We can gather speed when we teach the next generation by sharing early what we learned late.
In Psalm 102 we noticed the psalmist’s Upper Look (vv 1-2), seeking the Lord’s help. This is followed by a long Inner Look (vv 3-11) where he recounts how fleeting, lonely, and contentious his life has become. Then, at this point, like flipping a switch, the light comes on! The pivotal moment? “But You, O Lord…” (v 12). What a difference that makes! Here he gets the Long Look (vv 12-22). “But You, O Lord, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations” (v 12). Not only is God forever, but I’m not the end point on earth, either. Here the psalmist makes his first, if not final, mention of future generations. In the middle of the 19th century, I had 16 great-great grandparents, then 8 great-grandparents, 4 grandparents, and two parents. That’s 30 people to produce me (which you had, too)! But the river of life continues, and we’ll soon surpass that number in the next two generations. A sparrow alone? Hardly! We can help direct that river towards the Lord by recording His goodness and glory (v 12-17), telling His awesome deeds. “This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord” (v 18). Many of us are answers to the prayers of previous generations each time we praise the Lord! The Lord is the constant, the common bond, between the many generations who love Him (v 24). Yes, “The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You” (v 28). This is our hope and prayer, that in spite of the problems mentioned in the first 11 verses, common to every age, those who spring from our lineage will sing the Lord’s praises even at our graves, and so on, and so on. But there’s another BIG surprise in this psalm.