To a New Generation

 August 24, 2023

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; 

And His greatness is unsearchable. 

One generation shall praise 

Your works to another, 

And shall declare Your mighty acts. 

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, 

And on Your wondrous works.”

—Psalm 145:3-5 

Psalm 145 almost reads in reverse. Instead of beginning with all God has done for him, David tells us how he will respond to God’s goodness with praise, witness, and meditation. Two things stand out to me in these opening words.

The first is the commitment to “meditate on the glorious splendor of [God’s] majesty.” Livings as we do in a digital world where information is literally at our fingertips twenty-four hours a day, meditation of any kind often gets shoved to the back burner. Only a few generations ago, the news was printed weekly. Buy a newspaper, read it, and think about it for an entire week before the next edition came out. Then it was daily, or perhaps twice daily. For most of my life, the news on television came on at 5:00 and 11:00 pm. Radio would keep us updated hourly, but the advent of cable news and then the internet inundates us with a constant barrage of news bites from people and organizations that have an agenda other than giving us the news.

Meditation—thoughtful consideration—is almost a thing of the past unless we make a determined effort, disciplining our time and thoughts, taking control of our minds by giving attention to matters of our own choosing; in this case, “the glorious splendor of God’s majesty.” I wonder how our lives would be different if instead of fretting over whatever is happening in Washington, Beijing, or Moscow, we turned our thoughts towards the God before whom all rulers and kingdoms will one day bow.

The second thing that grabs my attention in these verses is his declaration that “one generation shall praise [God’s] works to another…” This reminds me that the Gospel is only one generation away from extinction. A generation no longer with us declared God’s mighty acts to me. It’s now my obligation to do the same to generations that follow. Linda and I tried to be faithful in doing so with our children and also with our grandchildren. The Lord has opened another door for us with our Creek Kids, so we’re at it again, declaring to them the work of Christ on the Cross for their salvation, the mighty act of the forgiveness of sins, and the glorious majesty of the future Christ has secured for them. We’ve only just begun, but the adventure beckons, and we are doing everything we can to walk through the open door God has provided. 

We can only do so if we have first meditated on God’s glorious majesty. We have nothing to give if we haven’t first received, and we receive only as God’s Word is firmly planted in our own hearts. So tonight, I meditate, so tomorrow, I can praise his works to a new generation.