Zayin is a psalm about memory. This makes sense, as the predominant letter in this section is a "z" sound and memory is Zakar in Hebrew. Memory is an important element to Old Testament spirituality (as well as contemporary spirituality- the Lord's Supper is a feast of remembrance as well as communion and hope). Memory is about holding someone in your mind and in your heart, it's about integrity to promises you have made. The psalmist thinks of memory in two ways- one that wouldn't surprise us and one that might. The one that wouldn't surprise us is that the psalmist commits to remembering God and God's commandments. This goes beyond simple recall, this is about lifestyle. This is about obedience.
There is also the plea from the psalmist for God to remember God's people. This may sound surprising for us, since we may respond "God is all-knowing, God can't forget you." What may sound odd to us today is actually a statement of faith. God makes very particular promises to act in very particular ways. All the psalmist says is "please do what you said you would do." I wish we as human beings always did what we say we will do. Fortunately, when we call God to remember God's promises, we know we have a God who has never let a promise lapse. May that hope hold you today.
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