Jesus is the key

Every generation has a responsibility to think about the future and to plan for it. We should be concerned, not just about what happens in our time but also about the next generation. The psalmist is concerned for the next generation: ‘Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord’ (v.18) Psalm 102.

Jesus is the key for every generation. Interestingly, the writer of the Hebrews quotes verses 25–27 of this psalm and applies them to Jesus (Hebrews 1:10–12): ‘Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8). He ‘laid earth’s foundations a long time ago, and handcrafted the very heavens’ (Psalm 102:25, MSG). Jesus will be there forever: ‘Year after year you’re as good as new’ (v.27, MSG).

The psalm ends with this hope for the next generation: ‘Your servants’ children will have a good place to live and their children will be at home with you’ (v.28, MSG).

This is a hope, a prayer, and, to some extent, a promise. While everyone is responsible for their own lives, there is a sense in which God treats people as families. We can hope, pray, and believe that our children, grandchildren, and their descendants will live in his presence and be established before him (v.28).