“Lord, remember David and all that he suffered. He made a solemn promise to the Lord. He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel, “I will not go home; I will not let myself rest. I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber until I find a place to build a house for the Lord, a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.” We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah; then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar. Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord; let us worship at the footstool of his throne. Arise, O Lord, and enter your resting place, along with the Ark, the symbol of your power. May your priests be clothed in godliness; may your loyal servants sing for joy. For the sake of your servant David, do not reject the king you have anointed. The Lord swore an oath to David with a promise he will never take back: “I will place one of your descendants on your throne. If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant and the laws that I teach them, then your royal line will continue forever and ever.” For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem; he has desired it for his home. “This is my resting place forever,” he said. “I will live here, for this is the home I desired. I will bless this city and make it prosperous; I will satisfy its poor with food. I will clothe its priests with godliness; its faithful servants will sing for joy. Here I will increase the power of David; my anointed one will be a light for my people. I will clothe his enemies with shame, but he will be a glorious king.””
Psalms 132:1-18 NLT
Remembrance is an important skill to keeping your covenant. Sometimes Christians emphasize the acceptance of remembrance. This is obviously a wise thing to do and God calls out specific moments and locations throughout our history as monuments in this way. Given the fact that we are finite beings, these moments help us to be somewhat transcendent of time. They provide anchor points by which our minds can slip out of the current thing we are experiencing and into the past, even if our bodies are still present. God approves of this practice and makes liberal use of it in relationship. However, it is not often that we reflect this practice to God. How often do we call on him to remember alongside us? How often do we call on him to inhabit a specific location for the purpose of relationship? Here we see the psalmist recognizing that David did not merely accept remembrance from God, but he saw that God would join him in that process as well. This wasn’t so that he would have a personal blessing beyond anyone else, but rather because he wanted to commune with his God, whom he thought of as a partner in his life. We ought to do the same in our lives and prayers. We ought to ask God to remember with us, without waiting for his prompting.
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