- Remember me…not sins
Psalm 25:6, 7
Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses,
for they have been ever of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions:
according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.
While “remember” is not given here as a direct promise from God the promise is backed up by other passages of Scripture, wherein God Himself promises He will “remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34). The Psalmist’s prayer holds God to His promise, and we can do that, too. “God, you promised you would remember my sin no more, but that you would remember me. Now do so today; keep your promise.”
God does not remember my sins and transgressions; indeed, He forgot all about them. They are forever gone, and they cannot be brought up again. Although humans can’t always do it, when God forgives He also forgets. We do not need to confess the same sin over and over again (unless we keep doing the same thing over and over again) because it is already forgotten; there is no need to remind God or our selves about the same old sin that has been forgiven and forgotten. We pray, “Remember not my sins,” so that we do not wallow nor return to our own vomit. We get up, wash our face, and go on with life.
But we do ask God to remember, and He promises to remember, His mercies and me. God is able to distinguish my sins from me the person. He forgets my sins and remembers me. He remembers me for His goodness’ sake, according to mercy. This means that when God, the Almighty Judge, looks upon me He sees Jesus, his blood and righteousness, His mercy and life; He does not see my sin, but He remembers me as He sees me through Jesus Christ.
We do not actually need to remind God to remember His tender mercies and to remember me for His goodness’ sake. He remembers how to remember and how to look at me, forgetting sin and remembering mercy. But I need to be reminded that this is how God is regarding me when I approach Him in prayer and in need. I am the one who gets mindless and forgetful; so I need this reminder every day: God forgets my sins but remembers me.