The Purpose of History

Psalm 78 reveals Asaph in a reflective mood. He reaches deep into Israel’s past and draws lessons from ancient stories. While this psalm contains much history, it aims at something deeper. Asaph shows us the purpose of history itself.

Just as the light of a distant star travels across the universe long after the explosion that created it, so the events of the past send beams of understanding into the present. History supplies hope, instruction, and warning for every generation.

Stories to be Told

History is fundamentally at its heart – story telling. History is a collection of biographical details. These biographies mixed with the lives of others become the tales of families and dynasties, nations and empires. This is the fabric of humanity. Real people just like us with their struggles, fears, adversities, wars, travels and discoveries. Their lives, failures and achievements makes us the people that we are.

Asaph however, indicates that “ our fathers” (v3) have passed down these sayings. The tradition of story telling is as old as time itself. We have always believed it important to keep recounting the past.

Stories that are not told will be lost. That’s why we must keep relating our history. I think of the stories that shaped my life – the heroism of the two Margarets who were drowned on Solway Firth, the bravery of Hugh Latimer as he appealed to Nicolas Ridley to play the man as the faggots were lit and the voice of Luther at Worms when facing Church and Empure under pressure to recant – “Here I stand”. Such stories must be told over and over.

The Subject to be Taught

Here the secular and the spiritual approach to history dramatically parts company.

The secular mindset wants to elevate humanity in history. He sees history as a set of events orchestrated by man.  It may be interesting, but it has no message, no purpose, and no plan.

The spiritual approach to history is so much more satisfying. At the heart of all history is the plan and workmanship of God – “his wonderful works that he hath done” (v4).

Church History therefore is at the heart of all history. Without redeeming a people there is no hope for our broken world. The story of the Church is God’s redemptive plan for mankind. Therefore history must be viewed through the lens of God building and preserving His Church throughout all history. The story of the Church is one of incredible growth. The little flock becomes the great company spreading into all the earth shaping human civilisation.

History is indeed the Lord’s “wonderful works that he hath done (v4).

Reaching the Next Generation

Asaph was determined that the stories told by his own fathers should not hidden from his own children and the generation which was to come. As he told his own children what God h did in the past, they in turn would one day relay that story to their own children not yet born. This generation not yet born would then in due course “declare them to their children” (v5-6).

Therefore, by reaching our children we reach our grandchildren our great grandchildren and our great great grandchildren. The continuation of truth in our nation depends upon the work among the young.

There is a beautiful picture presented of the young sitting at the feet of the old listening to their memories, and in so doing creating memories themselves of a bygone age. This was a time predating the television, the computer, the gaming console and the mobile phone. Old age was valued as it no longer is. Children were taught to listen to the grandparent and learn. These are practices which sadly are being lost. It is a Christian virtue to keep these things alive because once the old pass away their memories will die with them, unless we in some way record them.

This is about more than teaching history. History starts with Bible truth, the most important historical record of all. The Bible is revealed truth. These are the historical facts which are pure and untainted by human interference.

The Old Testament contains the story of a family which became a nation out of which the Christ would be born. The New Testament is the story of Christ’s arrival, his death and resurrection. This period of history is the Gospel, the pivot around which all history turns. Our calendar reflects Christ as the centre and foundation of all history; ‘Before Christ’ (BC) and ‘Anno Domini’ (AD) – ‘In the year of the Lord’.

Subsequent to Christ’s resurrection and ascension the disciples and their followers fulfilled Christ’s commission by taking the Gospel, the good news of redemption, out of of their Jewish community establishing groups of believers among the Greeks and Romans. History after the New Testament period is the continuation of this story of Christ of which we are a part.

Therefore we need to teach our children Bible history and focus on Christ. We must then tell them about the early Christians suffering under the Roman Empire, of the lapse of the Church into the horrible dark ages when the Bible was kept from the people, of the Reformation when the light began to shine, of the missionaries who have carried the Gospel into all the world. These are stories filled with courage and adventure, sacrifice and commitment – inspiring accounts which illustrate the power and dynamic of the risen Christ. This is an irrepressible story because the Apostle Paul taught that the Church is a super conquering body – “more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). The story must never be lost. Therefore we keep telling and retelling, writing and distributing. It’s the story of the past and upon which the future depends.

There is a serious end in sight – “That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments”.

Precious souls depend upon the retelling of the story, a generation to come, children not even born need to set their hope in God and if we won’t relate the Gospel story and the works of God in the past there will be no-one to tell them. If we fail to tell it, the next generation will not hear it—and “how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).

Learning From Failure

Verses Eight to Eleven bring us to Asaph’s principle purpose in telling and retelling the stories of the past. While the past serves to instruct positively in bringing us to God it also serves to warn. There is learning to be had from the mistakes of the past. Asaph was particularly concerned that the children and their children would not be as their fathers – “a stubborn and rebellious generation”.

Asaph was burdened that the failings of the past must not be repeated again.

These four verses are a study in rebelliousness and apostasy. Indeed – this is what apostasy is; a departure from God and His truth.

