Remember

Psalm 78:35–72 (ESV): 

35  They remembered that God was their rock, 

the Most High God their redeemer. 

 36  But they flattered him with their mouths; 

they lied to him with their tongues. 

 37  Their heart was not steadfast toward him; 

they were not faithful to his covenant. 

 38  Yet he, being compassionate, 

atoned for their iniquity 

and did not destroy them; 

  he restrained his anger often 

and did not stir up all his wrath. 

 39  He remembered that they were but flesh, 

a wind that passes and comes not again. 

 40  How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness 

and grieved him in the desert! 

 41  They tested God again and again 

and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 

 42  They did not remember his power 

or the day when he redeemed them from the foe, 

 43  when he performed his signs in Egypt 

and his marvels in the fields of Zoan. 

 44  He turned their rivers to blood, 

so that they could not drink of their streams. 

 45  He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, 

and frogs, which destroyed them. 

 46  He gave their crops to the destroying locust 

and the fruit of their labor to the locust. 

 47  He destroyed their vines with hail 

and their sycamores with frost. 

 48  He gave over their cattle to the hail 

and their flocks to thunderbolts. 

 49  He let loose on them his burning anger, 

wrath, indignation, and distress, 

a company of destroying angels. 

 50  He made a path for his anger; 

he did not spare them from death, 

but gave their lives over to the plague. 

 51  He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, 

the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham. 

 52  Then he led out his people like sheep 

and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 

 53  He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, 

but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 

 54  And he brought them to his holy land, 

to the mountain which his right hand had won. 

 55  He drove out nations before them; 

he apportioned them for a possession 

and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. 

 56  Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God 

and did not keep his testimonies, 

 57  but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; 

they twisted like a deceitful bow. 

 58  For they provoked him to anger with their high places; 

they moved him to jealousy with their idols. 

 59  When God heard, he was full of wrath, 

and he utterly rejected Israel. 

 60  He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, 

the tent where he dwelt among mankind, 

 61  and delivered his power to captivity, 

his glory to the hand of the foe. 

 62  He gave his people over to the sword 

and vented his wrath on his heritage. 

 63  Fire devoured their young men, 

and their young women had no marriage song. 

 64  Their priests fell by the sword, 

and their widows made no lamentation. 

 65  Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, 

like a strong man shouting because of wine. 

 66  And he put his adversaries to rout; 

he put them to everlasting shame. 

 67  He rejected the tent of Joseph; 

he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, 

 68  but he chose the tribe of Judah, 

Mount Zion, which he loves. 

 69  He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, 

like the earth, which he has founded forever. 

 70  He chose David his servant 

and took him from the sheepfolds; 

 71  from following the nursing ewes he brought him 

to shepherd Jacob his people, 

Israel his inheritance. 

 72  With upright heart he shepherded them 

and guided them with his skilful hand. 

Humanity is fickle. God is not.

That is what these verses show - People’s ideas, behaviours, views and values change. Culture adapts and tells itself it is progressive, yet, ‘What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun’ (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The reality is, your ideas, lifestyle and choices are nothing that the world hasn’t already seen. People have been getting it right and getting it wrong for millennia. Humanity changes their values and beliefs based on what suits them at the time. This has been shown throughout history including in the Biblical historical accounts as summarised in this psalm. There have been times when God is appreciated and remembered then centuries where he has been forgotten and ignored. Each generation is the same, they have times when they follow their forefathers transgressions, and they have times when they consider God. 

Asaph is reminding the people that even God’s very own, selected and set apart people, make choices to live with Him or without Him (v35-37). Every generation has this same fundamental issue - choosing to live God’s way or their own. Even the people who would say they believe in God, through disobedience and ingratitude go astray. Why? Because, ‘They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe.’ You end up far from God when you forget. 

It is easy to do as life goes on and different events happen, the memories of victory, breakthrough, healing and miracles wane as everyday life continues. People forget how awesome God is and do not remind themselves of His redemption, great love and incredible works. Instead, just getting on with life and having other things to remember can make remembering God's greatness and marvellous works less of a priority. What do you remember God doing? What prayers have you had answered? How have you seen God move and breakthrough in this current time or in the past? Make the effort to remember. It will build your faith, expectations and prayer life as well as your joy in your current pattern of life. Plus if you do not remember, it is easy to forget and you can easily be led into astray. Into ways and practices that lead you away from God, into sin and disobedience. 

