MAY I SUFFER IF I FORGET YOU OR IF I DO NOT REMEMBER YOU

Proclamation:

“If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.  May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”  Psalm 137:5-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David to echo the words of the saints who were carried off in captivity into Babylon.  As they sat by the rivers of Babylon and as they wept, they remembered Jerusalem. (Psalm 137:1)  In their despondent situation, they were forced by their captors to sing. (Psalm 137:3-4)  They knew that they would never forget their holy city and the prayed that they would suffer greatly if they ever did not remember. (Psalm 137:5-7)

Application:

A lot of good things and bad things happen to us over the course of our lives, but there are some things which happen that are truly unforgettable.  Sometimes The Lord God allows us to go through a critical experience in order to bless us.  The experience is one of those unforgettable moments in our lives, however, we should not forget The Lord God who blessed us and brought us to and through that moment.  Some experiences will put a smile on our face, a song in our mouth, and joy in our heart.  Unfortunately, all too often we tend to focus on the experience and not on The Lord God who brought us through it.  Let us always remember, and never forget, that the hand of The Lord God is involved in every aspect of our lives. (Proverbs 3:6)  It is in Him that we live, move, and have our very being. (Acts 17:28)

In The Lord We Have Hope

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.  I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of The LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail."  Lamentations 3:19-22 (NIV)

The prophet Jeremiah said that when he remembers all of the bad times that he had been through, and all of his suffering, then he remembers that it was because of the love of God and His compassion that he made it through, and that gives him hope.for the future.

The storms of life can weigh us down, they can even knock us down, but because we are believers they can't keep us down.  We know that trouble won't last always. (1 Peter 1:6)   Weeping may endure for a night, but we know that joy will come in the morning. (Psalms 30:5)  Knowing this can keep us from staying is a state of depression and despair.  The Lord gives us  

strength for today and hope for tomorrow.  It is in Him that we hope. (Psalm 38:15)  

Read The Bible Then Do What It Says

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does." James 1:22-25 (NIV)

Continuing in his discourse on Christian behavior, James tell them that just reading The Word of God alone is not enough. They have to read it, remember it, and put it into practice in their daily lives. By doing so they will be blessed.

The same applies to us today, just reading The Bible is not enough. It is possible to read The Bible and not understand the main point. There was a course offered by the English Department when I was in college at UCLA entitled "The Bible As Literature" which analyzed the syntax and style of the written words in The Bible, totally ignoring any religious significance or implication. The Bible records in Acts 8:26-36 that an Ethiopian eunuch was reading from the book of Isaiah and did not understand what he was reading until Phillip explained it to him. Just reading The Bible is not enough. It should be read prayerfully by believers who are seeking to know Him better. We must apply what we have read to our daily lives. If after you read The Bible there is no change in your behavior, your thoughts, your speech, and your actions, then you just read a good book without knowing that it is The Good Book about the good news of the gospel.