Daily Lesson for August 16, 2018

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 105 verses 1 through 7:

1 Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; 

make known his deeds among the peoples.

2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, 

and speak of all his marvelous works.

3 Glory in his holy Name; 

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

4 Search for the Lord and his strength; 

continually seek his face.

5 Remember the marvels he has done, 

his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,

6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, 

O children of Jacob his chosen.

7 He is the Lord our God; 

his judgments prevail in all the world.

Today’s Psalm is a psalm of hope, a word of encouragement to those who are weary.

“Remember,” the Psalmist says; then he goes on to recount the whole story of Abraham’s call, Joseph sojourn into Egypt, and the deliverance of the Israelites out from under Pharaoh’s yoke. The psalm goes on for 45 verses — too long to share here — and ends with these words about God’s provision in the wilderness during the Exodus:

“He opened the rock, and water flowed, 

so the river ran in the dry places.

For God remembered his holy word

and Abraham his servant.”

The people of God are the people who remember. We tell stories during hard times, recounting God’s faithfulness in times of famine, drought, slavery, and sojourn. We draw those stories from the past and “re-member” them in the present. All the wilderness experiences of all those who went before us in the past are brought forth and re-membered in the present. They live and dwell with us and bear their own witness. 

And not only do we remember; God remembers also. God remembers God’s promises, God’s covenant with our Father Abraham and all the patriarchs and matriarchs who suffered and struggled and barely survived under oppression, but endured and lived to walk across the Sea or endured and lived so their children or children’s children might walk across it. 

“Remember,” the Psalmist says.

“Remember the marvels the LORD has done, 

his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,

O offspring of Abraham his servant, 

O children of Jacob his chosen.

He is the Lord our God; 

his judgments prevail in all the world.”

Remember; for God will never forget.