"Remember your Creator" Ecclesiastes 11:1–12:8

I'll be reading from Ecclesiastes chapter 11, starting at verse 1, going to 12, verse 8.

Ecclesiastes 11 · chapter mention

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.

Give a portion to seven or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth.

And if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls,

there it will lie.

He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

As you do not know the way the Spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child,

so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand.

For you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

Light is sweet and is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all.

But let him remember that the days of darkness will be many.

All that comes is vanity.

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth.

And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.

But know that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment.

Remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body.

For youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth.

Before the evil days come and the years draw near, of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them.

Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rains.

In the day when the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men are bent.

And the grinders cease because they are few.

And those who look through the windows are dimmed.

And the doors on the street are shut.

When the sound of the grinding is low.

And one rises up at the sound of a bird.

And all the daughters of song are brought low.

They are afraid also of what is high.

And terrors are in the way.

The almond tree blossoms.

The grasshopper drags itself along.

And desire fails.

Because man is going to his eternal home.

And the mourners go about the streets.

Before the silver cord is snapped.

Or the golden bowl is broken.

Or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain.

Or the wheel broken at the cistern.

And the dust returns to the earth as it was.

And the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Vanity of vanities, says the preacher.

All is vanity.

Remembrance Day.

This past Tuesday.

I was listening to the radio.

I think it was on the Wednesday.

The 12th.

And it was a CTV interview.

But they played it on 580.

I forget the interviewer's name.

But she interviewed a man named.

I wrote it down here.

Elmer Friesen.

103 year old man from Calgary, Alberta.

Elmer Friesen.

It was his first time in Ottawa for Remembrance Day.

He was a veteran himself.

He wanted to go for many years.

And he just said to his son, I want to go to Ottawa for Remembrance Day.

And his son said, okay.

I'm not sure how old his son is.

But his son was behind him pushing a wheelchair.

And this man, still quite sharp, gave a pretty good interview.

But a part of the interview was quite sad.

Because the interviewer said, every year there are fewer and fewer veterans from World War II alive.

And then he went on to, of course, agree and talk about some of his best friends that are no longer with him.

His brother as well.

And this man who is 103, who has seen quite a lot.

Very proud of his trip to Ottawa.

Is very accustomed to death.

And in many ways, it was this picture of how aging can be very difficult.

Aging can be very, very difficult.

You lose people.

You reflect on missed opportunities.

You know that you have many, many, many more days behind you than ahead.

We've reached the second to last week in Ecclesiastes.

Next week, we'll wrap things up.

It's almost a bit of a postscript.

But this will be the last teaching from the sages' lips.

And over these past ten weeks, we've been eight Sundays in Ecclesiastes.

And we've examined the vanity or the futility of living life under the sun.

But having these eternal and ultimate desires for meaning and purpose.

It's been especially meaningful, at least for me.

But I'm assuming for some of you as well to study this book.

Because generally speaking, we here in the West are suffering, currently suffering, a meaning crisis.

We've never known a more affluent time in human history with opportunities and things and money and nutrition.

We've kind of talked about this over the weeks.

And yet, there is, again, generally speaking, there is a missing part in all of our hearts.

We are suffering here in the West with a meaning crisis.

So Ecclesiastes is very wonderful because it helps expose and diagnose why we have that meaning crisis.

It's been tough.

It's a very scary thing when you hear, either given to somebody else that you love or yourself maybe,

a terminal diagnosis with no treatment available to heal you.

It's a very hopeless thing.

So Ecclesiastes diagnoses our meaning crisis.

And we've seen bits and pieces where it gives us an antidote.

Here in our section, as it reflects on the totality of life, especially from the perspective of an aging,

maybe even on death's door individual,

it will give us a sober antidote to our meaning problem.

The book is drawing to a conclusion.

Will it help us ultimately look beyond this life under the sun?

And I'm going to put forward today that the sage in chapter 11, verses 1 to 12, 8,

the sage will help us to find this antidote in three very tempered imperatives.

Okay?

They build upon one another.

And here they are.

As you consider life, be bold.

Okay?

Be bold, but wise.

Be joyful, yet humble.

And then finally, be godly and remember your creator.

Be bold, but wise.

Be joyful, yet humble.

Be godly and remember your creator.

Follow along with me, by the way, if you have one of these scripture journals.

I think there might be one left.

At least it was when I looked in the bin early this morning.

Grab it if you're the last one.

You win the prize of being the last person with a scripture journal.

But we're on page 40.

Follow along, starting in verse 1, and we'll read to verse 4.

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.

Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth.

And if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

So chapter 9, we learn that life is fragile, and that no matter how hard we try, we cannot escape the truth of being subject to the things completely out of our control,

especially time and chance, especially the fickleness of other people.

