Will You Forget Me Forever? Psalm 136

Will You Forget Me Forever?

Psalm 136

Passages in which God “remembers” are always followed by proofs that God never forgets.

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An enslaved people. A barren woman. A broken man. All in impossible situations. And all servants of a God who, in His faithfulness, remembers them and acts.

Exodus records the plight of the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. In their oppression, they cried out to God and “their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant” (Exodus 2:23-24 NASB). God was aware of their sufferings, and God delivered them. Hannah, barren and in great anguish, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly, and “the Lord remembered her. And it came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son” (1 Samuel 1:19-20 NASB). In the days of the kings, King Hezekiah became deathly ill. He prayed to the Lord, “‘Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly” (2 Kings‬ ‭20‬:‭3‬). The Lord heard his prayer, saw his tears, granted his request and healed him.

All three situations were desperate. All cried out to God. And in each story we see the word “remember” followed by the Lord’s deliverance. To us, to remember implies that we have forgotten, even if temporarily. But God is omniscient. He knows all. Nothing can pass from His remembrance. So when the Bible says that God remembered, or His people ask Him to remember them, what does it mean? When speaking of the Lord, “Remembrance means more than mental recall and implies his actions to alleviate their sufferings” (Longman). When God remembers, He acts. When His people cry out to Him to remember, they are crying out for Him to act on their behalf. “Passages in which God ‘remembers’ are always followed by proofs that God never forgets” (gotquestions.org). Here in Psalm 136, the psalmist repeats over and over, “His steadfast love endures forever,” and lists evidence after evidence of the proof of that love. He concludes, “It is he who remembered us in our low estate” (136:23). He remembered them and acted for them.

Someone who is wondering if God has forgotten them needs a psalm like Psalm 136. A hymn thanking and praising our God and celebrating the fact that He faithfully loves His own and will always act in that love. A psalm that rehearses His supremacy (1-3), a supremacy that means our God gets the last word in the events of our lives. A supremacy that means our God is the greatest and His purposes will be accomplished in His creation and in our situation. A psalm that rehearses His great wonders (4-9), such displays of power as the creating of the very heavens and the great lights that rule the day and night. These incomprehensible creations of His are complex and magnificent, and yet we know He upholds them all simply by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:1-3). A psalm that rehearses our great God’s acts of rescue and victory for His people. Using His strong hand and outstretched arm, He came and delivered them from slavery, delivering them through the Red Sea, guiding them through the wilderness, and finally fighting with them and for them to take the land He had promised them. This God of heaven remembered His people in their low estate, and He remembers us still. Though long trials may have us wondering if God has forgotten about us, God does not forget the cry of the afflicted (Psalm 9:12). “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” (Isaiah 49:15).

His love is steadfast, faithful, without end, and it is a love that causes Him to act on behalf of His people. We can trust our God. His love was demonstrated in the greatest way of all when He sent Christ to die for us when we were helpless, ungodly, sinners, and His enemies (Romans 5:6-8). And now we are His children. How much more will He continue to act upon the love that has been secured for us by His own beloved Son?

Let’s pray through Psalm 136 directing our minds and hearts to the truth that His steadfast love endures forever, and that love always acts for us to accomplish what is good for us and in us.

136:1-3 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of Lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;

Lord, we pray:

▫️ Lord, thank you, that You are Lord of lords and King of kings. Thank you that You are ruling and reigning, and that You are ruling over the situations of my life. I know that You will not forget me. I know that You love me and that love will never come to an end.

▫️ “Remember me, oh my God, and have compassion on me, according to the greatness of Thy lovingkindness” (Nehemiah 13:22 NASB). Lord, I’m asking You to remember me and remember the hardships that I am walking through right now. Take notice of me. I’m asking that You would do good for me and for my family. Give me the spiritual eyes to see the work that You are doing.

136:4-9 to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;

Lord, we pray:

▫️When I look at the wonderful world that You have created by Your power, the sun, the moon, the stars, cause these physical things to remind me of spiritual realities. Your powerful word upholds all these things, and You will uphold me. You keep these things on their courses, and You will keep me. As I remember these truths, help me to act and live by faith in You and in Your word.

▫️You alone do great wonders (136:4). Do great wonders in and through my situation, specifically ____________. Do great wonders in the hearts of my unbelieving loved ones. In the beginning, You spoke light into the darkness. Shine the light of the knowledge of the glory of God into the hearts and minds of those who do not believe (2 Corinthians 4:6). Show them Christ.

136:10-16 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures forever; and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever; with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who divided the Red Sea in two, for his steadfast love endures forever; and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his steadfast love endures forever; but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever;

Lord, we pray:

▫️You are the great Deliverer and Rescuer. You rescued Your people who were slaves in Egypt. Now You have rescued us from the domain of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of Your beloved Son. Thank you that You have said, “I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12).

▫️You lead and guide us through the wilderness times of life. During these hard times, I may feel forgotten, but You are always right here with me. You will lead me even now every step of the way, and You will perform all that concerns me. Guide me through ________, and give me Your wisdom to navigate this time.

136:17-22 to him who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever; and killed mighty kings, for his steadfast love endures forever; Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever; and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever; and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever; a heritage to Israel his servant, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Lord, we pray:

▫️You took the land of Israel’s enemies and gave it to Your people as a heritage. You took the obstacles, battles, and hardships along the way and used them to prepare Your people to possess the land. Likewise, You are using my sufferings and hardships to prepare me for heaven, to make me more like my Savior. Though I feel my outer man decaying, yet You are renewing my inner man day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Make the life of Christ manifest in my mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:11).

136:23-26 It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever; and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever; he who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Lord, we pray:

▫️You remember Your people in their low estate, and in remembering You give proof time and time again that You will never forget Your people. You hear my cries for help. You see the bitter tears. You care for me and are moved with compassion for me. Make me like the righteous man who “will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting the Lord” (Psalm 112:6-7).

▫️You are the God of heaven, who gives food to all flesh (136:25-26). Strengthen my heart to trust You for all that I need, including my daily bread. You are the giver of every good and perfect gift. I trust You that You are giving me good and perfect gifts on the road I am walking right now. “Remember me, O my God, for good” (Nehemiah 13:31).

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Photo credit to quaritsch.

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