Psalm 78 and Matariki

Psalm 78 is a hymn from the Psalmist who is petitioning the congregation to “hear my teaching, listen to the words of my mouth” (78:1). They state that they are going to remind the people of things that they have heard and been told by their ancestors. Their history is going to be retold, as a reminder of who God is, of his praiseworthy wonders, his saving power, and the redemption found in him. Indeed, the Psalmist wants the people to continue to teach their children so that God would not be forgotten or cast aside. Their memories are to be full of the good news, reminded of the blessing of God as he keeps his promises and remains faithful, even to a stubborn and rebellious generation (78:8).

Although the Israelites had failed again and again, neglecting the Lord, and worshipping other gods, he remained with them. Even though they turned back and refused to keep his covenant and remember the way he fulfilled other promises, he continued to guide them with a cloud by day and fire by night (78:10–14).

Even when they provoked him with their unbelief and distrust, he continued to provide, “he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven” (78:24). He did not give meagre portions, but abundant blessing. He “rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore” (78:27). The Lord gave the people what they desired, yet they did not cease their sinning. They continued to walk in disbelief (78:32).

The Psalmist continues to recount the back-and-forth attitude of the Israelites, as they sought God in times of strife, but in times of blessing, they turned from him and rejected him once more. “Their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant” (78:37). The cycle continued again and again, as the Israelites turned from the Lord, putting his words to the test, they forgot his power and past fulfilment of promises. They neglected to remember the past joy of their salvation in the Lord, and instead dwelt on the struggle in front of them, and the apparent easier route.

The amazing thing is that even after each of these failings and rejections of God, the Psalmist recounts the way that he continued to chase after his children. He continued to pursue them and draw them back into his love. In verse 38 we see that “yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.” Again, in verse 52 we read that “he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.” As a shepherd cares for his sheep even when they wander astray, so the Lord goes after each of his children who walks away. We see this both at an individual level in the gospels, as well as at a national level as God continues to seek and save the lost. Sometimes this provision of a shepherd is God’s hand directly leading and guiding his people, sometimes with the pillar of cloud and fire, while other times (78:70–72) he raises up leaders, faithful shepherds to guide his people into a life of flourishing and goodness.

As we read of the Psalmist recounting the history of his nation, Israel, we can consider how this can speak to us today. Do we sit and reflect? Do we remember our own history? The history of humanity, the Church, our countries, our local communities, our family history, and our own personal journey with the Lord? No man is an island. We are part of a bigger story. We are part of a people, a nation who have tripped up and failed many times. We have failed to squash injustice. We have failed to truly live out the will of the Lord and to let justice flow like a river, mercy like a never-failing stream. There is inequity. There is poverty. People are unable to access basic human needs. In our own homes, we have failed many times to communicate love to those around us. We have failed to seek the best for others. We get caught up in our own needs, and forget who is the provider of those needs.

We need to sit down and take the time to reflect on our own history. On how God has been present in our lives. Yes, personally, but also at a wider level as we remember how he has carried our local congregations through thick and thin. How he has been our pillar of cloud in the day, and fire at night. How he has been our shepherd and has led us from danger, into quiet places, with green grass and still waters. God has never left our side. From the beginning of time, and even before time was created, God is. God was, is, and ever more shall be. And as we remember that our God is the same God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt and settled them in the land that he had promised them, we can trust that he will continue his plan of salvation, and that one day in the future, we will be present in the new heavens and new earth. That day of joy and celebration will come as we commune with the Lord, and with all his people. We will see no longer as in a mirror, dimly, we will no longer have faint and imperfect representations and memories that are fading. Everything will be so much more real, so much more present. There will be joy, and life, and we will know even as we are fully known.

As Matariki, the Maori New Year is upon us, we enter a time to pause. This is a time to reflect, to look back, forwards, and to the present and remember the way that God, the creator of the universe, the stars and the moon and the galaxies that are so far beyond our comprehension, holds everything in his hands. He upholds and sustains everything, from the forces between atoms, to the nebula and nurseries of the skies. We cannot understand everything, but we can know that this same God that knows about the intimate details just as much as the grand picture, sees us. He will not fail his people.

What has God done for you? What has God done for your family? For your church? Country? The world? What has God done in history, and what is he doing now? And as we reflect on these things, we can live in hopeful anticipation of the day when all things will be made new, when all tears will be wiped from all faces, when sorrow will be transformed into joy, and the day of the Lord will be here.