At the start of our series on historical psalms, we looked at some of the points of studying history. There are many reasons why history continues to be so useful to us. History provides us with yet more evidence of who God is and what He is capable of. The historical psalms help us (as 2 Tim 3:16-17 reminds us) in different ways.
- They give us information about the past in a condensed form (often very helpful to have the ‘important’ bits highlighted for us, as any student revising for exams will testify!)
- They caution us to remind us of past disobedience (which hopefully prevents us from making the same mistakes again!)
- They instruct us as to how to live to please God (in obedience and thanksgiving, remembering God’s character and actions.)
- They are powerful teaching aids for the next generation. ‘Often in the Old Testament, when a child asks a father about a particular memorial, stone, feast, or location, the parents must be ready to explain the significance of the past event and provide the relevant application to them so as to live appropriately in response. Thus, the relaying of the past should prompt the parents to present Israel’s history to the next generation so as to instruct them walk in the ways of God and warn them to flee from the ways of sin.’ (Geoffrey R. Kirkland) I am passionate about passing on truths of God to the next generation so that they too may know and praise God for themselves.
- They prompt us to worship and adore God. ‘The same God of old remains exactly the same God today because He is immutable. The God of creation is the same God of the Patriarchs. The God who loved Jacob is the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt by parting the Red Sea miraculously. The God who split the Red Sea preserved an entire nation of people for 40 years in the hot, dry, troublesome wilderness. This same God who led His people dwelt among them in the Tabernacle and remained faithful even when they sinned — incessantly.’ (Geoffrey R. Kirkland) History is not an end in itself. Worshipping God is part of the aim of mankind: ‘man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever’, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it.) The historical psalms aren’t there to simply teach us about the past. They are there to inspire us to worship a God whose faithfulness, power, sovereignty and love are the solid foundations for a blessed life.