Did you take your Bible with me tonight? Let's turn to Deuteronomy chapter number 8. Coming tonight to the Lord's table, the table of remembrance, and it is a good thing to remember that this command in the New Testament is not some innovation, but the command to remember the Lord is something that goes way back in the life of Israel. They were commanded many times, don't forget me. And in chapter number six of Deuteronomy, there's a command, do not forget the Lord. There's a warning. And when you come to chapter 8 the warning continues and this entire chapter begins with remember and then the warning don't forget. And so when you come to 1 Corinthians 11 and you're given the words of institution for the Lord's table, the table of remembrance, it is now that the church is to remember God in Christ. That's what we're called to remember. But let's remember that it's not some innovation, that it is an Old Testament command going right back. So let's notice carefully then the command to remember and not to forget in Deuteronomy chapter 8. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in, and possess the land which the Lord swear unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger." Notice that statement right there, right? He humbled thee and He allowed you to hunger. And many times in the pathway of sanctification, the Lord allows you to go through various privations. He allows you because He wants to humble you, because He wants to know what is in your heart. No, He wants you to know what is in your heart. He already knows what's in your heart. heart's desperately wicked who can know what I the Lord search and know the heart the Lord knows what's in your heart the reality is you don't know what's in your heart so in the Israelites and also with us the Lord he causes us at times to be deprived of certain things so that we may know what's in our heart verse 3 again and he humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna. So the Lord doesn't just cause us to suffer privation, but he does that we may find our sustenance in him, that we may find our help in him. So he fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only. But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. And so these Israelites had to learn that it wasn't just bread for their bodies, but they needed to realize that they needed to feed upon his word. They needed to find sustenance in his commands. And the Lord suffers us to experience privation that we may learn that. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell these forty years." A really amazing thing. Little details like that we pass over quickly. But forty years on the road. Forty years and God says, look, you always had enough and I provided for you. And here's a couple of amazing examples. Thou shalt also consider thine heart that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God to walk in his ways and to fear him. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains, and depths that spring into the valleys and hills, a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates, a land of oil, olive, and honey, a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass, When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in keeping his commandments and his judgments and his statutes which I command thee this day. Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein. And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water, who brought thee forth water out of the rock of Flint, who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee to do thee good at thy latter end. And thou say in thine heart, My power and might of mine hand hath got me this wealth, but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God. For it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swear unto thy fathers as it is this day and it shall be if thou do all at all forget the Lord thy God and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish as the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face so shall ye perish because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. Sobering reading. May the Lord bless it. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this command to remember. Thank you, Lord, for the narrative reminding us of what you did for your ancient people. Lord, how much more have you done for us when we think of the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ Jesus. We think of the richness of the land to which you brought your people. but an illustration of the richness of the Savior unto whom you have brought us. He is our portion. He is our inheritance. We thank you, Lord, that in Christ there is much more than the land of Palestine. There are unsearchable riches. And we thank you, Lord, that Paul could give thanks to you for the unsearchable riches of Christ. And so we come tonight and pray to be mindful. Lord, how is it we would need to be commanded not to forget you Lord, there are so many things we'll never forget, but I thank you. You know our depravity. You know the inclination that we have to forget you and to go on and to just imagine that we're making this journey on our own and we are dependent upon our own resources. And as we thought about this morning, how we all have that I trouble where we imagine that what we have, what we're doing is really can be traced back to our ingenuity or to our Efforts. So teach us, we pray, how dependent we are. Help us to remember God and Christ this night. Lord, that this feast of remembrance would do our souls good and keep us in a safe place. For the blessing of our souls and for the glory of your name. For it's in your name we pray these things. Amen. I want to take the words of Deuteronomy chapter 8 and 11 as a text tonight. