Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor
[Psalms 106]
What is Amnesia? It comes from the Greek αμνησία, which is simply a memory impairment. There are organic and functional factors that cause amnesia. Memory loss due to organic factors is called traumatic amnesia, and it is a memory disorder caused by an abnormality in a part of the brain responsible for memory (usually the hippocampus of the brain). It occurs when the brain is damaged by drugs. The functional factor of amnesia is called dissociative amnesia. Functional factors are psychological factors such as defense mechanisms. There is something called "partial memory loss" of memory loss. This partial memory loss is usually divided into long-term memory loss and short-term memory loss. Here, "long-term memory loss" refers to the loss of old memories, which means partial memory loss. There are two parts here. If we cannot remember only part of the past, it is called partial amnesia. And when we cannot remember the whole, it is called complete amnesia. On the other hand, "short-term memory loss" refers to not remembering what happened just before. This short term memory loss is the most common type of memory loss. We can't even remember what we said just before. Although amnesia is called forgetfulness, we often forget about forgetfulness in the meaning we use in everyday life. But in this case, it is said that the difference is that we forget it perfectly (Internet).
As I was looking for amnesia on the internet, I had this thought: Forgetfulness is nothing compared to short-term memory loss, but this short-term memory loss is somehow fine compared to long-term memory loss. In particular, even in long-term memory loss, it is fortunate that we cannot remember only a part of the past. But I wondered if it would be a big problem if we had "complete memory loss" in which we cannot remember the whole. The reason why I came to think of this is that while meditating on the words of Psalms 106, I think that if I forget God's grace completely like the Israelites (loss of complete spiritual memory), I think that the result would be a bit terrible. But even though we may not fully remember God's grace, there is one hope that is certain. One hope is that we can also offer the prayer the psalmist offered to God: “Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people; Visit me with Your salvation” (Ps. 106:4). I would like to meditate on two things under the heading “Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor”: First, what did the Israelites not remember? Second, what did God remember?
What did the Israelites not remember? The psalmist says 3 things in Psalms 106:
First, the Israelites didn’t remember God’s abundant kindnesses.
Look at Psalms 106:7 – “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses, But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.” What were the abundant kindnesses that God gave to the Israelites at the time of the Exodus? It is the love that saved the Israelites because God heard their cry and was compassionate and sent Moses and brought 10 plagues to Pharaoh and Egypt. However, the Israelites didn’t understand God's wonders in Egypt and forgot the abundant kindnesses that God gave them and rebelled at the Red Sea. When they were staying by the Red Sea, they were told that the Egyptian army was chasing them, and they complained to Moses (Exod. 14:11). This is like resentment against God who made Moses the leader. This was unbelief (Park). In spite of the Israelites' sinning, God saved the Israelites from the Red Sea for the sake of His name (Ps. 106:8). In other words, God rebuked the Red Sea and made it dry, so that the Israelites could pass through the sea like passing through the wilderness (v. 9). And the Egyptian army who followed the Israelites died because the water covered them (v. 11). God saved the Israelites from the hand of the one who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of their enemies (v. 10). Therefore, God made His power known (v. 8). As a result, the Israelites came to believe the word of God's promise and sang praises to God (v. 12).
Aren’t we living after forgetting God's abundant lovingkindness like the Israelites? Aren’t we living in unbelief in the kingdom of Satan, such as Egypt even though God gave us the grace of salvation for the sake of His name? That’s why like the psalmist, we have no choice but to pray, “Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor” (v. 4).
Second, the Israelites quickly forgot God’s works.
Look at Psalms 106:13 – “They quickly forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel.” Despite experiencing God's work of salvation in the Red Sea, the Israelites sinned against Moses, God's established leader, for a temporary lack of food in the wilderness. In this way, the Israelites quickly forgot God's works. Therefore, rather than waiting for God's supply, they urged for food and committed a sin against Moses (Park). Look at verse 14: “But craved intensely in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert.” Even though they sinned like that, God gave them spring water to drink and supplied them with manna and quail meat (Park). In other words, God gave them their request (v. 15). Nevertheless, the Israelites committed sin of rebellion against Moses and Aaron (Num. 16), and further committed an extremely abominable sin of making and worshiping a golden calf at Horeb (Ps. 106:19, Exod. 32). They committed the sin of transforming God's glory into a grass-eating cow (Park).
