A People Yet to Be Created
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A People Yet to Be Created
The unknown author of Psalm 102 had heartaches and enemy reproaches that made him groan physically, as he wept and prayed for the help of the almighty LORD. In writing his prayer that praised the eternal LORD for His compassion and glory, this psalmist said something awesome about his psalm — his prayer. In verse 18, he wrote:
This will be written for the generation to come;
That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
This psalmist wrote his prayer to glorify the eternal Lord of all, who helps us all in our short lives that are filled with weaknesses and troubles. The psalmist’s life was filled with pains and troubles — just as he knew our lives would be filled with pains and troubles. So, he wrote this psalm to witness to us of the power of the LORD to help us in all our needs. He looked to help future people he did not even know. All this to glorify the Lord, our helper. God helps us in our needs.
Asaph, another psalmist, wrote Psalm 79 for us today. Asaph prayed mightily for the LORD’s help against all of Israel’s enemies, as he also asked for God’s mercy and compassion regarding Israel’s many sins. He ends his psalm with,
So we Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture
Will give thanks to Thee forever;
To all generations we will tell of Thy praise.
Asaph did not confess sins and ask for God’s mercy just for himself. He wrote because he wanted his prayer to be a witness of the greatness of God’s power to help us today in our needs. We are living much more than 2,000 after Asaph, but we can learn of God’s mercy from him.
King David wrote a prophetic psalm about the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus — Psalm 22. David realized that what he wrote was God’s word to all future people, to prove to everyone forever that God is in control of all things and that Jesus truly is our Savior from all sin. David ends Psalm 22 with,
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation,
They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.
David wrote about Jesus’ crucifixion to comfort us today. We need to realize that what Jesus did on the cross for us truly is for real. Because God is able to keep His prophetic word, He has the power to forgive all our sins as promised. We are being asked to look at this proof and trust in it.
Then we can think of the Apostle John who was exiled on the island of Patmos for preaching God’s word. He wrote the book of Revelation, the gospel of John, and several epistles. John did not feel that his exile should prevent him from witnessing to the world. He was limited greatly in the actual number of people he could communicate with directly. But, John realized that it is God who spreads His word through many different means. So, what John wrote has actually become a witness to millions around the world ever since.
Christians today need to think about their witness. We are not called upon to write any sort of prophecy — that is for sure. But, we are called upon to be witnesses to God’s truth in Jesus Christ. It does not matter what sorts of trials we are in the midst of — or the fact that we realize that we are sinners in need of forgiveness.
It does not matter that the number of people we are able to witness to is quite small. We witness on a one-to-one basis with our work ethics, our life style, our joy in the Lord, our attention to God’s truths in every situation, and by keeping our eyes on Jesus as our Savior from sin. As we think about the people who have helped us grow in faith, we realize that they are ordinary, every day people. They shared God’s word with us just because they cared about us.
Maybe what they said just stayed in our memory and helped us over some bumps in our lives. And then, we began to learn more about our salvation through other witnesses and as time went by, we grew in faith, grace and the salvation of Jesus. As we grew in faith, we began to share — and so, God’s word travels through the ages — from one person to another — by God’s power — not man’s. Our witness may, indeed, be small — but, it affects someone’s eternal salvation.
Our Lord has declared in Isaiah 55:11,
So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
As we think about God’s proven power to save us, we say, “Hallelujah! My Lord, thank You for bringing Your holy word to me down through the ages. Through Your word You give me eternal salvation. Let my witness be true and filled with Your forgiving love.”
Love,
Margaret
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A Christian devotional to glorify the LORD of lords and God of gods
This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
The word of the LORD is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
Psalm 18:30
Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
Psalm 33:1
How blessed are those who dwell in Thy house!
They are ever praising Thee.
Psalm 84:4
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:13
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 107:1
Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.
Psalm 105:3
Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that
I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12
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