Sinclair Ferguson

It's as if he's pressed the ignition switch.

The engine of grace has been fired up.

The spiritual memory file has unfrozen.

He looks outward and upward.

He looks Bibleward, and he begins to remember God is enthroned.

God is the Lord.

God has been remembered throughout the generations.

God is merciful and will have pity on him.

God is from everlasting to everlasting.

Earlier in the psalm, he felt isolated, turned in upon himself, and he had forgotten God and life was no longer worth living.

But when he remembers God, by the end of the psalm, he's talking about his grandchildren knowing the Lord's blessing.

He's talking about the people of God having a future.

No wonder we're told not to forget the Lord, because we're so prone to.

But if we have forgotten him, the first step of recovery is this, to say out loud, but you, Lord.

Lord, I remember you, and I know you have never forgotten me, and that you are there, and I'm coming to you now.

We've been talking this week about a letter written by John Newton, the great English hymn writer, about 200 years ago.

It's a letter about people whose problem is

Really, that they sing about amazing grace, but they haven't themselves become amazingly gracious.

Newton has some clever Latin names for these people.

Yesterday we talked about Mr. Austerus, the austere Christian who always seems to be right, but in a kind of loveless way.