Psalm 74: Remember

The backdrop of Psalm 74 was one of the worst moments in the history of Israel, the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC. There had been wars, divisions, famines and plagues, but the house of God, the place where His glory dwelt had been defiled and destroyed. The sign of God’s presence, the symbol of Israel’s place in God’s hands and heart was no more. Asaph wrote from a place of uncertainty, from a place of disappointment, from a place of despair, but when he wrote it was not to complain, it was not in doubt, he wrote to remember and he wrote to remind, but most of all, I believe he wrote because while everything around him was unsure, he was sure of God.

The psalm begins with two questions, “O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does our anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?” It’s important for us to understand that Asaph is expressing how things seem and how he feels. We can sit back from a distance and tell him that God has not cast him off and that God is for Him, not against Him, but is that necessary? Is it helpful? Is it how God responds to us when we seek Him from similar places? The one thing that was always sure was gone, the immovable object had been moved, the one place they could always run had been taken from them. While few if any of us have ever faced anything as dramatic as the destruction of Israel’s temple, we have all faced life-altering unexpected change. In those moments, those seasons, sometimes those years, don’t we cry out to God with similar feelings? Sometimes we must express our feelings before we can process and hear, much less believe the truth. The truth rarely chases our feelings away, but if we will carefully and honestly express our feelings, the truth has a way of leading us through them.

There is a beautiful thing that is happening in the midst of these questions, while he was surrounded by uncertainty, Asaph was sure of his identity. Even while in ruin he referred to Israel as the sheep of God’s pasture and the congregation that God had purchased and redeemed. He didn’t deny that much had been lost, but he still believed that he had not been. A change of circumstances is not a change in identity. As the prodigal son of Luke 15 returned home to his father he prepared a speech that acknowledged he had renounced his rights as a son and hoped to be able to become a servant. What he didn’t understand was that even when he tried to stop being a son, his father stayed committed to their relationship. Asaph seems to have understood God’s character even when he didn’t understand God’s ways. He knew that Israel belonged to God even while God felt far from Israel.

What was Asaph’s response to his uncertainty, his fear, his doubt and his despair? He asked God to remember. This seems like a stranger request, why does the God who knows all things, who never slumbers or sleeps, who never forgets need to be asked to remember? In biblical context, asking God to remember is not trying to jog His memory, it is calling Him to action. Asaph didn’t really believe that Israel had been forgotten, he was asking God to move on their behalf. There is no doubt that we have times when we feel forgotten. There are times when we feel alone. There are experiences that we can’t make sense of in which God’s goodness feels hard to find if not completely absent. What do we do in those moments? Do we try to confess something we don’t really believe in the moment? Do we work to stir belief? Do we try to prove our faith so that God will respond in the way we desire? Asaph didn’t do any of those things, he asked God to remember.

An amazing thing happens when we ask God to remember us, the Holy Spirit has a way of causing us to remember Him. God is infinitely kind toward us and patient with us. He knows that we are forgetful and so He works to remind us of who He is, who we are and what He’s promised. The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of Scripture to write down God’s Word so that we would have a constant reminder of God’s character, who He is, what He has done and what He will do. To even more prove His generosity, His love and our need, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would live not only with us but in us and the first thing Jesus said He would do is, “bring to your remembrance all I have said to you”. The God who remembers, knows we forget.

Asaph began trying to “help” God to remember. He listed the things that the Babylonians had done: “Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs.” He continued, “they, they, they”. He detailed everything that the enemies had done, everything that had gone wrong, everything that needed to be changed. Then something happened. Asaph suddenly remembered who God was and all that God had done. “Yet God my King is from old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” The “they, they they,” changed to “You, You, You”. He remembered how God had divided the Red Sea, given food and water in the wilderness, even created the sun, moon and stars. As he told God the details of his uncertainty, he remembered the certainty of God’s character. The temple hadn’t been rebuilt, the Babylonians had not been defeated, the feelings were not gone, but somehow God had taken action, His Spirit had stirred Asaph’s remembrance, His goodness had encouraged his heart.

Wherever your heart is today, God remembers. He doesn’t just remember you; He remembers His love for you, His promises toward you and your need of Him. I love that Psalm 103 tells us that God remembers our frame. He knows our weaknesses, He knows our vulnerability, He knows needs and He works, in His love, not to overcome them, but to show us His presence in those places. We don’t change by our effort, but by our submission to Christ. Don’t be afraid to tell the truth about your feelings and ask God to remember. He never forgets, but He loves to remember, He loves to take action, He loves to remind us that we can cast our cares on Him for one simple reason, He cares for us.