Bible Reading (Isaiah 49:13-16, 26.)
"Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on her the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
--- I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob."
Foundational Text
"Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."
(KJV).
"See I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me."
(NKJV).
We are aware of only two conditions or states in our lives, a state of forgetfulness or a state of remembrance. It is one condition or the other.
With the Lord it is totally different. He always remembers, and never forgets. A continual awareness of circumstances on each level of our life. Which is the basic reason for our total trust in Him at all times.
The deserted ruins of Zion are a feature of these chapters of Isaiah, personified as a woman bereft of husband and children. However the Lord's reply is typical: first, she is not bereft, for He can never forget her; secondly, she has her best days before her, when her new family will overflow all her bounds. (Galatians 4:25-27; cf. Isaiah 54:1).
Christian believers have the assurance that they will never be forsaken or forgotten. I will never leave you nor forsake said the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words I will never forget you for a single moment. The redeemed are remembered, the forgiven are not forgotten. Here is the strength of Salvation.
A mother may forget her newborn baby, but I will never forget you. Graphic and compelling insight of the Divine Mind. How dare you doubt me when I have graven, and inscribed your total life on the palms of my hands? Not a tiny tattoo to be quickly removed but a total image to be remembered in the hand and heart of the Lord.
It is incredible that we the favoured of the Lord, as in Isaiah's day can be continually and constantly troubled with anxiety, suspicions and fears. We, as they, can forget in such a way as they, a Wonderful Lord and Saviour. The forgetfulness of the favoured is frightening for the condition breeds fear and kills faith for faith becomes dead. Rather the knowledge of the Remembrance of the Redeemer is intended to rivet our attention and excite our admiration at all times. Faith will flame as a living fire in our hearts. Reminding the believer that the rebel is now redeemed with so great a Salvation embracing so great a full and free forgiveness of rebellious sin. Brought into the very Heart of God and Inscribed on the Palms of His Hands. Ever remembered. Never forgotten.