A The Source of Apostasy

a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

Israel rebelled against God because the heart of God’s people was not right. When our hearts are not right – when we become prayerless and worldly minded – we have begun the process of departing from the living God.

B The Shallowness of Apostasy

The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle

With hearts that had gone astray Israel (Ephraim is at times used for the entire nation) was not equipped. They may have had bows but they lacked courage and resolve. Spiritual weakness will render us less able to confront sin whether individually, in our own lives, or collectively as a Church. We need courage and conviction to stand for truth.

C The Signs of Apostasy

They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law

Apostasy is not backsliding, it’s a total repudiation of everything we once professed to believe.

An individual who is apostate was never a Christian and is rendered without hope (Hebrews 6). All of God’s gracious restraints are removed.

A Church which becomes apostate cannot be regarded as a Church; the candlestick has been removed and the light no longer shines (Revelation 2:5).

In the history of Israel a departure from God’s law and the embracing of pagan idols and superstition was evidence of their total departure from God.

The history of the Christian Church is the history of apostasy. It is a sad reflection of human nature that movements, blessed by the Holy Spirit, that once were pure become contaminated by the stream of skepticism and unbelief.

The early Christian Church degenerated into errors that undermined grace and which led to the fearful doctrine of transubstantiation which claims to offer Christ each time Mass is celebrated.

Observing the state of the Anglican communion today with its toleration of the LGBTQ Plus agenda is a spiritual tragedy. Dame Sarah Mulally, the Archbishop of Canterbury designate, has expressed the view that stable relationships between people of the same gender could be blessed in Church. These are the views of a woman who occupies the office once held by Thomas Cranmer, the architect of the Protestant Church of England and who went to the martyr’s stake as the price of his obedience.

We are Free Presbyterians today not because of a minor difference with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. In 1951 the Gospel had been corrupted within the PCI. Twenty-four years earlier in 1927 Professor Davey of Assemblies College, where young ministers were trained had been teaching that the Christ was not the Son of God, that He did not perform miracles, that the blood atonement was not truth and that Scripture was unreliable. All of this undermined the Gospel. In 1927 Davey was acquitted of heresy by the General Assembly. Davey’s apostasy therefore became the apostasy of the denomination, which where it rests to the present day. The reason why we continue to speak with one voice in proclaiming the gospel with clarity is because we have been careful to uphold the core values of God’s Word, the basics of the Scripture.

All of this teaches us to be watchful and strengthen the things that remain. Just as the history of Israel was one of ebb and flow – revivals and apostasy – so it is with Christendom.

D The Scourge of Apostasy

And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them

The history of Israel is one of remarkable divine interventions, which were quickly forgotten.

Asaph constantly refers to this spirit of base ingratitude.

Despite the deliverance at the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud and fire and water from the rock the people “sinned more and more” (v17).

They received manna, here called “angels’ food” (v25) and quails to give them meat but “For all this they sinned still” and judgement fell as the food was “yet in their mouths”.

After a new generation entered the land of promise receiving the inheritance given by God they “turned back and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers” (v57). This resulted in the fearful immoralities of the priests (Hophni and Phineas) unchecked by their father Eli, the High Priest. Shiloh was forsaken by God as the Philistines overcame Israel stealing the Ark of God (v 59-64).

Asaph was teaching that the children must learn from these past failures or they will be repeated.

Likewise we must learn and be watchful because the Christian Church has swung rapidly, at times, from revival to apostasy. Man in his foolishness becomes complacent forgetting what God has done.

Martyn Lloyd Jones grew up up Wales twenty years after the Welsh revival of 1904 where an estimated 100,000 souls were converted. By the 1920’s Dr ML Jones was brought up in a Church where he never heard the gospel. Within a generation all was lost.

Encouraged by Grace

Ultimately, however, the story of our history reminds us that God is good.

But he being full of compassion, forgave their inquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. (v38)

Israel were preserved by grace alone. The story of their existence was one of mercy and forgiveness. In those times when judgment fell God held back, showed restraint and drew the people back to Himself.

He did so because He had a plan for Israel and the world. His Son, the Saviour of the world, would be born in the fullness of the time, of a Jewish woman.

In like manner God, despite the failings within Christendom, has protected and preserved a people who, at times, were but a remnant. At particular times in history when times were at their darkest He raised up men like Luther and Knox, Whitefield and Wesley to turn the hearts of nations and alter the course of history. Apostasy and revival is the story of the Church. God is gracious. He will stir us again.

When the days were darkest in Israel and the sanctuary was separated from the Ark of the Covenant, as the Philistines were ascendant God took David from the sheepfold to be Israel’s shepherd King.

Verses 70-72 is a marvellous picture of Christ who is at heart of all history. He is our shepherd King, taken from obscurity in Galilee to become the good and great Shepherd of God’s flock. The story of history is of the pastoral care of Christ feeding and skilfully guiding His people. Our future is assured because of Him. As He has been with His people in the past, so will he be in the future. He will never forsake His flock.