The Next Generation: Psalm 78-Supplication through the Scriptures

The Next Generation

Psalm 78

Those who know the name of the Lord will set their hope in him, and that they may be led to do so is the main end of all spiritual teaching.

Charles Spurgeon

It is a special privilege and burden to tell the next generations the wonderful deeds and ways of the Lord. It is a privilege because we as parents and grandparents, or those discipling or mentoring, get to share the wonders of what God has done for us and what He has taught us in His Word. It is a burden because we are commanded to train up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and we want to be sure we are fulfilling that mission and directive from the Lord.

One way we will be ready to fulfill this calling is if we ourselves have a sincere and authentic relationship with the Lord. If we see Christ as wonderful and glorious, we will talk about Him. If we are spending time each day acquainting ourselves with the Word and with the God of the Word, we will build a repository of truth which we will be able to give at the appropriate time.

There will be times when, as part of the older generation, we will need to recall truth in the moment to share with someone younger. This may be when someone is going through a similar experience of suffering that we have already walked through and now we can share the comfort the Lord has given us during our suffering. Many times, though, there will need to be an established time that we invest in the spiritual lives of the younger generation. This will look different from one person or family to another, but reading the Bible together after dinner or before bedtime, going through a book of the Bible together with someone, or reading a Christian book one-on-one are just a few ideas. Even becoming a prayer partner with a younger person can be a method of training that person up in the ways of the Lord.

In Psalm 78, Asaph calls the people to listen to him. He wants to rehearse the wonderful deeds of the Lord which their fathers had told them (78:3), and he does this in order that the truth of God would not be hidden from their children (78:4). He said the Lord gave them the law so that they would teach it to their children, in order that their children would rise up and teach it to their own children. Ultimately, the teaching of the truth and ways of the Lord was so their children “should set their hope in God” (78:7). One way we as the older generation can influence our children and grandchildren to set their hope in God is to not be silent about the glorious deeds of the Lord.

Let’s pray through the first part of Psalm 78, that we would not keep silent about the glorious deeds of the Lord, and that the generation to come would set their hope in God.

Tell the Coming Generation

78:1-4 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Let’s pray:

▫️We, as the older generation, would diligently pursue the Lord, to know Him and His ways. We would study His Word so that we can teach the next generation about Him.

▫️We would open our mouths and speak truth in those moments the Lord gives us, and we would not be silent.

▫️We would not hide from our children the glorious deeds of the Lord.

▫️We would obey God’s direction to us as parents to train up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

Set Their Hope in God

78:5-8 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Let’s pray:

▫️We would teach our children, and even our grandchildren, the Word of the Lord by what we say and how we live and the seed of the Word would fall in good soil.

▫️The next generation would know the Word and it would transform them, so that they would arise and tell the truth to their children and each generation would be faithful to pass on the wonderful deeds of the Lord.

▫️The next generation would set their hope in God and look to nothing else for their hope.

▫️Our children and grandchildren (or those we disciple) would keep God’s commandments, have a steadfast heart, and a faithful spirit to God.

They Would Be Led By God

78:9-16 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

Let’s pray:

▫️Neither we nor the next generation would turn back on the day of battle, but rather we would realize we do not wrestle with flesh and blood and we would stand firm with God’s power.

▫️Our children and grandchildren would not rebel against the Lord or refuse to walk in His ways.

▫️The Lord would lead the next generation to do His will, and He would use them to build His church.

▫️The Lord would provide the water of life abundantly for the next generation, and they would drink deeply of His living water and be satisfied.

Reject Doubt and Unbelief

78:17-20 Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”

Let’s pray:

▫️The next generation would not continue in their sinful ways and would not rebel against the Most High.

▫️They would not test God in their hearts by making demands of Him or doubting His goodness toward them.

▫️When the next generation is experiencing suffering, we would step in and comfort them with the comfort we have received from the Lord and direct their hearts to Him.

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Photo credit to robbie36.

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