Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, For they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. (Psalm 25:6-7)

With so much suffering and chaos in the world, it is important for us to remember that God’s purpose for creation was for good. He wanted to demonstrate His kindness toward mankind and His desire for companionship. It is written, olam chesed yivaneh which is commonly translated, “Mercy shall be built up forever” (Psalm 89:2). However, there are some translations that render this to say, “The world was built in kindness.” The point is to underscore what David says: God’s tender mercies and loving kindness is from the beginning, and so David implores Him to act toward us with that in mind.

Now juxtapose this thought with his next request — don’t remember the sins of my youth and other transgressions. I’m sure most of us can relate to this because we have all made youthful mistakes and missteps, in large part due to our immaturity and childish impulses — i.e. we act before we think. Unfortunately, some of those missteps can have life-altering, even life-long consequences, and if unrepentant, eternal consequences. Even when we grow old enough to know better, we sometimes revert to the default position we developed in our younger years. Apparently, we are not alone in this because David pleads with the LORD not to remember those stupid choices made in youthful ignorance and rebellion.

To the contrary, so prays David, remember You created this world — and all of us in it — with the intent to perform good. Thankfully, God doesn’t give up on us when we are young and stupid; even when we are older and still rebellious — He is kind and long suffering. In that vein of thought, I’d like to conclude today’s devotion with words penned by Jeremiah sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem. He said this:

“This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23). Amen.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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