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God. Beware. This morning we read of a warning, beware of covetousness. We read another warning, beware of hypocrisy. And here we are commanded to beware that we do not forget. Forgetting God in the first instance is something that characterizes the ungodly. Many times in scripture we read that in Psalm 9 and 17, the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God. Psalm 50, now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver. Psalm 10, the wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God. God is not in all of his thoughts. And so ungodly people do not remember God. Isaiah said it this way, you forget the Lord your maker. How many people go through life never a notion as to the fact that God is the creator and that he is a mighty God, he's a gracious God. And when you think of forgetfulness, you tend to think, well, it might be just a benign thing. It's just ignorance. I didn't really remember. It's an oversight. But no, forgetfulness when it comes to God is malignant with willful rebellion. Paul talks to the Romans, and he said, and they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. That's not just an oversight. That is, they disapproved of holding Him in their knowledge. That's what a depraved heart does. And Peter describes it even more carefully. He said, for this they willingly are ignorant of. And so, depraved people are not just, God's not just an oversight, but they willingly hold God out of their knowledge, right? So, forgetting God is something that characterizes the ungodly. But forgetting God also characterizes people who are godly, but who are backslidden in state. Many times we read of that reality. Jeremiah, for example, chapter 3, a voice was heard upon the high places, weeping in supplications of the children of Israel, for they have perverted their way and they have forgotten the Lord their God. So here are people who knew better. Yet the Lord goes on to say, return ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding. So what is a backslider? It's somebody who turns away from God. Our heart has back, we're backsliders by nature because even though the Lord saves us, we still have this inclination to turn away from God and turn to self. Proverbs describes, the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways. And from time to time, even though we pursue God, we get overcome with our own ways, our own desires, and we fall back. And when we do so, we forget God. Consider Psalm 78. They tempted and provoked the Most High God. Now that's a description of the children of Israel. And kept not his testimonies, but turned back and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers. And so this turning back again is a reminder, it's a forgetfulness of God. And so it's not only a characterization of the ungodly, but people who are godly, but who are guilty of backsliding. And so scripture reminds us, his people especially, do not forget me. And so the warning comes to the ungodly, but the warning comes to people like us who profess faith in Christ and yet still have a tendency to forget the Lord. So let's think about the warning tonight then of Deuteronomy 8 and verse 11, and I'll point out to you first of all the wonder of it, the wonder of the warning itself. I don't know about you, but as I go through life, it seems that years, one year just kind of drifts into the next, and now as you get a little older, five years can disappear pretty quickly, and 10 years, and 20 years, and a lot of life is just, it's a blur. And if you've had children, and if you've had them in consecutive quick order, all of a sudden, 10 years can elapse, and you can hardly remember, but there are a few unforgettable, forgettable moments that you're just not gonna forget, right? The defining moments. And when you think about the 40 years of the wilderness wandering, I suppose you could say, well, it was just a blur, but no, the wilderness wandering was punctuated with outstanding happenings, incidents that surely the children of Israel would never forget. And yet consider the Lord's early warning recorded in light of the subsequent history. And the thing is, the wonder here is that they forgot things that were so amazing. I mean, they forgot just the blur of 40 years, but they forgot the Bible tells us amazing things. Think of Psalm 78, and they forgot his works and his wonders that he had showed them. Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers. In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan, he divided the sea and caused them to pass through, and he made the waters to stand as an heap. