What does the Lord Remember?

4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.

5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.

6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

11 For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Ps. 25:4-7, 11

What does the Lord remember? I love this, because it gives me a glimpse into the great heart of my God. I want to know what he thinks, what he remembers. I want to know his mind--and by the Spirit, I have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). 

When the Lord looks at me, at you, what does he remember? How does he see us? Sometimes we think he remembers our sin, wrongdoings, or failures first and foremost. We either live under a sense of condemnation, shame, guilt… Or we endlessly strive to prove ourselves to God, by our good works, through prayer, Bible reading, etc. Sometimes, we have this lingering sense of sin and shame. We are aware of our sin.  

This is clear in the case of the psalmist. What does the psalmist see and remember? He is very aware of his sin. In verses 4-5, he is crying out, “Lord, I know my sin! I cannot cleanse myself. My good works do not cover up my sin. Teach me. Help me. You are the God of my salvation! You alone!” The psalmist turns toward God, confessing his sin, and believing that God and only God can cover his sins and make him righteous.

In Psalm 25, the psalmist tells us what the Lord does remember. The Lord remembers his own character, his own goodness first and foremost. To remember, in Hebrew, is more than just a brief thought. It is to dwell upon and to act upon. The Lord acts upon his own character, his own goodness, his own faithfulness to his promises!

So does the Lord remember our sin? He certainly takes it very, very seriously. Our God is a just and holy God, and sin cannot be allowed in his presence. Our lingering shame testifies to this. But he remembers his own Son—and sees us in him. Thus, when the Lord looks at us, what does he remember? He remembers his Son’s death. He remembers the blood covers us. He remembers our sins have already been paid. He remembers his own mercy and love.

What does the Lord NOT remember? Our sins. Our guilt is great, but for his name's sake, he has wrought our salvation. 

In this, he gets all the glory. We can add nothing to our salvation by our good works—God will not love us more or less than when we first trusted Christ. We cannot earn more of God’s grace or more of his favor by our own good works. His grace, his mercy, his character is greater than all our sin, and he invites us to confess the greatness of our sin and trust in him alone to cover our sins. And he—the great, good, merciful, steadfastly loving God is made great as the sole Savior. He forgives us for his name’s sake, not because of anything we have done. What amazing grace!

This is my God--the God who remembers his mercy and covenant, not our sins. This is what he dwells on, his own greatness and glory, in which our good is bound up in. Our great God.