You may wonder of what significance does this portion have to us. For does it not speak of a situation long ago that has been fulfilled? But I want you to see that in the face of My stern and irrevocable judgment upon My people in Judah and in Jerusalem that there was a cry, which arose, a cry represented in the words of the prophet. And in the face of that great judgment, which he knew was well deserved, he cried out with tears, with earnest desperation that I might yet remember and show mercy. And though what he cried from his heart did not represent the attitude of most of the people, it did represent the hearts cry of that faithful remnant that I had reserved for Myself. For it was as Isaiah had declared that if I had not preserved a small remnant, then Israel and Judah would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah, utterly destroyed. But you say, ” where do we fit into this picture? ” And I say to you, are you not today facing similar circumstances in the land and among My people? Are you not aware that the people are looking for peace and finding no good; that they are crying out for healing and finding only trouble? And you see that the response of the remnant here is to cry out to Me in behalf of the people, which they express, which they acknowledge of their sins and of the sins of My people.

Is it not also what you can express and acknowledge? Can you not confess the wickedness and acknowledge that as a people you have sinned against Me?

But notice also that their appeal, the appeal of the remnant for mercy and faithfulness to My covenant, for release from the drought, is in order that My throne may not be disgraced, that My glory would not be cast down. And therefore there is the confession, “We will wait for you since you have made all these.” What did they mean by this statement, ” you have made all”, but that I have made the rains and I give showers from the heavens that the powers of the heavens and the earth are in My hands. So then, even though it seemed that the cry of the remnant went unheeded, I did not forsake My people even in judging them. I heard the cry of the remnant, and though My judgment came as I determined, also eventually showers of blessing came, both the natural rain and the spiritual rain, to the parched earth and parched hearts. So then here is the significance of what I want to say to you through this portion; that though it may seem that I do not hear the cry of the remnant and give answer right away, and though it may seem that the judgment is unrelenting, even to the point of destruction, yet the cry of the remnant comes not merely out of reaction against these things, for there is the confusion, the acknowledgment that they are well deserved, that I am not unjust in My judgment. But I want you to recognize that though there is a deep concern for My people in that cry, that it is rooted more in concern for My glory, My honor than it is for mercy, for the release from the severity of the judgment. So today I call you to recognize that in this very day, as those who are part of the remnant, you too will shed tears over the consequences of the well-deserved judgment.

And you, like the remnant of old in Jeremiah’s day, will cry out to Me in behalf of My people with the same motivation as that remnant long ago, with the deep concern for My glory. This is the place that you are to occupy before Me, and in this place I will sustain you.

Is it not true that many people remember Me only when they are desperate, only when their circumstances become so difficult that they are beyond human effort to deal with? It is so often that I am forgotten or pushed to the outer borders of awareness when life seems to be going in a pleasant and desirable way. In this portion the preacher admonishes that I should be remembered when one is young, when all of life lies before a person.

And what does it mean that I should be remembered? What does he declare here about this matter? He declares that to remember Me means to fear Me, to honor Me, to hold Me in reverence and to keep My commandments. He declares that this is the true duty and obligation of man. And he declares that it needs to be understood that everything that one does will come finally under My judgment. Therefore a very important part of remembering is to hold oneself completely accountable to Me, knowing that ultimately everyone will have to answer to Me for all that he has done. In this the preacher reaches beyond the perspective that he has maintained throughout this book, for that has been the perspective of one who sees only what is under the sun. So then you see that his appeal is to reach beyond that perspective because all that is limited to it is only vanity, is only empty and without lasting meaning or purpose. But you see that all of this, even his conclusion, falls short of what is truly involved in remembering Me.

Why is this? What is missing here that My fuller revelation brings? Is it not that revelation of My true character, of My love, of My grace and mercy? For even in all of its severe demand did not My law declare My everlasting love and My boundless mercy towards those who fear Me? And was this not also the basis of the appeal to the sinner who had strayed from My way, that because of My love and mercy, forgiveness was extended to those who would repent and return to Me? And would not those who truly feared Me do so, not only to avoid judgment, but because My love motivated them to please Me and to do My will? Thus those who truly remember Me do so, not just in acknowledgment of My existence, but because they have received the revelation of whom I am, of what I am really like. They consider that their lives are My gift. They consider that My blessings are prompted by My love. They remember Me when things go well because they appreciate those blessings as the expression of My love. And though they recognize the inevitability of the end of life here on earth, it is not for them a grim and morbid anticipation. For they are able to declare with My servant Job that they know their Redeemer lives and that beyond the end of their natural life they have the hope and expectation of seeing Me. But you see that all of this which is wrapped up in true remembrance was beyond the preacher’s purview, and the fuller revelation of My love and mercy did not bring him to that greater understanding of all that is involved in remembering Me, because he was limited to human speculation and contemplation. And while this brought him to the recognition of man’s duty and obligation before Me, it did not bring him all the way, because that way, the way of full remembrance, involves truly knowing who I am and what My true intent towards man really is. And this comes, as I have declared here, only by My revelation. Is it not in its fullness revealed to you in and through My Son? And if so, then can you not embrace and live out fully what it means to remember Me?