"... For in death, there is no remembrance of you... "

      Today's read had me pausing at this verse. For context, the author was making his plea to the Lord to be merciful to him --- to forgive him and deliver him from his hard circumstance that was a result of his sins. He pleads that the Lord save him "for the sake of His steadfast love." 

   He continues by saying that in death, there is no remembrance of God. He expresses his fear that if the Lord does not grant him forgiveness, he will be separated from His presence. 

  By the end of the psalm, the author declares that the Lord has heard his plea and that He has accepted his prayers. His soul is no longer troubled and has the confidence that all his enemies will be ashamed and shall be the ones to be greatly troubled. 

 The author's circumstance was changed because God heard his pleas and granted him forgiveness. Notice that the author didn't do anything "good" to make up for his mess, nor did God demand him to promise to do better so he would be forgiven -- no. He pleaded for mercy, and God listened. And with that, the fear of death, of being separated from the Lord was no more. 


    In the same way, we stand before the Lord carrying the same plea - that He forgives and accepts our prayers. The Bible is clear that no amount of "good works" from us will ever be enough to compensate for our disobedience. All that we could ever offer is stained by sin. So we come in humility and plead for mercy that the Lord will save our troubled souls.

   But our hope for forgiveness and acceptance has long been granted through the death of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In Christ, we stand confident that our sins are paid for on the cross. Our confidence is in His finished work. 

   At the same time, those who refuse to believe in this truth will one day stand before Him in judgment -- the one that the author has been praying to be delivered from. Apart from Christ, we will stand in our own account, and the rebellious, prideful life we led will take us straight to eternal separation, where there will be remembrance of God, but with everlasting torment and regret. Our troubled soul will never find rest.

  But if we are in Christ, we will stand before God assured that He has forgiven us by His Son's perfect obedience. Our troubled souls will have a refuge. No place for fear, only an eternal home to praise Him forevermore.