I WILL REMEMBER

¹I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me.
²In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
³I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints.
⁴You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I consider the days of old, and remember the years of long ago.
⁶I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit:
⁷“Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
⁸Has his steadfast love ceased forever? Are his promises at an end for all time?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”
¹⁰And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
¹¹I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples.
¹⁵With your strong arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
¹⁶When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
²⁰You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

This individual lament opens by calling on God to save in times of trouble. And since these Psalms are our own prayers too, many of the times my prayers open with a call for help. Then, before the weight of silence becomes too much, the Psalm turns to the need to remember, to recall who God is and how God has indeed been one to save in the past. To speak of God’s deeds of redemption and mighty acts from Exodus, gives assurance that God can save again. Hold fast to that truth. Tell yourself those stories again and know God is a God who works wonders.

Prayer

Most High God, your hands indeed save and your wonderous works we need to be reminded of when we feel alone, deep in the night. May our thought turn instead to those stories of your redeeming acts, from the beginning of time, in the biblical stories of the Old Testament and the works of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Amen.