Morning Moments

Psalm 143
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.

I have never been one to look back, but the older I get the more my mind is filled with memories of the past. Looking back is not a bad thing if kept in perspective. It can be a very good thing as long as we are not “stuck” in the past.

I have a friend who got “stuck” in the 50s. He was a disc jockey and all through the years he work for radio stations that only played early rock and roll. He could tell you just about anything about any artist and always knew who sang what song. He was “stuck”.

On the other hand, I have a friend who will soon be ninety four years of age and believe me when I say that he is in better health and better shape that most of us. He drives where he wants to drive, makes trips when he wants to make trips, and his mind is as sharp as most of ours. He remembers so much, but is not “stuck” in the past. This guy is a true servant of God and man. He makes sure I have a cup of water at the pulpit every single service. He personally roasts peanuts for my wife and me every year, but he also shells every one of them himself. He is amazing. He does what the Psalmist did in our text.

Oh, may it be said of us that we “remember…meditate…and muse”. Let’s consider these three words –
1. “remember” - the root word in the Hebrew means properly “to mark”, as in marking a day or date on the calendar. We can understand from this that the memory is specific about it.
2. “meditate” - the word here is an interesting one which conveys the idea of “work”, and is thus translated 30 times in Scripture.
3. “muse” – this word is also translated “work”, but is also translate “needlework”, which is far more tedious.

So, the Psalmist is saying, I work intensely at marking your works, O Lord.

In application, the text encourages me to remember every little detail of God’s works in my life, but also in creation, in intervention, in “working all things together for my good”.

An example for me would be as follows:

When I was a young man in my late teens, I volunteered for military service. I scored high in the administrative field and in the electronics field, but did not do well in the mechanical field. At that time the old other field was called “general”, which meant I would be placed wherever I was most needed. I only weighed about 110 pounds, but was placed operating heavy equipment. I had been told that I could switch into one of the other fields once I enlisted, so from basic training I was sent directly to Germany for three years. It was there I transferred into the administrative field and guess where I was placed? In the Chaplain’s section!

As I mark that event now, I see how specific God was leading in my life even before I was born again. He knew I would need the insight I gained later and I could share so much about how it would help me in ministry years later. So now I remember His work and see the details of His sovereign will and work.

My entire life has been filled with those kinds of experiences, so when I remember, it is not because I am “stuck” there, but can see the Hand of God working in the smallest details. He prepared my future throughout my past and I am PRESENTLY reflecting on His works. His work has been as needlework. Praise His Holy Name!

Through the good times and the bad; through the glad times and the sad; through the times of growth and the times of groaning; through the times of obedience and the times of disobedience – HE IS WORKING!

BLESSINGS!