"The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you." - Psalm 102:28
This Psalm is a complaint and a prayer for mercy by someone who is suffering. He rehearses all his pain and the feeling that God has rejected him. He pours out his heart, and then he begins to remind himself of God’s faithfulness. He says, “He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.” (verse 17)
Then he adds, “Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:” (verse 18). He’s concerned, not just with getting the answer to his own prayer for strength, but with the testimony he is leaving for his children and grandchildren, even those not yet born. With the certainty of God’s faithfulness ringing in his ears, he comes to his conclusion: “The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.” We who fight the good fight today are leaving a legacy for the next generation. Until Jesus returns we pass the torch from hand to hand. We received it from those who came before us, we carry it a while, and we pass it on to those who come after us.
While we carry it we face hardships, fight our own battles, and stand faithfully for the truth of God’s Word. The next generation will have their own battles to fight, but they will learn from us how to hold the torch high.
Lord Jesus, You have been faithful through many generations before me. You answer my prayers; you forgive and keep me in every trial. Help me now to stand faithfully in my turn and show the next generation that they can trust You, too. Be lifted up in my life for the next generation to see and believe. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles