The Acts Of Worship - Remember (Part 1 of 3)

The Acts Of Worship - Remember (Part 1 of 3)

1 Chronicles 16:12 & 16:15

“Remember His wonderful deeds … Remember His covenant forever…”

It’s interesting that among the commands of how we are to worship, the command to remember occupies the most space in the chapter. No less than 11 of the 28 verses in this passage are dedicated to the command to remember God.

The next two days will be dedicated to exactly what we are supposed to remember but, for today, I’d like to focus on what it means to remember.

The Hebrew word “zachar” occurs 165 times in the Bible. 43 of those are in the book of Psalms. Psalms is the Bible’s songbook for worship and remembering is a primary component of the Psalms. Part of worship is remembering God.

In the Bible, remembering something doesn’t mean that we have forgotten it and it just came to our mind again. Remembering means to act upon something that you believe. It means living out what is promised or a commitment that has been made.

In the book of Ezekiel, God tells us that if we respond to Him, He will not “remember“ our evil deeds. That doesn’t mean He has forgotten them. It means that He will act in accordance to His understanding of our hearts and our deeds and in keeping with His promises of mercy and grace.

When we are told to remember the Lord, it’s not implied that we somehow forgot that God is out there. God is urging us to act in a manner that is in line with a people who have made a commitment to God to walk in His statutes and His ways. That, ultimately, is what remembering is all about.

Tomorrow, will take a look at the first of two things that we are supposed to remember.

Isaiah 38:3

“‘Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”