Psalms 115:12

The Lord hath been mindful of us.

The mindfulness of God

I. Grateful acknowledgment for grace bestowed. Have we not abundant reason, individually and collectively, to say one to another in exhortation, and together in thankful acknowledgment to God, “The Lord hath been mindful of us”? Let us look back and reflect upon the way in which He has led us these many years. Shall we not, like Samuel of old, raise our Ebenezer? And as we travel through the past, until we step from the past into the future, shall net we take encouragement and joyfully exclaim, “Jehovah-jireh”? In creation, in redemption, in providence and in grace, in the fulness of spiritual blessings provided, and in the measure of grace imparted, we have abundant cause for the grateful acknowledgment, “The Lord hath been mindful of us.”

II. A grateful sense of past mindfulness begets a sure confidence of future blessing. “He will bless us.” To what extent does this promise go? He will bless us in our walk and all our work, and in whatever He calls us to do! His blessing will ever rest upon us for good. His everlasting hand will be beneath us and will keep us from falling. He will guide us with His counsel and afterward receive us to glory. You deserve to perish, you deserve to reap what you have sowed, but God is merciful and kind. You may look to Him in confidence, for He will bless you. He will blot out the past, and He will break the power of sin. I have also a word for the true believer in God, who is sorely tempted and doubtful of the future, who is conscious of weakness, knowing painfully the power of temptation, knowing sadly in recollection the influence of this evil world. Do not think you will prove unfaithful at the last. The Lord hath been mindful of you, and it will be in the future as it has been in the past. Look at the promises which He has given for your comfort in His Word. He hath been mindful of you and He will bless you. (Bishop Pelham.)

Past mercies inspire confidence of continued good

Many minds know a good deal of the Roman Emperor’s forebodings, that if things have long gone well with you, then something amiss is very likely to come. If we could but all rise to the happier argument from the past to the future of a certain ancient and inspired poet, and really believe that “The Lord hath been mindful of us: He will bless us.” The common way of judging constantly is, that since all has been so pleasant for many days or years, now a smash is due. But though this way of judging be common, and though, to a superficial glance, it seems to be confirmed by facts, it would be very easy to show that it is entirely wrong. (A. K. H. Boyd.)