Remembering

Psalm 103:17-18: But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting, on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.

The word remembrance is very accurate and beautiful, yet unless we are careful, we may miss its meaning. Strictly, the word remembrance does not mean recollection. It means fixity, having in mind, or keeping it there. The memory is not being referred to as something that works spasmodically, but as a faculty of the soul which is to be charged forevermore with this wonderful reminder of God’s promise and reward (referring to Psalm 103:17-18). Bear in mind that the memory is not moral, it is not immoral, but rather, it is non-moral: Memory has no relation to the right or wrong of a thing. What if you tell me that it is easier to remember an evil thing rather than a good thing. No, it is not. That is our fault. There is no such thing as a cultured memory. Neither is memory automatic or self-acting. In other words, memory does not act by itself.

The basis of memory is knowledge. You cannot remember anything you do not know. It is philosophic. The activity of memory is thought. You have to think upon the thing you know, to set your mind on it. It is pragmatic, that is, it is practical. There must be application of the thing you know, or memory will become atrophied and paralyzed. The activity of memory may be defined thus: as association, imagination, and inspiration. In other words, we must let association interpreted by imagination become inspiration. That is what it means to remember.

Psalm 103:17-18: But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting, on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.