The Israelites in the situations described in this psalm did not just wake up one day and decide to go away from God. It was a gradual process, maybe from not reading The Word, not praying as much, not sharing testimonies, not gathering together to worship, basically allowing other things to take priority in life other than God. It is easy to gradually slide away from God and get distracted when you do not set your mind to remember His goodness. Not remembering means you forget how great God really is and you fail to see the love, power and salvation available to you. This is what happened with the Israelites. Time and again they failed to remember which resulted in them doing what they wanted, getting involved with the cultural practices of others, sinning. They walked away from God which meant they incurred the wrath of God (v40, 49-50, 58-59) and had to experience life without His protection  

This is what can happen when you fail to remember. When you forget the enormous and gracious things God has done, you lose focus and end up gradually moving away from honouring and loving God in the way you live your life. So, God lets you get on with it. God loves you so much He lets you choose how to live your life, He wants your love, faithfulness and obedience, but He lets you make the choice. God also loves you so much that He gives you access to many different people's experiences of living life both with and without Him so that you know what is best for you. He has made it clear that if you opt to live life dishonouring Him then this means you'll be without His love and protection. 

Alternatively you can live a life set on remembering who God is and His works. This psalm not only shows the result of forgetting God's greatness, but also shows God’s forgiving nature. Time and again He welcomes the people of Israel back when they turn to Him. God forgives sin and restores people and nations when they approach Him. His faithfulness is secure and reliable.This psalm shows how God reconciles the Israelites to Himself again and again. He can do that for you too. When you repent, seek His forgiveness and recognise that He is, The Most High'.  He will restore you, love you and protect you. 

So, set your mind to honour and obey Him and 'forget not all His benefits' (Psalm 103:2)

Incline your ears....

 We shall look at Psalm 78 in two parts as it is quite long, so here we have the first 35 verses. Let us consider what they show us about God and man.

Psalm 78:1–35 (ESV):  

1  Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; 

incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 

 2  I will open my mouth in a parable; 

I will utter dark sayings from of old, 

 3  things that we have heard and known, 

that our fathers have told us. 

 4  We will not hide them from their children, 

but tell to the coming generation 

  the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, 

and the wonders that he has done. 

 5  He established a testimony in Jacob 

and appointed a law in Israel, 

  which he commanded our fathers 

to teach to their children, 

 6  that the next generation might know them, 

the children yet unborn, 

  and arise and tell them to their children, 

 7  so that they should set their hope in God 

  and not forget the works of God, 

but keep his commandments; 

 8  and that they should not be like their fathers, 

a stubborn and rebellious generation, 

  a generation whose heart was not steadfast, 

whose spirit was not faithful to God. 

 9  The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, 

turned back on the day of battle. 

 10  They did not keep God’s covenant, 

but refused to walk according to his law. 

 11  They forgot his works 

and the wonders that he had shown them. 

 12  In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders 

in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. 

 13  He divided the sea and let them pass through it, 

and made the waters stand like a heap. 

 14  In the daytime he led them with a cloud, 

and all the night with a fiery light. 

 15  He split rocks in the wilderness 

and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. 

 16  He made streams come out of the rock 

and caused waters to flow down like rivers. 

 17  Yet they sinned still more against him, 

rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 

 18  They tested God in their heart 

by demanding the food they craved. 

 19  They spoke against God, saying, 

“Can God spread a table in the wilderness? 

 20  He struck the rock so that water gushed out 

and streams overflowed. 

  Can he also give bread 

or provide meat for his people?” 

21  Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath; 

a fire was kindled against Jacob; 

his anger rose against Israel, 

 22  because they did not believe in God 

and did not trust his saving power. 

23  Yet he commanded the skies above 

and opened the doors of heaven, 

 24  and he rained down on them manna to eat 

and gave them the grain of heaven. 

 25  Man ate of the bread of the angels; 

he sent them food in abundance. 

 26  He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, 

and by his power he led out the south wind; 

 27  he rained meat on them like dust, 

winged birds like the sand of the seas; 

 28  he let them fall in the midst of their camp, 

all around their dwellings. 

 29  And they ate and were well filled, 

for he gave them what they craved. 

 30  But before they had satisfied their craving, 

while the food was still in their mouths, 

 31  the anger of God rose against them, 

and he killed the strongest of them 

and laid low the young men of Israel. 

 32  In spite of all this, they still sinned; 

despite his wonders, they did not believe. 

 33  So he made their days vanish like a breath, 

and their years in terror. 

 34  When he killed them, they sought him; 

they repented and sought God earnestly. 

