Our fathers have told us the work that You did in their days, In the days of old.

Psalm 44:1-8 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

God, we have heard with our ears,
Our fathers have told us
The work that You did in their days,
In the days of old.
² You with Your own hand drove out the nations;
Then You planted them;
You afflicted the peoples,
Then You let them go free.
³ For by their own sword they did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
For You favored them.

⁴ You are my King, God;
Command victories for Jacob.
⁵ Through You we will push back our adversaries;
Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.
⁶ For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
⁷ But You have saved us from our adversaries,
And You have put to shame those who hate us.
⁸ In God we have boasted all day long,
And we will give thanks to Your name forever. 

In Deuteronomy 11:18-25 God says: “You shall therefore take these words of mine to heart and to soul; and you shall tie them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead. You shall also teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your sons may be increased on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. For if you are careful to keep all of this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and cling to Him, then the Lord will dispossess all these nations from you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. Every place on which the sole of your foot steps shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea. No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will instill the dread of you and the fear of you in all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.”  

The psalmist says: God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us The work that You did in their days, In the days of old. You with Your own hand drove out the nations; Then You planted them; You afflicted the peoples, Then You let them go free. For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them. You are my King, God; Command victories for Jacob. Through You we will push back our adversaries; Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. But You have saved us from our adversaries, And You have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted all day long, And we will give thanks to Your name forever. 

Surely, we have failed to do what God said. We have failed to do what the psalmist said was done for him and his people. We have not taught God’s word to our sons and our daughters. We have not told them of the great and miraculous works of God. Many today only know of the Disney version of the miracles of God, so that they are equated to the works of wizards and sorcerers. God is known by many as fictional, a fable or fairy tale, just another animated character. Many generations of our children have not learned to trust and depend on God. They try to fill the void that is left with other gods and other things. Our society has taught them to depend on the government for their protection and provision. We are left with a people filled with fear and anxiety. Worse yet, we are being taught division and hatred by the gods of the world. 

In Deuteronomy 11:26-28 God says: “See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.”  We are seeing the consequences of our choices and our inaction. We are reaping what we have sown. Still, it is not too late. 2 Peter 3:9 says: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. God’s promise of a blessing or a curse will be fulfilled. We are on the path to experience the curse. In Isaiah 5:20 God says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Again though it is not to late. Jesus has not come as righteous judge. There is time for all to come to repentance.  In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God says: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  It is not our government who we can expect to humble themselves, pray and seek the face of God. It was we, the people of God who failed to teach our children and it is we, His people who need to repent, to pray and seek His face. 

God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us The work that You did in their days, In the days of old. You with Your own hand drove out the nations; Then You planted them; You afflicted the peoples, Then You let them go free. For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them. You are my King, God; Command victories for Jacob. Through You we will push back our adversaries; Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. But You have saved us from our adversaries, And You have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted all day long, And we will give thanks to Your name forever.  Amen.