of the people’s stubborn disobedience.
My sense is that in today’s church, when we look back on previous times, it’s with nostalgia or grief over the imagined “good old days.” But in the scriptures, when God’s people look back, it’s with a different agenda.
Psalm 78 looks back to remind us that God is faithful and mighty. This is an important reminder for us today! And in the psalm, there’s an honest sense that sometimes the people got it right, sometimes they got it wrong, but God was always there. Also an important reminder!
Can we look back at the story of our own lives or of our church without nostalgia, but with a deep sense of God’s abiding presence even through our own failings? If we could pull that off, we will be inspired and renewed in our journey today. After all, God’s deeds of old are signs of God’s deeds to come, now and forever.
Yours faithfully,
Scott Gunn
Executive Director, Forward Movement
(Reprinted with permission.)
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