1. We have hard with our ears, O God. Thy
mighty acts have been the subjects of common conversation; not alone in books,
but in the ordinary talk of the people we have heard of them. Among the godly
Israelites the biography of their nation was preserved by oral tradition, with
great diligence and accuracy. This mode of preserving and transmitting history
has its disadvantages, but it certainly produces a more vivid impression on the
mind than any other; to hear with the ears affects us more sensitively than to
read with the eyes; we ought to note this, and seize every possible opportunity
of telling abroad the Gospel of our Lord Jesus with our voice. Heard withour ears may denote the pleasure with which they listened, the intensity of
their interest, the personality of their hearing, and the lively remembrance
they had of the romantic and soul-stirring narrative. Too many have ears but
hear not; happy are they who, having ears, have learned to hear. Our fathers have told us. They could not have had better informants. Schoolmasters are
well enough, but godly fathers are the best instructors of their sons, nor can
they delegate the sacred duty. Many children could plead very little before God
of what their fathers have told them. When fathers are tongue-tied religiously
with their offspring, need they wonder if their children’s hearts remain
sin-tied? The people of God under the old dispensation made their families
cheerful by rehearsing the wondrous doings of the Lord their God. Religious
conversation need not be dull, and indeed it could not be if, as in this case,
it dealt more with facts and less with opinions. What work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. The main point was the work of God; it is
delightful to see the footprints of the Lord on the sea of changing events, to
behold him riding on the whirlwind of war, pestilence and famine, and above all
to see his unchanging care for his chosen people. Those who are taught to see
God in history have learned a good lesson from their fathers, and no son of
believing parents should be left in ignorance of so holy an art. The traditions
of our past experience are powerful pleas for present help.
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