“Sing a new song to the Lord who has done marvelous things…
You remember your steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.” Psalm 98:1,3
Once again we hear a psalm that is singing a new song. Once again the earth is joining in: the sea roars, the rivers clap their hands and the hills ring out for joy this time. Once again everyone is thrilled that the Lord is coming to make things right and just. And once again God’s “steadfast love and faithfulness” show up in a psalm. We need reminding, so these repetitions help us remember.
Yesterday I was with an older (than me) friend. She was talking about having trouble remembering things, forgetting where her room is, unable to remember the names of the birds at her feeder. She spoke about it with wistfulness and humor and great appreciation for the care and support she receives from the staff where she lives and from family.
Remember. When we can’t remember, God remembers. When we don’t have time to remember, God remembers. When we are afraid to remember, God remembers. When we even refuse to remember, God remembers.
My friend’s birdfeeder on her balcony is in a shape of a church with a cross on top, a recent gift from family. She remembers God’s steadfast love and faithfulness known for us through our Lord Jesus. And if some morning she forgets, God still remembers. And what does God remember? Not our wrongdoings. Not our turning away. God remembers God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to God’s people…always. Even when we forget.
Suggestions:
1. Take this verse with you and ponder its meaning for you throughout the day. What do you notice? What do you wonder? What helps you remember God’s steadfast love and faithfulness?
2. Or read all of Psalm 98 to discover how this verse fits into this psalm.
3. Or comment with a photo of your own that is a window of this verse’s meaning for you.
Tomorrow’s psalm will be Psalm 99:5.
Starting January 1, 2016, for 150 days I am posting a daily psalm verse with a photo that is a visual meditation on the text for me. Each day a verse from the next psalm is chosen until all 150 psalms have been featured. To participate you may subscribe to my blog at https://elainedent.net or “friend” me on Facebook and watch for the daily links to blog posts. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and most of the photos are from a cell phone or small camera while hiking the Appalachian Trail or the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
Judith Plotner says
Thank you for this, my friend!