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, And all night, with a light of fire, he claved the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink, as out of the great depths he brought streams also out of the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers." So they didn't just forget minor things. They forgot the Red Sea. Lord, make a way where there's no way. God made that way, and they forgot. He divided the sea. He led them with that cloud. How could you forget? Right? So amazing things they forgot. They forgot how they were saved. Notice in Deuteronomy 6 and 12 here. Lest when thou hast eaten and are full and hast built goodly houses and dwelt therein when you have been saved from the house of bondage. How could they have forgotten 400 years of bondage, right? Their ancestors would have told them. They would have experienced it firsthand. They forgot God, their Savior, which had done great things in Egypt. Were it not better for us to return into Egypt? Remember they said shortly after they began, and they said one to another, let us make a captain that we may return to Egypt. They forgot that God delivered them. Child of God, it's very easy for us to forget that God has delivered us. Right? We forget about the bondage of the human will. We forget, when we've been saved for five years, ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, we forget about how serious the captivity is, that when we're enslaved by our own desires and our own passions, and we soon forget. It's amazing they forgot how they were saved. It's even more amazing how they forgot that God had led them. Notice in verse 2, And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness. You've forgotten. I've led you. Forty years. Every morning they awoke to manna. Every morning they awoke and their clothes were sufficient. The shoes they had on their feet were provided for them. God gave them everything that they needed and they forgot. And it's very easy for us today to do the same thing. Has God led you? Has He been leading you step by step? And it's easy on times when difficult in the wilderness. Remember that we come to a place, well, will the Lord lead me now, right? The Lord commands us, don't forget me. I have saved you. I have led you. Remember how amazing it is that I fed you look at verse 3 and he humbled thee to suffer thee to hunger and Fed thee with manna which thou knowest not neither did thy fathers know That he might make thee to know that man doth not live by bread alone But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord thy God doth man live and that manna You know typified Christ the bread of life. He is the Word of God and by him we live and I wonder have you forgotten that he has sustained you and I said, the day you came to the Lord by saving faith, He has led you, He has fed you. And tonight He commands us to come and to reflect upon how amazing that salvation is, how amazing His providential leadings are, how amazing His sustaining grace is in feeding. They also were commanded not to forget His providential ordering of their affairs. And again, I've already made reference to the clothing and shoes, but look again at verse 4. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell these forty years. And so in a spiritual sense, right, the Lord, His provision never waxes old, it never wears out. It is an everlasting provision that he has made for us. At the end of Deuteronomy we read these words, I have led you forward to years in the wilderness, your clothes are not waxing old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxing old upon thy foot. So the Lord guided their steps, he provided for them. And I think again tonight he commands us to come and to remember how he continues to providentially lead, not just life in general, but every step of the way, right, every step. Remember, and do not forget how I've protected you. Judges 8 and 34, and the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side. And so when they come into this land of promise, it's a battle. Every place needed to be taken by force, and the Lord gave them one great victory after another. You read of Jericho. How on earth could they ever forget the story of Jericho? We reflect upon it from Sunday school onward, right? The great works of God. And we don't forget that, but we can forget the Jericho's in our own lives. Times when it seemed that the walls were impregnable and will never overcome. The Lord gave grace to overcome. And again, he calls us again tonight to reflect upon that very thing. So it really is amazing, right? The wonder of this warning is that God had done so many amazing things. It's also a wonder because they forgot so quickly. Psalm 106 tells us that, that they soon forgot his works, and they waited not for his counsel, right? They soon forgot. Isn't it amazing how quickly we can forget how the Lord works? You think back to a number of years ago, right? When this church went through transition, 15 years ago. 15 years ago, whenever David Brame got the call to go down to South Carolina, there was an upheaval, there was a degree of fear, and there was a degree of trepidation. How would this all work? Well, the Lord worked, and look, here he is again, doing an amazing thing and bringing this man back. And so, that's happened really quickly, but we forget. How quickly do we forget that the Lord... Remember what David used to always say? If the church is not bigger than David Brame, then there's a problem. This is God's church. He's the shepherd. He will lead. He will guide. And the Lord has continued to do that. And He's brought us through the difficult days of secession. And we continue on by His grace. And so, let's not soon forget. And this is not just an Old Testament thing. Remember how the disciples had seen the feeding of the 5,000. The feeding of the 5,000. Who could have forgotten? A couple of chapters later comes the feeding of the 4,000. And the Lord asks them, how is it that you don't understand? I've provided for you. Child of God, the Lord is going to provide for you. The Lord's going to provide your needs. He's not going to leave you. Have you seen great things? You will see them again. He continues to sustain. So soon, so it's an amazing thing because of how amazing the works that were done that were forgotten and how quickly they were forgotten. But how often? How often do they forget? That's a wonder too. Jeremiah asks the humbling question, can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Isn't that a humbling thing? These days have passed, we've had no reflection upon the goodness of God, forgotten what He's done, we've forgotten how He's provided, how He's blessed, and so tonight He calls us again back to this table to remember God and Christ, right? Don't forget. So the wonder of the warning is that the things that they forgot were so amazing and they were forgotten so soon and forgotten so often. Well, let's consider the cause, then. Why is it that they were inclined to forget, and by extension, why is it that we're inclined to forget? Notice, first of all, they forgot when they were full. Look at verse 10. Look, when you're full, that's when I want you to be thankful. It's when things are going good for you. You can go back to chapter 6 and see the same thing, and then the word then appears, then beware, lest thou forget the Lord. When? Notice back in verse 11, chapter 6 and 11. And houses you've received that are full of good things, which thou fillest not, and wells digged, which thou diggest not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantest not, when thou shalt have eaten and be full, then. So when do you and I remember the Lord? It's when we've been emptied. And the command here is nowhere to remember God when we're full, because that's the most dangerous time. Do you know who walks closest with God? It is those who are suffering privation, not those who are in a time of blessing. You might be going through a lean season right now. You might be going through a wilderness time. Do you know that spiritually you're actually in a safer place in the wilderness than you are on the mountain of God's blessing? Because when God blesses you, you have this inclination just to forget Him. And you go on. And so are you tonight on the mountain of His blessing? Have you been going a nice long section of pretty smooth sailing? God's blessed you, He's blessed your family, He's blessed your marriage, He's blessed your substance, and just things are good right now. Now's the time, if ever there's a time to stop and to remember God, because the danger is when things are good, then we lose sight of the fact that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord. So the cause is when they were full. Again here, when they were prospering. Notice verse 12 and 13. Lest when thou hast eaten, and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein, and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied. So they're spiritually full, and it seems that everything that they touch is going very well. And friends, you may be going through a lean season in your own heart, but remember, if you love Christ today, no matter how low you may be brought, you're still prospering. You have been blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. In that sense, you have so much. God has blessed you in so many unique ways, and if you love the Lord tonight, then the words of the psalmist are so appropriate. Bless the Lord of my soul, and forget not all of his benefits. What are the benefits? who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, and who crowns thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, and who satisfies thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. You know all five of those blessings are spiritual? So right now you might be going through temporal, challenging seasons, but these are five blessings that are never taken away from you. So if you love Christ, tonight you are in a season of prospering, and it's now, more than ever, you must be cautious that you do not forget, for all these things have come from the Lord's hand. The cause of their forgetfulness, notice here, is when they were proud. Look at verse 14. Verse 14 goes on to elaborate how they felt. Then thine heart shall be lifted up, And thou forget the Lord thy God which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt and from the house of bondage. And then verse 17, And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. Remember what Paul said in the New Testament, but by the grace of God I am what I am. Where you stand tonight, you stand because of God's grace. Nothing in our hands we bring, right? Simply to the cross we cling, and not of works of righteousness which we have done. That's what the Lord's table constantly is reminding you, right? You have these things, not because you have worked them, not because it's works of righteousness that you've done, but according to his mercy he has saved you. So pride is what keeps us from remembering the Lord the way we ought. And another thought here, and that is when a new generation was emerging. Notice when you come to the transitional period in the life of these Old Testament saints, we read in Judges 2, and also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord, and the verb here is that they forgot the Lord. are yet the works which he had done for Israel, for the previous generation, so young people tonight. As you sit in church and you perhaps are not aware of how the Lord has worked in your parents' life, you're not aware of the fact that the stability you enjoy in your home, the mercy of God is the result of God's grace upon your parents, and you've lost sight