The psalmist summarizes the goodness and greatness of God as he knew it from the Old Testament in this psalm. He connects with his past to seek God’s presence and praise him. We do not live in isolation from our material environment or our historical past. The historical books of Scripture, like the Creation, offer material for praise. The child is the father of the man, and we are shaped by our past. We are the people whom God has redeemed, and in redeeming us, God kept the promises made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants.
When praying with this psalm, we can connect our history to the history of salvation and remember that while the covenant is a commandment, it is also the Word of God—an eternal and holy covenant. If we are unfaithful, God remains faithful.