Gracious Memory (contd)
Meditation 2: The source of past good
Psalm 25:6-7 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.
What is wonderful about this attribute:
6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love
Every joy you have ever experienced has come from God’s grace and from no other source (Ps.16:2). Therefore, all that would be required for you to be full of joy right now would be for God to remember His past grace toward you.
Great God of gracious memory, Oh how one deep calls to another – the depth of my multiplied miseries and needs calling upon the depth of Your manifold mercies.
You have made me so happy so many times; You have delighted me and enthralled me and filled me with joy; You have encouraged me and strengthened me and emboldened me and motivated me – You have done all those things in the past, which means You know how to do it, dear Lord. You have no trouble. I try to cheer someone up, or encourage them or motivate them, and so often I fail. I try everything I know to try, but with no success. But Lord, You have no trouble doing any of those things any time You choose. So Father, I ask as the psalmist did – please remember; please do it again. Show me Your great mercy like You have in the past. Show me Your great love like You have done so many times. Remember Your favor toward me and remember me favorably. Remember not the sins of my youth. Please do not remember against me the horrible things I have done against Your name. Do not remember my rebellion against You or all the times I have preferred the world to You.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways
How rarely do we even think about the sins of our youth? We become so lackadaisical and dull to the enormous weight of our past sin. When we think of our past sin we usually only think back a matter of days or weeks, or if it is something really big, maybe a little further back. But generally we forget 99+% of our sins. After we confess them they slip from our memory. And there is some sense in which that is as it should be. God does not want us to constantly wallow in sorrow over forgiven sin. He calls for joy as the norm for the Christian life. But at the same time, for that joy to be full we must have a sense of how much we have been forgiven. And so often we do not.
The psalmist’s prayer seems to show that God may remember His great mercy and love or He might remember the sins of the psalmist’s youth.
And the fact that we can ask God in prayer for the former rather than the latter is due to the wonderful attribute of God’s tendency toward gracious rather than wrathful memory.
What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s gracious memory today?
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Experiencing this attribute:
The way to experience the gracious memory of God is to pray for it, as the psalmist did, and then to recognize it for what it is when God grants it. When we are experiencing chastisement for our sin (God turns His face away, His presence seems distant, the Bible seems like mere print on the page, prayer seem to bounce of the ceiling, and the joy of His presence seems miles away) we must recognize it for what it is and cry out to God for restoration.
And when we do have the joy of His presence we must appreciate that for what it is, rather that attributing it to a good night’s sleep or a good mood or to some earthly circumstance.
Think: Is God’s favorable presence nearby to you today, or afar off?
Promise to trust today:
Psalm 32:5-7 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
Hebrews 4:14-16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence … so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Write your own prayer:
