Remembering the Name of the Lord

(Psalm 20:7 KJV)  Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

There is a lot more to our text than one may realize. Even though the words “trust and remember” and “we and some” are completely opposite they do show the difference between one’s flesh life and one’s Spirit life.

For example: the word ‘trust’ (as it is used in our text), is a noun which means when it says that “Some trust in chariots and some in horses”, it was actually talking about self-reliance which is the arm of the flesh.

Because these chariots were built specifically for war they had blades on either side of them. The idea of the blades were to mow people down like wheat while driving through their military lines at full speed.

Their horses had also been trained to paw and trample men to death. These were such horrible weapons of war that the army that owned them trusted in them more than they trusted in the Lord.

The word ‘remember’ is a verb which means to keep an image of the Lord or an idea of who He is in one’s mind at all times. The results of this kind of remembering means that one is not only living their faith but they are also expecting the Lord to meet their needs.

Over the years I have written several Meditations which included stories of a little woman I once knew who was lovingly referred to as Ma. When I first met Ma she lived in a small wood-framed house that she referred to as her shack. Ma’s house was at the end of a sandy dirt road and it sort of leaned here and there.

In the back of Ma’s house (shack) was a garden, a chicken yard and a small fenced in area for her little mule, Jennie.

In the spring of the year Ma would often be seen in the back of her house with Jennie plowing her garden. What a picture…Jennie, the plow and Ma wearing her bonnet and apron.

When Ma needed to go to town for a little shopping she would walk the quarter of a mile down the dirt road to the train stop. The train stop was across the road from the Pentecostal church that Ma enjoyed going to. Even though the trip to town was only ten miles it took a while to get there because the train moved very slow rocking back and forth down the tracks those ten miles.

Even though life was pretty simple for Ma I do not recall ever hearing her complain or get upset or worry about anything.

I have known a lot of important people in my life but no one has taught me more about life than Ma. I learned a lot by watching her handled difficult situations as she “remembered the name of the Lord”. Some of the best lessons in life are not the result of some deep theological teaching but by watching a simple little country woman called Ma.

Father,

Thank You for putting Ma in my life to teach me the simple act of trusting in You by remembering you at all times. Help me Lord to pass those simple ‘Ma teachings’ down to others.

Amen