This psalm is a call to instruction and a warning for those who worship the Lord, reminding them not to turn away or stray from the covenant made with the Lord, the God of Israel. Covenant matters involve loyalty and trust in God; similarly, when formed between people, the same principles apply. They are not abstract principles, nor are they dependent on human feelings. They are formed because we value the other person with whom we make the covenant. They depend on the faithfulness of each party to the terms of the covenant. The commitment to each other is based on remembering what they were like and how present activities are consistent with the terms of the covenant.
History can be sacred when viewed from God’s eyes. An open ear allows wisdom a place of entry into the heart, which, in turn, affects our actions. Unfaithful Israel had rebelled against the Lord. They forgot the wonders of what He had done for them. They made demands of God on their own terms. They lied to Him and occasionally tried to flatter Him, but they still turned away from God and went their own way.
Claims of commitment often differ from reality when our words and actions are inconsistent with our intentions. Talk is cheap. Our promises and claims must be backed up by truth and obedience. We can learn from the “dark sayings of old” passed on to us in the scriptures and sometimes from older people whose wisdom has value when they have learned lessons from the Lord. Like those of old, God calls to His people and urges them to listen and learn. God’s faithfulness to His people and His covenant with them remains unchanged.
When we learn from the past, we won’t have to relive it. Those who have experienced both the blessings of God and the chastening hand of God need to be listened to, and their advice not ignored. This psalm is an invitation to us to learn. The children of Israel had to be reminded of the intention behind giving the law. They were warned, as we should be, that disobedience, ingratitude, and forgetfulness of God have consequences that we bring upon ourselves. The disrespect, rebellion, provocation, betrayal, and idolatry of Israel throughout their history gave needed lessons to those generations who followed one after another in the same course.
God wants us to trust Him and not forget what He has done for us. When we respond to Him and are obedient to Him and His word, we learn how to live and the importance of passing on what we have learned to the generations that follow us. God is patient, but He is also just. He allows time for genuine repentance when we sin, and sometimes enough time for us to experience the bitterness of sin. When repentance is authentic and restoration is real, He feeds us gladly from the storehouse of His grace and fullness. But when His offered grace and mercy are ignored, refused, or neglected, He withholds what we need most.
Fathers have a responsibility to teach their children the dangers of forgetting God. Our children need to know what our fathers have told us so they will be faithful to the Lord in their own lives. Then, they, in turn, will pass on to their children the marvelous things God did for their forebearers. There are lessons for us to learn from the history of God’s dealings with us as a nation, an assembly, and a family. Detailed personal history stories also provide insight into the past and offer guidance for the future. We learn from both tragedies and victories. The choices we make, both good and bad, can have a lasting impact on the lives of our children. Our children and grandchildren are an opportunity and a responsibility. Positive teaching helps them set their hope in God. Negative teaching helps them remember God.
The acts of the Lord in the account of Israel’s history and their response to His dealings with them are recounted in this psalm for our learning. Their rebelliousness, unbelief, self-will, and deliberate actions contrary to God’s will are given to understand why condemnation and judgment fell on them. They rejected the terms of the covenant God made with them. That, and the rejection of the Person with whom the covenant was made, resulted in their abandonment to their enemies and the perversion of worship to the extent of idolatry. Thankfully, hope for their future is given when God’s servants and covenant people are restored to Him, and the covenant is reaffirmed. The Royal Shepherd will gather His own people to Himself.
The acts of the Lord in saving and keeping us must be taught, and the relationship involved with His people and us through generations past is a focal point for our faith and obedience. We should not hide what has happened in our family history from our children and grandchildren, so they will not repeat the mistakes of stubbornness and rebellion. The characteristics we share with our family make it essential to be open and aboveboard about our life experiences. We can learn from others by reading the reasons behind events. In history classes in school, we were required to learn about the causes, courses, and consequences of wars, as well as historical accounts of various countries. We continue to learn a great deal from others.
God called to His people in the past and urged them to listen and learn. They learned that His faithfulness never changes. They learned that He judges fairly. They learned that He is abundant in grace and patience and that His longsuffering has reasons behind it. In such situations, He could “provide a table in the wilderness,” and He did despite their sin. They were fed thousands of pounds of food daily for forty years from the fullness of His heart, which overflowed with love for His people. People doubted and criticized God then and now, yet He remains consistently faithful to His promises.
The “table in the wilderness” was an expression of both hope and doubt. If two covenant makers fail to keep the covenant terms, there is no genuine confidence or real fellowship – only a form. Unbelief and expressions of doubt are a reflection of a person’s character. If one does not truly believe in the other person of the covenant, they are making that person out to be a liar – and there is no table of fellowship there. Divine interventions come at times to make people conscious of God’s interest and commitment to the covenant.
How glorious it is when God’s shining face, the face of our Lord Jesus Christ, is experienced by faith! How wonderful it will be to see the visible presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is at the right hand of God until He makes His enemies His footstool! We do well today to listen to older people recount the marvelous things, the consequences of not remembering His guiding hand, and the great loss that comes from forsaking God’s ways and His word. But when such things happen, and we learn the lessons of history, we are greatly helped to keep the terms of His new covenant with us when life and pressures are great. He is training us for the future.