PSALM 119:49-56 ZAYIN

If you are looking a title for our study this morning, I would suggest The
Ministry of a Good Memory. The psalmist wrote, v.49 Remember the word
unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope 52 I remembered
thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself 55 I have
remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law.

I was in an old peoples home week before last in Northern Ireland and I
watched a husband come in to visit his wife of almost sixty years. She did
not know him, she did not recognise him, and she did not want to have
anything to do with him. He sat down beside her and she simply ignored
to the point of rudeness, but the sad fact of the matter was that she just
could not remember.

The psalmist here is showing us how blest we are when we remember
Gods goodness to us. Has God been good to you? As you look back
over your life, do you remember how the Lord drew near to you and
enriched you in times of hard opposition? Lets consider together the
words of the Psalmist as he sets before us this simple concept, The
Ministry of Memory. First of all

GOD REMEMBERS HIS PEOPLE 49 Remember the word unto thy
servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. 50 This is my comfort in my
affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. 51 The proud have had me greatly in
derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.
The way the psalmist says it do you think he has some doubts
about whether or not God remembers what He promised? Remember the
word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
Does he have a doubt in his mind that God has forgotten the promises
He made to His servant?
We need to be very careful when we set out to speak about the
forgetfulness of God because yes, God does forget but not like you
and I forget.
God has to consciously force Himself to forget whereas, - of course, -
we forget so easily. God has to decide not to remember our sins against
us.
He said through Isaiah, 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. He also
spoke through Jeremiah, 31:34 I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more.
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The writer to the Hebrews tells us the Lord says, Heb. 8:12 their sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more (also 10:17). Whose sins and
whose iniquities? It is not everybodys sins because that would make a
mockery and a nonsense out of Christs death on the cross; no, it says
very clearly in v.10ff that God will forgive the sins of those who come to
Him in repentance and faith.
God considers sin so seriously, - it doesnt matter whether they are
large or small, or a little white or grey sin, - all sin is sin to God
and sin that needs to be dealt with either by the blood of Christ or the
eternal punishment of the sinner. Some payment must be made.
When you come to Christ in saving faith, - repentant and sorry for
your sins, - He consciously takes it upon Himself to forget your sin and
never to cast it up at you again.
Ah, but, the Christian might say, Im so troubled by something I
have done 20-30-40 years ago and I have sought the Lords forgiveness
time and time again but the guilt of it is still lying heavily on my
shoulders.
Well, I can assure you, if as a believer you have come to God in
full and absolute repentance He has forgiven you your sin and He has
also forgotten your sin, - that is what His Word says. Why is it
still bothering me then?
The simplest explanation I can give you is that it is not God who
is holding your past sin against you, - the sin that you have sought
His forgiveness for, - it could be the devil who wants to keep you
powerless, trying to make you feel useless for God sad to say also,
it could be someone in the church who just cant let go off holding
your past over you and doing the work of the devil in hindering
your progression with Christ.
Whatever it is, you can be sure of this one thing it is not God
for His Word clearly instructs you, their sins and their iniquities will I
remember no more.
But, returning to our section of the Psalm 119, it is important that we
emphasise how it is and what it is God is able to forget and it is also
important to emphasise that He remembers to do us good and to give us
His blessings. In the midst of his weeping, J eremiah has the beautiful
song on his lips, Lam. 3:23 They are new every morning: great is thy
faithfulness.
God remembered Noah and delivered him (Gen. 8:1); God
remembered Abraham and delivered Lot (Gen. 19:29);
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God remembered Rachel and Hannah and enabled them to conceive
(Gen. 30:22 and I Sam. 1:19).
When you speak about God remembering it is not the same as
we would say when we would recall something for God never
forgets (- as we understand the word), but what it really means is that He
relates to His own precious people in a most special, particular and
peculiar way.
True faith not only believes the promises of God, but true faith also
prays for the promises of God trusting them to be brought to pass.
Do I believe in the promises of God that He is able to answer my
prayers? Yes, I do, therefore I pray, - based in my confidence and
belief, - that the will of God will be worked out.
This is my comfort said the psalmist, this is what I believe and hold on
to. This is my comfort, this is my strength, this is my assurance that
when I speak to my Heavenly Father in prayer, He hears my prayer.
Yes, God remembers His people secondly