These are things we can't control that deeply affect us.

Here, the sage confirms that truth once again, but then encourages us, his readers, to use that as motivation for action.

There is much debate about the meaning of verses 1 and 2.

So some commentators have suggested the whole idea of casting your bread upon the waters is about aggressively investing.

Other people have suggested it has to do with charity, giving to the poor, especially verse 2, giving a portion to seven or even to eight.

I mean, that could be diversifying our money as well.

Other people have seen it as a reference to a marine economy because of the waters.

To be perfectly honest, okay, I'm not sure.

I'm not sure how to understand verses 1 and 2.

I would like to put forward that it's probably the first two that I mentioned, either a means of investing our money or our time or whatever it may be,

or being generous with our money or our time, one of those.

But whatever it is, it's very clear that in life, we are not playing with house money.

Risks are involved in life.

We have to take risks.

The risks, though, are not careless or immoral risks, but they're calculated risks with the best knowledge we have,

knowing that, again, remembering chapter 9, there are so many things out of our control, especially time and chance.

Verses 3 to 6 seem to emphasize this point, and it provides three quick examples of how limited our knowledge truly is.

There's rain clouds.

There's rain clouds.

They fill up.

They empty out.

We can't control that.

There's falling trees.

Again, wherever they fall, that's where they're going to land.

We have no control over that.

Again, I mean, yes, you can think of big, heavy machinery.

Point stands.

This is like 3,000 years ago.

A tree falls.

It's huge.

You're not moving it.

That's the idea behind it.

And finally, the blowing of wind.

We cannot control how the wind blows.

We are subject to it.

And in each case, these examples depict situations where we really are completely not in control.

We are actually subject to such things.

And yet, the sage is saying, be decisive in your choices and strive to be free from doubts and unnecessary worries when it comes to living life.

Take risks.

But know that when you take them, they might be successful.

They might fail.

He continues on in verse 5 and 6, furthering this point.

As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

In the morning sow your seed, and at the evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

We cannot wait for a better situation to present itself in every situation.

Okay?

We do not have the ability to know that if I just wait another day, or another week, or another month, or another year, or maybe even another decade, it will be an optimal situation.

I will mitigate all my risks.

I will enjoy all the reward.

We do not know that.

Okay?

People have put off very important aspects of life only to find that that prospect is no longer afforded to them, for whatever reason.

And it's a very difficult thing to take in.

We are to, instead, see what is before us, and with the most amount of wisdom that we can muster, to put our shoulder to the plow, and leave the domain of the unknowable to the God who knows everything.

See, the only true certain fact in life is that there will be always uncertainty.

And such uncertainty, it can't be allowed to prevent us from action.

Remember, the sage is telling us to be bold, but to do so, he tempers it with wisdom.

So we see uncertainty, and we do not crumble, but instead we stand strong, and we go to work.

We take chances.

We see excessive focus on prediction can lead to an action.

This is what the sage is getting at here in verse 4.

He who observes the wind, looking for the signs, looking for the optimum situation, he will not sow.

And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

There remains a mystery with human life.

So many things that we can just not control whatsoever.

I commend to you, again, chapter 9.

The time and chance and the fickleness of people are things that affect us in huge ways that we really truly cannot control.

God alone governs the universe.

He governs the cosmos.

We do not.

And we really deceive ourselves if we try to unearth, turn over every rock to understand how everything works,

rather than to look to the one who is truly in control of everything and knows everything.

So you see here, it is saying to take risks, but also to embrace wisdom,

for wisdom lies in recognizing that we have limits.

There is a limit to what we can truly understand, both individually and collectively.

And I will just say this.

That is not to say that faith is always blind.

Understanding is a good thing.

The Bible pushes us to knowledge, pushes us to understanding,

to investigate the world that God has created.

But it also warns us to put ourselves in the shoes of the Creator.

We are not Him.

So friends, be bold with life, but be wise.

And consider it before the days began to wane.

And if it fails, it fails.

Try again.

Do not be crippled with defeat.

See it as an opportunity to grow.

I want to suggest to you that this could be a source of great joy.

And this brings us to our second point.

Starting in verse 7.

To be joyful, but humble.

And let me read verses 7 to 10.

Light is sweet and is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all.

But let him remember that the days of darkness will be many.

All that comes is vanity.

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth.

And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.

But know that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment.

Verse 10.

Remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body.

For youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Verse 7.

Light is sweet and pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

The sage is telling us that life is beautiful.

Not every moment of life is beautiful.

But on a whole, life is beautiful.

And therefore, it's worth living.

It's good to find joy in the life we have because this life under the sun, it's vanity.

It goes by very quickly.

But it definitely matters how we live and what we enjoy.

One can rejoice in their youth, but as a swindler or as a hedonist.

But such a life is not praise.