perhaps of the fact that what you enjoy is something that has come to you by God's gracious hand, right? Then there's the danger of forgetting the Lord and just assuming that, well, this is the way it's always been. Now, what you enjoy as a child of God's covenant is something that comes as a spiritual mercy, so be cautious. Don't forget the Lord. Don't forget the Lord even in your youth. Well, what happens then if we fail to respond to this warning? Notice, first of all, we read in this chapter of idolatry, verse 19, And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them. I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. Notice the connection. If you shall forget the Lord thy God and walk after other gods. Notice the connection. What happens when we become forgetful of the Lord's mercy? We begin to go after other gods. We begin to show the idolatry of our heart. We go after other things. Judges 3, 7. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and forgot the Lord their God and served Balaam and the groves. There's a connection between idolatry and forgetting the Lord. So wouldn't we then conclude that the Lord's table keeps us from idolatry? The Lord's table keeps the church from idolatry because it calls us back onto remembrance. It calls us back again onto first things. Don't mistake what it means to forget the Lord. There are subtle ways of forgetting him and they can creep into our lives in so many different ways. You can go along. These people were involved in all the religion of the Old Testament church. They were involved in all the sacrifices and the ceremonies, and they forgot God in them. You can come to a Bible-believing church, you can come to a Protestant church, you can come to a Reformed church and still be guilty of forgetting the Lord. So how deliberate then do you need to be in the worship of God? When the body stands to sing, may you remember the Lord as you sing. And as the body opens the Scriptures to read, may you remember that this is the authoritative Word of God. And as the pastor prays, let it not be him just leading you and you just listening, but that you pray too and that you remember God, you acknowledge Him in all of your ways. And the corporate worship of the church only stimulates private worship in your own home and in your own heart. Because when the church gives off remembering God and when we as the members of the church give off remembering God, it won't be long before we slip into idolatry, right? How does it look to us? Materialism, humanism. We slip into the worship of our work and the worship of our family and the worship of education and the worship of all other kinds of things, right? So the Lord calls us back again that we may escape idolatry. And whenever we fail to respond to this command, remember the Lord, then we can expect not only idolatry, but chastening. Notice, we see that in the life of Jonah. All right, Jonah 2.7, when my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord. When did Jonah remember the Lord? Jonah didn't remember the Lord when he was boarding the ship to Tarshish, right? The Lord said, I want you to go to Nineveh. And he went the exact opposite direction, but he didn't remember the Lord. When the storm comes that threatens the security of that ship, Jonah doesn't remember the Lord then. Have there been some difficult providences that have come into your life and you still do not see, detect the hand of God in them? Whenever Jonah was asked to pray by the heathen, how embarrassing would it have been that these heathen sailors say, Jonah, you're a man of free reign, why don't you pray for us? It didn't occur to Jonah. It didn't occur that he had forgotten the Lord. And then whenever they devise a plan for the safety, their security, and the lot falls upon Jonah, he's the guy going to get tossed out of the ship. Even then, he doesn't remember the Lord. Not until he finds himself in the belly of the fish with no hope of recovery, then he remembers the Lord. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord. Oftentimes the Lord has to bring us to the place where we are forced to remember Him. That's a mercy. That fish was one of the most remarkable instances of the mercy of God, even though it was one of the most terrifying encounters that any human being has surely gone through. And as the Lord brought you into a terrifying encounter right now, God's terrifying encounters are still the extension of His kindness and of His grace. If we do not heed the command to remember the Lord notice here in this chapter we read about destruction and it shall be if thou do not at all forget the Lord thy God and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish and so remember how the ungodly don't remember God and then backslidden Christians also fall into the same trap but what happens if a man is never called to repentance the warnings go unheeded the command after command goes and there's no response then one wonders whether or not there's true salvation in that heart at all. And that's why we come to the Lord's table tonight. We're commanded to examine ourselves and to examine our walk with God. Have we lived a life of habitual disregard to the commands of the Lord, to the callings of God, to the promptings of the Spirit as he called you to obedience? These are fearful warnings that He gives. And then, of course, if we continue to disregard this warning, there will be lost blessing. What a great blessing Isaiah 26 and 3 gives. Let me read to you a little thing here I came