Remembering Your Way Out of Darkness

This week we turn from God’s memory in Psalm 25 to our memory as described in Psalm 77 – a psalm of  lament with a happy ending. The Psalmist begins in a dark place, then, through his memories he comes out of the shadows of doubt through a confession of faith. The role of his personal memory in this prayer journey is woven throughout the Psalm. For the purposes of our study we will consider the role our personal memories have in shaping, encouraging and helping to describe our devotional lives.

The Psalmist gives us first an out-loud prayer. Jesus prayed this way. Hebrews 5 reminds us, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” When the lights go out for you, do you pray out loud? Read again the Psalmist’s words of lament, “In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah. You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.”

It is the Psalmist’s own memories of God’s actions and attributes that enable him to “seek the LORD.” The memories of his actions are divided into days and deeds. The memory of the days of the LORD that begins in verse 5 is followed by the memory of the deeds of the LORD starting in verse 11. The attributes of the LORD are described in a confession of faith that ends the Psalm, starting in verse 16. Redemption is accomplished, applied, and confessed from his memory of the LORD’s actions and attributes. This psalm gives practical, usable knowledge of God for comfort in dark places, when “my soul refuses to be comforted.”

A Prayer about God's Memory

We have looked at the language of the Psalms, considering first his presence and then the role of the heart. Now we shift to the role of memory—first God’s, then ours. We will now turn to Psalm 25.

This Hebrew alphabet acrostic Psalm is about trust and guidance in an unstable world that includes shame and guilt. The last verse is not a stand-alone prayer, but a needed bridge from the individual to the covenant community. I am not alone in this unstable and hostile world. David’s first-person singular prayers, 1-7 & 16-21, and creed, 8-15, are followed by a prayer, 22, for all the covenant people. David prays about themes common to many of us, external threats that create crisis, chaos and unwelcome change coupled with the internal wounds of his own sins.

God’s memory is mentioned at the end of the first prayer in verses 6&7:” Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!”

David prays for the LORD to remember his mercy and steadfast love (twice) and his goodness. What he wants God to forget, not to remember, are the sins of his youth and transgressions. This comes after a plea for what we commonly refer to as a guidance prayer/request based upon a trust in the LORD expressed in his description of the LORD as he prays.

The 25^th Psalm’s two prayers can be used as a Psalm whose very words can become our prayer using the words and images to expand the language of our prayers. This week our consideration of Psalm 25 and conversation about it will focus on what we want God to remember and to forget in our prayers.

As the Heart Waits and Seeks

This week we return to Psalm 27 to consider our topic of the heart.  We return to this compact Psalm that begins with questions and ends with this declaration of faith: “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

This is the third and final week of considering how the use of the word heart in Psalm 27 can “shape, encourage and describe our devotional life.” This is a personal Psalm sprinkled with first persons in almost every line. David starts the Psalm with two questions related to fear but gives us his source of courage and peace with these opening verses: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” The Lord is “my light, my salvation, and the stronghold of my life.” We can remember, meditate on, and speak these three word pictures in our prayers when the shadow of fear crosses our path.

In the parallels of poetry the word of the week heart is used with I that is so often used in this personal Psalm of David. Here are the three examples: “Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.” Again, “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’ Hide not your face from me.” Then in an appeal to his readers or listeners, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

The desires and prayer of David’s heart are expressed in this verse: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” In the presence of the Lord, his house/temple, where his light, salvation and strength are found will David’s fears/enemies be defeated by the Lord.

Fear is a battle for the heart in Psalm 27. Even the fear of death is confronted in this verse, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” The answer to the fear of death is resurrection based upon the three word pictures at the beginning of the Psalm.

This week we will consider what it means for our hearts on a daily basis to both seek and wait in our devotional lives.