He Remembers You

"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.  Are they not in your book?" (Ps. 56:8).

I am wondering how many times these words have passed before my eyes without the recognition or understanding of the full weight of their message.  Even now, they are just beginning to settle in my mind.  Slowly, I am beginning to glimpse their beauty and majesty.

This psalm is a record of David's confidence in the Lord during a time of great upheaval.  David had fled from Saul to Achish the king of Gath.  The Philistines had seized him, because they recognized David a potential threat. So David had to improvise, and play the madman.  During this time, David was a man without a country.  He had no earthly refuge.

But he was not without hope.  David was confident that his captures would show him no mercy, so he rested in the One he knew would.  David's motto became: "In God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can man do to me?" (Ps. 56:11, ESV).  In the midst of his grief, that had arisen due to this conflict, David remained confident that the Lord would deliver him and strike down his enemies.

His expression in verse 8, "You have kept count of my tossings," may allude to several things.  It may mean that God has kept a record of the way he had been mistreated.  It may mean that God has counted the times the David has tossed and turned through the sleepless nights of the ordeal.  It may mean that God has kept track to the emotional ebb and flow of David's heart throughout his ordeal.  The NIV translates this phrase as, "Record my lament."  The KJV translates it as, "Thou tellest my wanderings."  Even as we sort through the different translations, the point is clear.  David is convinced that God has been watching with great interest and has taken note of his situation.

Next he states, "[You have] put my tears in your bottle."  David is telling us that God views the tears we shed as worthy of preservation.  In every circumstance of the believer's life, God is present.  He remembers our pain.  He captures our tears in his bottle, so that none of them are wasted or forgotten.  A day is coming when God will extract the price for every tear of the righteous from those who caused them.  But for us who believe, our tears will be wiped away.

He concludes this verse with the words, "Are they not in your book?"  That is to say, God has recorded all of this in his book of remembrance.  He cannot, nor would he, forget the sorrow of his children.  All the days of our life are recorded in his book.  He delights in remembering us.  He is bringing about the right and fitting conclusion to all things, even the tears.

I am not sure what kind of hardships you have endured in your lives, but I am confident that not one tear has escaped God's notice.  He has seen, and he remembers.  Have you made the Lord your refuge?  Are you confident he will deliver you?  Is your heart breaking? In faith, ask him to show you mercy.  Here is a song that will help you to do just that, "He Knows My Name":