For example, if Person A had been visiting Person B, and Person B wanted Person A to say "Howdy" to a mutual friend whom we'll call, "Person C", Person B would request Person A to pass along the greeting. He'd say, "Please remember me to your Mother or aunt or son." So the "remember me to..." sentence structure was exotically unique.
Don't you think so?
Anyway, when I read 'Zayin' this morning, my attention was sparked and fancy tickled by verse 49 of Psalm 119 (NIV) which struck me as reminiscent of that phrase, and reads,
"Remember Your word to your servant..."
The Psalmist prays to God. Person A and C, of course, being one and the same in this case. He wanted God to remind him of His word.
Heavenly Father, remember Your Word, to me too. Make it my joy and hope, as You did eons ago for others. May it be comfort to us in our sorrow, sickness and pain; the curse of sin upon us in this Fallen world.
Bring Your Words to mind, Father, preserve our lives, our thinking, our actions, which stem from thinking for good or for bad. This is imperative, Father.
Remember Your Words to us, especially to those being persecuted for their faith in Jesus, as they are mocked, scorned, and worse, tortured unmercifully. Despite the arrogance of these perpetrators, help Your children not to turn away from You and Your words. Help us all, but those suffering, especially, to recall Your words, and cling to them. May Your words give courage, and keep them steady. May Your Holy Spirit bring them to their remembrance and give them the right words to speak to their captors; the right meekness of Jesus; and overall, blanket them with comfort of heart and mind that only Your words can bring. In Jesus Name, I ask.
Verse 49 pleads,
"Remember Your Word to Your servant..."
Verse 52 declares,
"I remember, LORD, Your ancient laws..."
This penned prayer "poem" gives request and answer.
What "ancient laws" would these have been?
Most probably those found in the Pentateuch or Torah where Moses has laid out all God had spoken to him and the experiences, causes and effects from Creation all through the lives of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; then the journey of the Israelites and their receiving the Ten Commandments and the rules and regulations of daily living to honor God and receive blessing.
The psalmist had much less to read than we did but what he had, he cherished. He remembered them. Kings were even supposed to write them all out so that they had a personal copy. This would indeed help them to know God's Words, at least as head knowledge. No excuses for living to the contrary.
I have a friend whose Dad would copy out portions of Scripture. This aged man looked like pictures you see of ancient Chinese sages such a Confucius (Kong Fu Zi), with the elongated goatee, his, all white with years. He'd lay out all his calligraphy paraphernalia: ink, brush, paper, and set to it with surprisingly steady strokes. Stroke by careful stroke, the Chinese characters would emerge, and God's Word brought to his mind. This child of God has gone to be with Christ now and hearing his Master's voice "in person".
The daughter has now taken up pen, and daily inscribes God's Word in her journal. This time, the "jots and tittles" are in English.
No matter the language, its all still the language of God's love to mankind.
When we know Your Word, Laws, decrees, and precepts, Father, and know the righteous, holy life You wish for Your human mortals, yet their free will often skews and scurries them in opposite directions into disobedience, disgrace, degradation and wickedness. May we instead feel the indignation as the psalmist did (vs 53). May it grip us as it must You, Father.
Remember Your words to Your childrens' hearts and minds and draw us back to You. May we feel that grip of indignation when we do turn away. Bring us back. Seek out the true repentant heart. Like the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15). He came to his senses and in repentance and humbleness, returned to his father. The father forgave and embraced his son.
Again the words of 1 John 1:9 ring in my ears,
"If we confess our sins, You will forgive...cleanse and purify from all unrighteousness."
These words bring comfort and hope; a peace offering straight from Your heart, Father. Thank-You.
Wherever we lodge, or whenever we have insomnia, we can remember Your words; we can "bring them with us" like the psalmist remarks, because You have remembered Your word to us.
They are conveniently at our fingertips when we've hidden them in our hearts, consider and meditate upon them and have even written them down in scrolls, calligraphy paper or journals. They do not take up space in a suitcase, only in the gray cells of our brains which You have given to us to fill wisely, they can travel with us wherever we go.
Being at our fingertips, Your Words are right handy, then, and we can joyfully, gratefully recall them to mind. We can sing them. This friend of mine who writes out the Scriptures, also cleverly turns them into song. She is a child care tend-er and so mostly these little ditties are for the benefit of Sunday School children to help them remember.
"This is my practice,"
wrote the psalmist (v56).
He remembers the LORD at night, I suppose when he cannot sleep, making Him his motivation to keep and obey His law.
Father God, "Remember Your Words to me". These are the best "souvenirs" from Your Kingdom, to have.
~ERC August 2020~
Based on Psalm 119:49-56 'Zayin'
Sing Wonderful Words of Life with Fountainview Academy
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