The sinful world we are living in now commits the sin of exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the from of corruptible man and of birs and four-footed animals and crawling creatures (Rom. 1:23). The problem is that we, the God's people, are also committing this sin. In other words, we Christians are also guilty of replacing the glory of God with the glory of man. One of the causes is greedy (“craving” in Ps. 106:14). Whether the greed is the greed of honor or the greed of the material, because of this greed, God's people are guilty of pursuing their own glory rather than pursuing the glory of God. The reason we seek the glory of man rather than the glory of God is that it focuses on man's deeds rather than focusing on God's works. Therefore, like the psalmist, we have no choice but to pray, “Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor” (v. 4).
Third, the Israelites forgot God their Savior.
Look at Psalms 106:21 – “They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt.” The Israelites not only forgot God's abundant kindnesses and what He did for the Israelites, but they also forgot God, their Savior. God had doe “great things” in Egypt (v. 21) and saved the Israelites by showing His great power. But the Israelites forgot their Savior God. The Israelites who forgot God the Savior who did awesome things by the Red Sea (v. 22) didn’t believe the promises of God (unbelief) (v. 24) and didn’t obey God's word in resentment (disobedience) (v. 25). Furthermore, they worshiped Baal-peor, the foreign god (v. 28). Also, they were rebellious against the Spirit of God at the waters of Meribah (v. 33), and didn’t destroy the Gentiles when they entered the land of Canaan, but instead mingled with them to learn their actions (v. 35) and worship their idols (v. 36). They even shed their children's blood on that idol and sacrificed it (vv. 37-38). They became unclean in their practices and played the harlot in their deeds (v. 39). Eventually, because of the sins of the Israelites, the holy God was angry (vv. 23, 29, 32, 40), and gave them into the hand of the nations (v. 41). Thus their enemies oppressed them (v. 42). So the Israelites cried out to God and God heard their cries and knew their distress (v. 44). So God delivered them many times (v. 43). However, the Israelites were rebellious in their counsel and so sank down in their iniquity (v. 43).
We are living as we quickly forget God's saving grace. Furthermore, we are living as we forget God too quickly who gave us that salvation. Although God had mercy on us and delivered us because we cried out to God in the midst of suffering and adversity, we often forget His grace too quickly when we were peace without suffering and adversity. We people cannot easily forget pain and adversity, but quickly forget the saving grace of God, who delivered us from the pain and adversity. In other words, while we remember the pain and adversity we suffered, we too quickly forget the grace of God's work that saved us from the pain and adversity. And when we are in peace after being saved, we often forget God the Savior. Therefore, like the psalmist, we have no choice but to pray, “Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor” (v. 4), which God gave us.
Then what did God remember?
It is “His covenant” made with us.
Look at Psalms 106:45 – “And He remembered His covenant for their sake, And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness.” In this way, the Israelites forgot God's love and grace and sinned in disbelief and disobedience. Therefore, God, who disciplined the Israelites, had mercy on them in the end when they cried out in pain. God remembered His covenant for their sake and relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness (v. 45). Also, He made them objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors (v. 46). That is, God once again saved the Israelites from temporary discipline (Park). Although the Israelites forgot the greatness of God's lovingkindness and His great works, and went further, forgot their Savior God, God remembered His people the Israelites, and didn’t forget His covenant made with them. Although the Israelites were unfaithful to the covenant they made with God, God was faithful to His covenant people. What was the reason? We can find the answer in 2 Timothy 2:13 – “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” This is it. The reason God is faithful to us, His covenant people, is because He cannot deny Himself. In other words, God is a God who has no choice but to be faithful to us. That is His Godhead. What is this if not God’s grace? I remember the words of Isaiah 49:15 – “"Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.” Even if a mother may forget her nursing baby, this saying that our God doesn’t forget us. What a great grace of God? I don’t remember God's great lovingkindness and quickly forget the works He has done in our lives, and go further to forget God and live countless times. But God will never forget such people like us. What is this if not God’s grace? Therefore, like the psalmist, we have no choice but to pray, “Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor” (v. 4), which God gave us.
Tonight, let’s pray to God like the psalmist: “Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor” (v. 4) that you have given us. Even though we suffer from spiritual amnesia and don’t remember God's great lovingkindness and His many works, let’s pray to God “Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor.” Even if we are living by forgetting God the Savior, let’s pray to God, “Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor.”
“I know not why God’s wondrous grace To me He hath made known,”
James Kim
[Desiring to be able to confess, “by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10)]