October 27 | Psalm 106:1-5
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Praise the Lord who Remembers Me
By Pam Mann
In the 1970s, I had friends who punctuated nearly all the oral communication with “Praise the Lord!” A lot of folks, my dad included, got really annoyed with this habit. I found myself in the middle, understanding both the exuberance of friends’ experiencing God’s active presence in our lives, and the irritation of more reserved believers who saw only Pharisaical pride in the habit.
Today I have Muslim friends who say Alhamdulillah! (Praise the Lord) whenever they have good news. Something’s off when my Muslim friends are saying “Praise the Lord !“ more than my Christian friends who have saving faith in Jesus. But I tell myself that saying a canned phrase is no indication of real thanksgiving. So...
What does sincere praise of the Lord look like among believers? How do I habitually give thanks to the Lord throughout my day? In Psalm 106:2, the psalmist asks: Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?
Is verse 3 the answer to that question? Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right. Hmm... Is the psalmist saying if you really want to praise God, then walk the talk? Thank God that, for those of us who do not always do what is right, Jesus has us covered. The psalmist explains at length in the rest of the psalm how God’s people have messed up again and again, doing what is very wrong. So, it is clear that praising the Lord so not the activity of perfect people, but of rescued people, of people who have experienced the undeserved kindness of God.
God is good and, honestly, we are not. His love endures forever, and ours lasts about five minutes.
You gotta love how the psalmist dedicates most of Psalm 106 to recounting a boatload of sinful activity by God’s people. What a lot of sinners we are who are totally lost if we have no merciful God to kindly rescue us! But, before the psalmist starts the sad sinful history, he inserts, in verses 4-5, an audacious individual personal request. By the way, Lord, remember me. The thief on the cross said this same line to Jesus who was dying for the sin of all humanity: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) Maybe the criminal had grown up in a good Jewish home where his family sang Psalm 106. The dying thief wanted a personal connection to the precious inheritance that God has prepared for all His people.
And what about you? Whether your life is looking great or grim, you can pray the words of the psalmist and the dying thief.
Jesus, remember me.
Imagine the individual whom Jesus remembers. This individual is forgiven and has a place in God’s forever kingdom. This individual knows intimately the kindness of God and can’t help but say Hallelujah, praise the Lord!
PRAYER
Jesus, remember me. May my words and my actions this day be praise to You because You’ve got me covered.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PAM MANN
I first joined UALC when my husband (then my fiancé) and I were college students involved in youth ministry. God has used UALC to nurture our family’s faith, even in our years outside the U.S. I’ve participated in UALC ministries with kids, art, prayer, exercise, ESL, and Bible teaching. I do all the fun church things.
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