I. POSSESS A RESPECT FOR HERITAGE – 78:1-4

        A. Our Heritage Is Worthy of Consideration – vv. 1-2

        1. Far too often, heritage provided by one generation is viewed by the next as being unworthy of duplication or even consideration.
        2. People believe that a "generation gap" makes what parents embraced as good for that previous era, but irrelevant to the common era.
        3. The Psalmist here takes this issue on head-on.
        4. Hear declares: "Listen, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth."
        5. There is worthiness associated with the things about to be shared that make it foolish to ignore them as outdated.
        6. They are "ponderables" – things that can be meditated upon with value – "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old."
        7. These "dark sayings" are not things that are mysterious, but are things that are to be greatly admired and carefully studied.

         

        B. Our Heritage Is Witness of God’s Power – vv. 3-4

        1. The reason that a godly heritage is to be respected is because of what it teaches us – about God’s power.
        2. These matters of God’s power and strength on behalf of His people have been passed from one generation to the next as people have testified to their children of God work in their lives – "Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us."
        3. We cannot allow ourselves to be the ones who falter . . . who permit the display of God’s exertion of power to be unknown and unattested – "We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord."
        4. That which is witnessed and needs to be passed on is the personal awareness of the power of God

            5. a) "Strength" – the ability of God to exert His power in our affairs to the end that His glory is manifested in our lives.

            b) "His wondrous works that He has done"

       

      II. PURPOSE TO REPRODUCE HERITAGE – 78:5-6

        A. The Obligation To Pass On A Godly Heritage – v. 5

        1. The first thing identified by the Psalmist is the obligation or responsibility that we have to transfer our understanding and relationship to God – "For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children."
        2. This pertains both to the objective truth of the Scriptures as well as the subjective experiences we have known regarding that truth.
        3. These matters are not to be seen as relevant to one generation but not the next – it is not for the old timers

         

        B. The Objective Of Passing On A Godly Heritage – v. 6

        1. The most valuable possess that a generation can transfer to the next is a personal relationship with the Lord God.
        2. Hence, the duty or obligation is not accomplished merely by virtue of the fact that you have verbalized the truth, but that your children have actually embraced the truth and are able to transfer it to their children
        3. Thus, "that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children." – cp. Proverbs 13:22

       

      III. PROVIDE A RAPPORT WITH HERITAGE – 78:7-8

        A. Instill a Personal Relationship with the Lord – v. 7

        1. The goal of a father who would be obedient to the command of the Lord to connect his children to the values and practices of previous generations is to enable a child to embrace a relationship with the Lord himself
        2. "That they should put their confidence in God" – this refers to the presence of a personal faith and trust; that they might wholly lean on the Lord Jesus.
        3. "And not forget the works of God" – this refers to the an appreciation for the way that God does for us what cannot be done for ourselves – namely salvation.
        4. "But keep His commandments" – in response to the goodness of God’s grace, and the presence of love for Him that characterizes a personal relationship with Him, an eager and willing obedience ought to exist – cp. 1 John 5:3

        B. Instruct of the Pernicious Results of Indifference – v. 8

        1. Not only is there benefit from teaching the positive example of godliness and righteousness, there is also value in allowing one generation to observe the consequences that a previous generation has known for unfaithfulness.
        2. This provides a warning – "And not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God."

            3. a) "did not prepare its heart" – refers to the although they professed a knowledge of God, they walked contrary to God, in direct opposition to his will

            b) "and whose spirit was not faithful to God." – on every occasion such a man will fly away from God being "prone to wander" from the Lord