across about forgetting the Lord. He said, when I forget His forgiveness, I go about feeling guilty, ashamed, and condemned. This is why I must remember that the Lord, my God, is a forgiving God and He forgives all. When I forget His healing, I go about feeling broken, wounded, unwell. This is why I must remember that the Lord, my God, is a healing God and He heals all. When I forget His redeeming, I go about feeling dejected, depressed, downcast. This is why I must remember that the Lord, my God, is a redeeming God. He doesn't want me to live in the pit. when I forget His crowning of me with love and compassion. I go about trying to earn what I already have, trying to prove what is already true, trying to desperately grasp for what God is freely offering me. He honors me by loving me and giving me His compassion. When I forget a satisfying of my desires with good things, I go about trying to fill my desires with whatever lies at hand, good or not. God wants me to know the deep soul satisfaction of abiding in Him and being filled only with the good things that He gives. And so there's many things that we lose whenever we fail to remember the Lord. Well, let's come to the corrective then tonight for we've looked at the dangers of forgetting the Lord. Well, how do we gain a mindfulness about Him again? I think the first thing we need to consider is remembering that the Lord never forgets us. Listen to Isaiah 49, 15. Can a woman forget her sucking child? that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb. Here's an amazing connection between a mother and a child. How could that mother ever forget? The Lord knows. He says, yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. So here is probably the strongest human bond between a mother and an infant child, and yet the history of the world has proven that many mothers have cast off their infants. So here's the most amazing human relationship, and even then, It is not adequate to describe the love of God because he will never cast off his people. He never forgets us. Many times did he deliver them, but they provoked him with their counsel and they were brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry and he remembered for them his covenant and repented according to the multitude of his mercies. How will you and I forget the one who never forgets us? We can go on day after day mindless of the mercies and the goodness of God, but in our mindlessness, thank God, He's never mindless concerning us. He's mindful of His covenant. He is constantly mindful of His covenant. God is consumed with His covenant. That's how come He is faithful. And how then do we overcome being mindless when we are mindful of the fact that He's never mindless concerning us? And we will be mindful of his covenant when we are therefore mindful of his word. Many times in Psalm 119, the root of the language of remembrance, I will delight myself in thy statutes. I will not forget thy word, for I have become like a bottle in the smoke. Yet do I not forget thy statutes. I will never forget thy precepts, for with them thou hast quickened me. My soul is continually in my hand. Yet do I not forget thy law. I am small and despised. Yet do I not forget thy precepts. I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments." And so when we're in the Word, we cannot forget the covenant God's made with us. We're constantly encountering the promise of His mindfulness toward us, and that, of course, works and makes us mindful toward Him. So we're mindful of His covenants, mindful of His Word, and then, of course, the Lord wants us to be mindful of His Son. To Christians, he has given the Lord's Supper, and the language is so much like Deuteronomy 8, this, do in remembrance of me. God wants to be remembered in Christ. So when we think of the Lord, How does the Lord want us to reflect upon Him? He wants us to reflect upon Him through the elements that speak of the devotion He has toward us, toward the point where He would break His body and give His body to be broken for us, that He would shed His blood to cover our sin. That's what He wants us mindful of. Because when we're mindful of these tokens of His love and of His mercy, we'll find hope. We'll find humility and we will find holiness. And I don't know if there are three things that we need more in this congregation right now than hope, humility, and holiness. Those are three things we desperately need. We need the Lord to give us holiness, we need the Lord to give us humility, and we need the Lord to give us hope. And the words of the hymn then are important, lest I forget, Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony, lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. And so, child of God, have you become mindless in recent times? You've forgotten the Lord. Maybe you've forgotten the Lord in your wilderness. Notice these words, beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God. He invites you tonight to come and to reflect. One pastor, ministering back in 1859, wrote these words, Remember His promise to plead it. Remember His precept to do it. Remember His grace to expect it. Remember His cause to advance it. Remember His honor to promote it. May God give us mindfulness concerning our Lord tonight. And may the elements that speak of His love and of His kindness and His passion toward His people, His faithfulness in keeping covenant, may they give us a revival of soul. and give us strength, and may it lead us to holiness, humility, and hope in the days that lie ahead.