Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons,
Whom You shall make princes in all the earth.
I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations;
Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.

  - Psalm 45.16, 17

The northern land shone,
the western people blazed,
he lit up the east
with chaste clerics.
Good the legacy of God’s angel
when he glorified him.

  - Dallán Forgaill, Amra Choluimb Chille, Irish, 6th century[1]

Not a few people these days are worried about the economy. They’re concerned that they won't be able to retire as soon as they’d planned, or that they won’t have much of a legacy to leave their children after they’re gone.

It’s good to be mindful of such things, and to make sound preparations. Be we should think a bit more about this – about legacy, I mean. What will we leave behind when this earthly life is done? Only material blessings and (hopefully) fond memories?

Colum Cille was remembered by Dallán Forgaill for the legacy of light, learning, and leadership he left behind after his death.

Colum was a careful scholar, a passionate preacher, a courageous missionary, and a devoted disciple-maker. He was responsible for the “break-out” of Celtic Christianity from its roots in Ireland to points east – Scotland, the Low Countries, France, Switzerland, Italy, and elsewhere.

In the middle of the 6^th century, Colum founded the monastery and training school on Iona, off the northwest coast of Scotland. There he devoted the bulk of his adult life to propagating the Gospel by every means. Heir to a tribal throne, he left all for the sake of the Gospel, and he established a legacy of scholarship, discipleship, and mission outreach that affected the history of Europe for centuries.

What legacy will you and I leave for the generations to come? Psalm 45.17 sets a standard toward which we can all aspire, regardless of our calling or station in life. The sons of Korah envisioned many young people being raised to leadership among the people of God, and the praises of God extending through them to people for all generations to come.

The sons of Korah appear to have been gatekeepers in the temple of the Lord (1 Chron. 26.1). They pursued their work faithfully, understanding this routine task to be part of their calling from the Lord.

Part, but not all.

The work we’ve been given to do is always greater than the job at which we work. The sons of Korah understood that their larger, overarching calling was to do all things to the glory of God, to use all their time and strength to make known the glory of God and encourage others to know, fear, love, serve, and delight in Him..

And while keeping the gates of the temple was a noble, albeit humble, charge, together these brothers sought to do more to ensure the legacy they envisioned in our text.

So they wrote poems, and put them to music for singing. And we’re still singing them today, in almost every known language among the tribes and peoples of men.

What legacy are you working to establish? Will you leave a shine or blaze or song for the generations to come, like Colum and the sons of Korah? Or will the extent of your legacy be the wealth you accumulate and the words in your obituary?

What can you do today – and tomorrow, and every day thereafter – to ensure that, when you’re gone, the praises of God will continue, increase, and be augmented in the lives of those who are impacted by your legacy?

Here is a legacy no recession can erode, no depression thwart, no hard times quench. It’s not too late to be planning this legacy as your own. Indeed, what better way to begin a New Year than with a renewed focus on a legacy that can last for generations to come?

Psalm 45.1, 16, 17 (Manoah: “When All Your Mercies, O My God”)
O my heart, let now a pleasing theme overflow to praise the Lord!
My song I pledge to You, my King, and dedicate my words.

When we at last Your palace gain, and others take our place,
Then let our children with You reign – a legacy of praise!

Show me, Lord, how I may cause Your praise to continue after I’m gone.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.