Thoughts on Psalm 119:52

52 I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord,
And have comforted myself.

With some of the challenges I have faced lately, I’ve forgotten to do this. What a great reminder.

I love the Old Testament. Not because of the laws and “thou shalt nots.” But because of the stories. The Old Testament, to me, is like a child’s pop-up storybook. You’re reading a story, you turn the page, and then BOOM! Up pops this picture right in your face - and it’s some amazing revelation about Jesus, or His will for your life. God has spoken to me dozens of times from the pages of the Old Testament.

As you read the Old Testament, you should notice how many times God refers to the parting of the Red Sea. If you really pay attention, it’s almost uncanny. There are even Psalms that sing about it.

And there’s also a heavy emphasis in the Old Testament on forgetting the parting of the Red Sea. One example:

And forgot His works

​​And His wonders that He had shown them...

He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; Psalm 78:11,13

They forgot that He had divided the sea for them. What was the result of forgetting?

They turned back in the day of battle

They did not keep the covenant of God

They refused to walk in His law Psalm 78:9-10

So I personally believe that’s what the psalmist is referring to here. Almost as if to say, “I am really having a tough time. But I remember that my forefathers had it even worse - they were slaves in Egypt, and I remember how You judged Pharaoh and his army and delivered us, and I take comfort in the fact that You delivered them and You’ll deliver me.”

Being in the middle of a challenging situation - it’s easy to focus on the difficulties and forget how God has delivered us in the past.

First and foremost, at the Cross. His judgment is that sin has been paid for, and the body of sin is done away with. No matter how bad things get, we can take comfort in that truth.

And then we can comfort ourselves by remembering how many times God has delivered us, saved us, protected us, healed us, forgiven us, and loved us.

Let’s take time to remember, and comfort ourselves.


Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.