So then the question is, how should we live life in a happy way, but also in a humble way?

The sage offers advice.

However, it seems quite modern.

Let me read with you verses, or read with me rather, verses 8 and 9 again.

So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all.

But let him remember that the days of darkness will be many.

All that comes is vanity.

Verse 9.

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth.

And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Walk in the ways of your heart, in the sight of your eyes.

You know, the sage, and this is one of the difficulties of Ecclesiastes.

And it's given me fits, but I think in a good way.

He'll say one thing with such seriousness, okay?

Such kind of absolute truth.

And then, like a chapter and a half later, he says the complete opposite with the same amount of conviction, okay?

What do I mean?

To follow one's heart and to walk by sight?

He says, he says, in the previous couple chapters before,

the hearts of the children of men are full of evil.

They're full of evil, okay?

And it's not just the sage who says it, but the entirety of scripture seems to say and suggest

that the heart is actually the thing you do not want to follow.

Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 9, says this.

Jeremiah 17:9

And this is like one of dozens.

But it says this.

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick.

Who can understand it?

Let me read verse 9 to you again from chapter 11 of Ecclesiastes.

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth.

Let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.

Why is there this back and forth with the sage?

I mean, telling a young person today to follow their heart is very common.

It's a very common piece of advice, okay?

Be your authentic self.

Follow your dreams.

Anybody who is in the way of you achieving your most authentic self,

they're a problem to remove,

not something to consider as we are forming who we are.

Everything has to do with the self.

Everything has to do with following one's heart.

Yet, again, we see with scripture that this is not the case.

Is the sage simply a moral relativist?

Sometimes I wonder if he is.

Sometimes I wonder if he isn't.

See, being joyful,

in this context,

and we'll continue on here,

it's not just about being a happy person.

It's not about having an experience that makes you satisfied

in a moment,

even if that moment is a bit of a prolonged moment.

Being joyful is not about being simply a happy person.

You see,

it is closely linked with living rightly,

and we see this in verse 9.

The joy and the cheer that the sage is talking about

is connected to knowing God as judge,

just in the second part of verse 9.

This is what it says,

but know that for all these things,

God will bring you into judgment.

To be a joyful person

is to be a humbled person

with the understanding that decisions have consequences.

And following our heart

isn't a great thing

if it leads us

into a self-destructive lifestyle.

And especially if it

contravenes

and disobeys the law of God.

And that is where his judgment comes in.

In addition to that,

we see that

an aspect of joy

is deeply connected

also with doing

the hard work

of growing and maturing

in the Christian faith.

Verse 10,

remove vexation from your heart

and put away

pain from your body

for youth

and the dawn of life

are vanity.

More than anything else,

humans need to understand

and embrace

what it means

to be human

made in God's image,

not in our own.

To know that our

work on earth

is not simply self-serving,

but ultimately

has a grander

purpose.

That there is a

cosmic well done

at the end

of our labors.

If we live

otherwise

where we are

self-serving,

then our lives

will become

either trivial

or they will

become

very destructive.

They will be

about ourselves.

And ultimately

our joy

will not be joy

for it will

be short-lived

happiness

and

the experience

will come and go.

It will also

lead to vice.

So interestingly,

the paradox here

with the sage,

and I think

the sage,

he deals

in the economy

of paradoxes.

It means to grow

and find joy

in life,

we must

humbly

submit

to divine

demands

placed upon us.

So,

to separate

joy

from humility

is to deny

a genuine

enjoyment,

a genuine,

real,

objective enjoyment

in life,

and to let

pride

and self-interest

be the guiding

forces.

And yet,

still we

experience this

vexation

because we

live as

eternal beings

in this life

under the sun.

So,

how then

do we

navigate

bitterness

and frustration

for having

these eternal

desires

and yet

constantly

coming up

against the

wall

whereby we

try to

satisfy them

in the things

that we do

here on earth

or the people

we love

or the hobbies

that we

participate in?

How do we

avoid this

vexation

and this

bitterness

and this

frustration?

I think

the next part

might be

the very key

to the entirety

of the book

of Ecclesiastes.

We'll especially

see this

next week,

but I think

chapter 12

verses 1

to 8

it puts

everything

in perspective

because

our problem

isn't that

we are

mortal beings

with eternity

written on our

hearts

and yet

here we are

living this life

under the sun.

I think it has

everything to do

with the fact

that we

fail to remember

an eternal

perspective.

We are clouded

with the here

and the now

and we are

all,

all,

all too

often

forgetting

that there

is

a life

to come

and it

is

eternal.

So again,

the sage

is building

upon these

tempered

imperatives

and we

finally get

to our

last point

which is

to be

godly

and remember

your creator.

Read with me

just verse 1

for now.

