Psalm 59:17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy
How good is your memory? Some people can remember everything that has ever happened, but what they remember is all the bad that has happened and nothing good. What actually comprises a good memory? How good is your memory? As you look through the psalms, specifically some of the psalms I have read recently, Psalm 51 through Psalm 63, all of them have a little preface or comment before the psalm that makes reference to the context, past instances in the psalmist David’s life. You realize that so much of what you read of in the psalms is in the context of what God has done in the past.
Let me give you a couple of examples. The preface of Psalm 51 says, “When Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” This is a psalm that remembers when. Most of these psalms refer to big problems. In fact, the pattern of the psalms is very much problem, prayer, God’s answer, and then praise. If the book of Psalms is a book of praise, it is because it is a book of prayers. If the Psalms is a book of prayers, it is because it is a book of problems over and again.
The preface of Psalm 52 says, “A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come into the house of Ahimelech.” This is the story of a man named Doeg and his treachery against David in outing him when he was trying to hide from Saul who was trying to kill him. So, it is a psalm when something happened in the past.
Psalm 54 is a psalm “when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?” It is a psalm of treachery again. The preface of Psalm 56 says, “When the Philistines took him [David] in Gath.” You might recall that David fled Saul and went from the frying pan into the fire by seeking refuge from the very people from which the giant Goliath had come.
The preface of Psalm 57 says, “When he fled from Saul in the cave.” The preface of Psalm 59 says, “When Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.” The context of Psalm 60 is when David fought with some enemies “when Joab returned, and smote Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand.” The preface of Psalm 63 says, “When he was in the wilderness of Judah.”
The point is that these psalms are good for all of us all of the time, but they each have a story. They are psalms of when. What you realize is that praise is simply remembering God in your past. Prayer is remembering God in your present. I have problems; God has help. Praise is the act of remembering God in your past, the act of looking back over your last seven days and thinking to yourself, “Wow, that was God.” Is that true in your life? Can you look back and see God? You are going to have a difficult time looking ahead and knowing God can be all that you need in your time of need if you do not take a look back and realize God’s footprint in your story. Praise is simply remembering God in your past.
What does that do for you? First, praise or remembering God makes problems smaller. Compared to you, your problems loom large, but compared to God, your problems are nothing. Both you and your problems in relative comparison to God are nothing. Psalm 56:9 says, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.” So, God is greater than all my problems. Praising Him makes my problems smaller.
Second, praising, remembering God in your past, makes your choices clearer today. Psalm 62:5 says, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.” Psalm 62 basically says, “God only is my rock, so I only wait on Him.” It makes your choice clear. What do you do when you are faced with a problem? If you see God in your past, then you ought to see God in your present, and it makes your choice clear. You are to look to Him.
Third, remembering God in your past makes your future brighter. Psalm 62:11 says, “Power belongeth unto God.” Psalm 62:12 says that mercy belongs to God. So, both power and mercy belong to God. There is no mercy if there is no power. If God is simply weak, then any grace or mercy He shows is not really grace or mercy because He has no choice. Power means you have a choice. Power means you can be devastating, yet you show mercy. So, that is what God is able and ready to give you today.
Praise is simply remembering God in your past. When you remember God in your past, it should help you see God in the present and trust Him for the future.