We tend to see the past as more wonderful than it actually was. The passage of time will let us see that God is just as present and active in our own day.
① 1* 2I cry aloud to God – aloud that he may hear me.
3In the day of trouble I seek the Lord, and stretch out my hand untiringly, my soul refusing to be consoled.
4When I think of God I sigh; when I meditate my spirit fails.
5You keep my eyes watchful; I am so troubled I cannot speak, 6I remember the days of old. I consider the years of long ago 7and the whole night my soul remains disturbed, my spirit wonders,
8“Will the Lord keep silent forever? Will he never show his favor again?
9Has he locked his love and ended his promise for all time?
10Is God forgetting his mercy? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
11This is what makes me distraught – that the Most High no longer acts as before.
12I remember the deeds of the Lord; I recall his marvels of old.
13I meditate on all your work, and consider your mighty deeds.
14Your way, O God, is most holy. Is there any god greater than you, our God?
15You alone are the God who works wonders, who has made known his power to the nations.
16With power you have redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
17When the waters saw you, O God, they were afraid, the depths of the sea trembled.
18The clouds poured down rain; the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed from every side.
19Your thunder crashed in the midst of the whirlwind; your lightning lit up the world; the earth shook and trembled.
20Your path led through the sea, your way through the great water, but your footprints were nowhere to be seen.
21You led your people as a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
- The Most High no longer acts as before. The psalmist meditates on God's marvels in the past, and then returns to his own time. It would seem that God abandons his people in the midst of insoluble difficulties. The fact is that the past is seen more beautiful than it was, even in the Bible. Similarly, the actual crises in the Church could be seen as collapse, but the next generation will find that there has been a resurrection. Likewise, in the life of every believer, there are moments when God reveals himself and lifts us, and others when he asks for our fidelity even though he offers no encouragement. I remember the deeds of the Lord, I recall his marvels of old. We say with Paul: Why will God, who has given his Son for us, not give us all with him? Let us remember our past, the past of our nation and of our Christian community and let us search to discover God's patience and to see in our misfortunes the consequence of our sins. In particular, the division of Christians into so many churches should make us feel that we have not been faithful to the teaching of Christ.
