Scripture Reading: Psalm 106:1-48, Psalm 107:1-43
The Lord, it seems, is a meticulous record keeper.
Over and over in the Scriptures He compels, and at times commands, His people to record His righteous deeds…His miraculous works…His persistent kindness. The whole Bible, in fact, is an encyclopedia set of His love.
This can’t be based on ego. God doesn’t need human praise to prop Himself up. Nor can it be bravado. Who could the keeper of the stars possibly be trying to impress? The records aren’t for Him. They’re for us.
For though we’ve never breathed a single breath He didn’t give us, never lived a single day He did not grant us, though we’ve never known another love like His love and never experienced grace more costly than the kind Jesus died to offer, we forget. Over and over, we forget.
We forget that everything was made by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16), even us and all who we hold dear.
We forget that He has loved us since before He poured the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 1:4), so it cannot be based on how we perform (or don’t perform).
We forget that all of creation is telling the story of His power and love (Romans 1:20).
We forget that the earth is His footstool (Isaiah 66:1) and the nations are under His control (Psalm 22:28).
We forget that His love is the forever kind (Jeremiah 31:3) and that nothing and nobody can snatch us from His hands (John 10:28).
We forget that grace compelled Him to go to the cross where Jesus willingly laid down His life for sinners (Romans 5:8).
Our forgetting takes us down all manner of unnecessary rabbit holes: We fret, we fear, we fall short. The Lord knew we would, so He’s given us the records of His love. In Psalm 107, the psalmist recorded a history of humankind; there was wandering and darkness, struggles, and storms. Alongside these, the writer recounts the deeds of the Lord.
“He led them by the right path” (Psalm 107:7).
“He has satisfied the thirsty and filled the hungry with good things” (v.9).
“He saved them from their distress” (v.19).
“He stilled the storm to a whisper” (v.29).
Spiritual amnesia is a byproduct of the fall. But the Lord is gracious with our short-circuits. This is one of the great gifts of the psalms. They are an invitation to remember who God is and to let that remembering reform us into worshipers again and again.
This is why the psalmist wrote, “Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things and consider the LORD’s acts of faithful love” (v.43).
God doesn’t have to work to remember anything. He knows who He is and what He’s done. He knows just how unlike Him we are in this way. He’s left a paper trail for us to guide the way back to Him.
Take a page from this psalmist’s playbook. Pay attention to all the Lord has done. Consider His acts of faithful love, including the words He inspired in Scripture so that you can remember what kind of God you serve.
Written by Erin Davis