HIS PEOPLE REMEMBER GODS WORD 52 I remembered thy
judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself. 53 Horror hath taken
hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law. 54 Thy statutes have
been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
Now, how do you think this word remember applies when we make
the point that Gods people remember Gods Word?
When youre travelling down the motorway at eighty-five miles an
hour watching out for the traffic police so they dont notice you cutting
your speed down to seventy that is like knowing what the Word of
God says and choosing to ignore it.
But you see, the psalmist here is all to vividly aware of the need not
only to remember Gods Word but to remember it in such a way that
it controls you.
He speaks in every verse of this psalm about the Word of God and he
applies it into every part of His life. Of course, it is the old Law of Moses,
- the first five books of our Bible, - that he is referring to. This old Law
was passed from generation to generation, - each new generation was
under obligation to remember it and to obey it and pass it on.
Today also, unless the Word of God is honoured, taught and obeyed,
a church or a congregation will not survive. Gods Word is Gods food
for Gods people.
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In v.53 he mentions the shocking discovery, Horror hath taken hold
upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
Look at this, - he is talking about the arrogant here, the proud, those
who have substituted Gods Word with their own laws and ways,
119:21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from
thy commandments, - that was the crime for which God was holding
them guilty.
V.51 The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined
from thy law.
V.69 The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy
precepts with my whole heart.
V. 78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me
without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
V. 85 The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
It is natural for the proud to substitute Gods Word and Gods
commandments with their own ways.
How is it they can make laws in Parliament that are absolutely so
contrary to Gods Word? How can they do it? I couldnt; in the words of
the psalmist, horror would take hold of me.
Imagine being in a place where men and women vote for legislation
opening up further opportunities for homosexuality and promiscuity, or
vote for more gambling rights or vote to make abortion more freely
accessible, or vote to abolish altogether the limitations on Sunday
opening. Would horror not take hold of you as you would listen to their
Godless conversation as they forsake the perfect law of God?
But when the world rejects Gods Word it is all the more important
for Gods people to remember it and to be seen to be living by it.
Notice though, what the psalmist says next; he has a progression in
his voice, v.54 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
In other words, Im not staying here! This world is not my home, Im
just a-passing through.
He recognises he is a pilgrim and his journey takes him through the
various sorrows and joys of this life, its highs and its lows but he
praises God for he knows hes not for staying here!
Im pressing on the upward way,
New heights Im gaining every day;
Still praying as Im onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
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Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.
The Bible is our Guidebook; there is no substitute for Gods Word. If
you will stop breathing the air, you will die and Gods Word for the
believer is even more important than that!
God remembers His people, His people remember His Word

HIS PEOPLE REMEMBER HIS NAME 55 I have remembered thy name, O
LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law. 56 This I had, because I kept thy
precepts.
You see, it is in them to remember. When you truly belong to God
the Holy Spirit causes you to remember. Moses was confronted by the
great I AM. The great and everlasting all-powerful, all-sovereign God
Who is present and actively present, Who chooses to do what He chooses
to do it and when to do it.
Our God is answerable to none but His own holiness. Even today
when the J ews see the Hebrew letters that we would pronounce as
J ehovah, that word is so sacred to them that they would not even say it
and they replace it with the word Adonai, lest they sin against their God.
In this psalm the psalmist tells us to love His Name, and hold on to it
more tightly that we would to the most precious object we own.
There is no substitute for Him; the world blasphemes His Name, and
yet also they do not know the One Whom they are blaspheming its
just another name.
They dont blaspheme Mohammed, Buddha or Allah but they treat
the Name of God in a manner with which they would not even mistreat
the name of an enemy. Its just simply a fact how the writer of Proverbs
describes it, Prov. 27:19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man
to man, i.e. when you hear people mistreating the Name of God they are
only doing what comes natural to them because of their sinful state
and you realise too how easy it was for those people at Calvary to
condemn J esus, and if He was here again today they would try to crucify
Him all over again.
I trust the Name of God is so precious to you that it causes your heart
to turn when you hear it vilified.
The psalmist loved the Name of God for it emanated from every pore
in his body.


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Conclusion
Bringing it all together the psalmist teaches us here that to
remember Gods Name is to come before His Throne and to ask Him to
remember us and our work on His behalf.
Dont forget He has invested in you the work of His Son at Calvary.
Dont forget His love for you is everlasting.
Dont forget He is there with you in those times when you feel you
are in the darkness and afraid (v.55) or when you are surrounded by
forces contrary to God (like the proud of v.51 and the wicked of v. 53).
He is there, - He remembers His people.
And what a joy and what a privilege when His people consciously
remember His Word and His Name Eph. 1:21 Far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
I would encourage you then to honour His Name and trust in the
power of His most precious Name in every aspect of your life, - not just
in the emergencies and in the hard times, but also in the joys.
May the Lord bless us with a good memory of all that He has done
for us and may He continue to give us confidence to achieve that which
He has purposed for us to do!