 35  They remembered that God was their rock, 

the Most High God their redeemer. 

As we consider this psalm we see the importance of remembering. Asaph implores the people to listen to the stories he has to tell about God’s greatness, His majestic power, justice, holiness and reliable record of works. He calls them to remember - recall what God has done. It is vital that we take time to learn about and consider the works of God of old. From your own life, from others, previous generations as well as from the Bible. Make sure you are aware of the stories of God’s people and listen to others as they demonstrate and speak of what God has done. It will build your faith, encourage and help you in times of temptation and need. Do not have the attitude that your life and generation are so unique or that the past is irrelevant - that is pride and will lead to your downfall. Instead, ‘give ear’ to the sound teaching available to you. 

Asaph is a reliable source to listen to - he is a leader in the temple, renowned songwriter, worship leader and faithful servant of God. So it is worth listening to what he has discovered about the life of Israel and the character of God. He encourages those who hear his words to really listen and take onboard what he is saying because he knows the value of understanding the works of God and His character. Through the psalms he has written we have seen that Asaph points people to God even when he is struggling. By so doing he is demonstrating how to endure trials well, how to grow in faith and appreciate God. He shares his thoughts, questions and concerns, his actions and the conclusions he finds. Through these writings Asaph reveals something of his own, steadfast, faithful and faith-filled character as well as assuring us that God is always in charge, always compassionate, always strong and always caring. 

Where do you look to when you are full of concerns and questions? 

Do you have someone in your life like Asaph - a faith-filled man or woman who will show you God no matter what? It is worth seeking out the company of such people. Those who have a sound understanding of doctrine and are willing and able to share testimonies of God’s greatness (past and present). Ensure that you value people who have learnt about God’s love and forgiveness and can tell you stories of God’s patience, holiness, miracles and power. They will encourage and inspire you to keep going when life gets tough and may well help you avoid mistakes and disobedience when you listen to them. You need others to help inform your faith. There are those around you who know and understand more than you, that are wiser and more mature. They have been instructed to teach the younger generation (v5-7). These people wish to invest in you and help you avoid being part of ‘a stubborn and rebellious generation’ by leading you to, ‘not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments’. That is the one of the purposes of sharing testimonies and stories - to help you avoid the mistakes that previous God following people have made. The aim is to encourage you to avoid distractions and despair so that you can live a fulfilled and faithful life with God championing and protecting you. So, I encourage you to allow others to speak into your life in order to help you remember that ‘God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.’ There are wonderful, faithful, understanding people in your midst. Do not dismiss their stories or explanations, but take care to be informed and consider how these things impact your life today. Do ‘not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments’ and consider ‘the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done’! Then you won’t have to live under God’s wrath (v21-22, 31-34) but in His love, redemption and steadfast love. 

what's your everyday focus?

‘when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) *12*he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.’
Hebrews 9:11-12

The new era of Christ means that now, believers in the One true God have; good things, a greater and more perfect form of worship and relationship as well as 'eternal redemption'! Wow!

So, what have we to really be worried about?! Do you, like me, ever get caught up with the trivial worries of this world? In light of the verses above, any concerns we have on Earth don’t really compare, do they? I know things in this world are important, but should they be most important?

Can you imagine if you lived more of your life considering the ‘greater and more perfect’ life Jesus got for you, how your life would be? What concerns would you be free of? What responsibilities would you lay down? How much of your workload would you take home? How much time would you spend in front of the TV or out shopping?

If you believe in God today, and recognise that Jesus is the only way you can be free from sin, if you know that and are determined to live your life with him in it, then do you realise who have ‘an eternal redemption’?
An incredible gift has been given to you, one that will never run out, wear away or go obsolete, it is an everlasting salvation. So, how much time are you paying attention to that in your everyday life? Everything else that consumes our time; work, hobbies, people, expectation, houses, gadgets, even this very bodies, these things will all fade away and die. They will all end, yet we are given something that is more perfect and greater than all these things that will last beyond our earthly years. We are promised complete and utter release from sin. Forever.

How much time do you spend considering this? How often do you even stop to appreciate this absolution from sin?

Jesus has brought your freedom. His own blood was spilled so you can be redeemed. It is an eternal, never-ending, everlasting, continual, redemption. Anything you’ve ever done wrong is covered, anything you’re doing wrong right now is covered, anything you’ll do in the future is covered.

You have an eternal inheritance that you can start enjoying now. If you live in the knowledge of your ‘eternal redemption’ everyday, imagine what your life would be like….