Psalm 77 tells us that remembering God's help in the past gives us courage, strength, and hope to continue in present trouble.
Psalm 78 is a lesson in history. We need to learn from our past mistakes, and even the past mistakes of others, so we do not simply repeat them in our own lives.
In our Acts passage we see again God's sovereignty and man's responsibility.
Rayburn:
God had a plan, but that plan came to pass through the warnings and urgings of Paul, through the actions of the Centurion and his men, and through the urgings of Paul and the obedience of the folk on board. In each case it is clear that without the steps that were taken -- to keep the sailors from escaping and to convince the people to eat -- the plan would not have come to pass. Paul says so explicitly in v. 31 and it is implied in his remark in v. 34 that they "need the food to survive."
But this is an exact parallel of the matter of salvation itself. There is a divine plan: he has a chosen people, their salvation is certain, their names are in the book of life, Christ will raise them to life at the last day.
But, at the same time, there are means appointed to secure their salvation: the work of Christ, the work of his Spirit in them, and their own believing, repenting, obeying, and persevering.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Psalms 79-80; Acts 28
3 comments:
The verses that stood out to me, talk of the importance of teaching our children the ways of God, by first remembering what God has done:
77:11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
Then passing them on to the next generation,
78:3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
I liked what Rayburn had to say on the NT passage.
The same theme stood out for me with remembering what God has done in our lives and to pass these on to the next generation(s).
Also, this verse stood out to me -
"Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen." Psalm 77:19
It made me wonder how many times has God led me through something without me even realizing it?
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
God is the God of the impossible. Who can divide the sea? Who can let people walk through it? Who can make water stand? God can! And he does. Yet even though we know this...just like the Isralites... We turn from Him and do our own thing. We become like those sailors on the ship and we crash into the unseen rocks on our way to what looks to be the way.
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