Remember also

your creator

in the days

of your youth

before the evil

days come

and the years

draw near

of which you

will say

I have

no pleasure

in them.

Let's read

actually all the

way to

verse 8.

Verse 2.

Before the sun

and the light

and the moon

and the stars

are darkened

and the clouds

return after the rain

in the day

when the

keepers

of the house

tremble

and the

strong men

are bent

and the

grinders

cease

because

they are

few

and

those

who

look

through

the windows

are dimmed

and the doors

on the street

are shut

and the sound

of the grinding

is low

and one rises

up at the

sound of a bird

and all the

daughters of

song are brought

low

they are afraid

also of what

is high

and terrors

are in the way

the almond

tree blossoms

the grasshopper

drags itself

along

and desire

fails

because man

is going

to his

eternal

home

and the

mourners

go about

the streets

before the

silver cord

is snapped

or the

golden bowl

is broken

or the

pitcher

is shattered

at the

fountain

or the

wheel

broken

at the

cistern

and the

dust

returns

to the

earth

as it

was

and the

spirit

returns

to God

who gave

it

vanity

of

vanities

says the

preacher

all

is

vanity

the

sage

ends

verse 8

with the

same way

he began

in chapter

1 verse

2

vanity

of vanity

says the

preacher

all is

vanity

a poem

that highlights

the reality

of being

in the

winter

of your

life

there's a

strong

temptation

to dissect

every sentence

and word

in this

section

verses 2

to 6

but

I'm not

going to

do that

I think

it risks

taking

away

from

its

poetic

essence

what we

see

is a

life

that is

fading

into

death

the

poem

is about

aging

and as

we grow

older

physical

and emotional

challenges

increase

our

bodies

inevitably

decline

our

friends

and

family

members

will

pass

away

we

struggle

to

adapt

to

the

changes

brought

by

innovation

and we

find

we

may

find

that

some

goals

remain

unachieved

strength

diminishes

desires

fade

and recovery

from illnesses

take much

longer

or might

not happen

at all

I remember

my grandfather

he died

I was 20

and he was

76

he was like

the first

of his

cohort

I don't know

it's a weird

way to say

it but

first of his

his friend

group to die

and it was

so packed

the funeral

the funeral

hall

my grandfather

was a very

quiet man

he routinely

didn't go to

weddings

or events

because he

was just shy

he was a shy

man

my grandmother

died

three

four years

ago

and she

was everybody's

favorite

favorite aunt

aunt

and she

had a ton

of friends

but she

had a ton

of people

die in her

life

and at her

funeral

I think there

was maybe

30 people

not because

people didn't

love my

grandmother

but as you

die

as you age

the life

that you

once knew

begins to

crumble

and here

she was

a very beloved

person

with 30

people

again I don't

think it's a

reflection on

how she treated

people or not

but it was

very striking

to me when I

considered both

of these things

together

aging is

difficult

in some ways

those that

die young

and the

sage has

mentioned this

they can

potentially be

considered the

fortunate ones

they don't have

to suffer

a decline

but we don't

get to choose

how we

die

how we go

out

we don't

get to choose

if we die

young

or in

middle age

or in

old age

but if we

are wise

if we are

wise

considering that

life

again is

vaporous

whether it

is as a

20 year old

or as a

60 year old

or as an

85 year old

or as

Elmer

Friesen

at 103

that life

is still

a vapor

if we are

wise

we consider

this

and hopefully

it spurs

us to

remember

that we

have a

creator

and therefore

we can

live in a

godly way

so the trick

is to

consider this

not at the

end of your

life

but as

soon as

possible

verse 1

begins with

one of

again the

most important

imperatives

not just in

Ecclesiastes

but in all

of scripture

remember

remember your

creator

remember God

a constant

refrain

throughout

the Old

Testament

remember

remember

remember

remember

God's

deliverance

remember

his

commandments

remember

his

covenant

remember

what we'll

see is that

remembering is

much more

than simply

recalling something

that has been

forgotten

instead

remembering

involves

action

it involves

fidelity

and allegiance

and a love

and a devotion

to remember

one's anniversary

isn't just to

say

it's that time

of year again

high five

go to work

come home

eat dinner

go to sleep

it means

recalling

one's

vows

reaffirming

love

speaking

kind

and loving

words

expressing

affection

and joy

maybe giving

gifts

it's an

action

to remember

it has

implications

and the same

applies to

the Lord

to remember

God as our

creator

is to

acknowledge

that although

this life

is fleeting

and fragile

and futile

right

it is

it is

vaporous

and that

we will

return to

dust

from which

we came

God

remains

worthy

of worship

and glorification

in fact

referring to

him as the

creator

reminds us

that this

world was

made with

purpose

and that

he was

the one

who

breathed

it into

existence

spoke it

into existence

and therefore

we

as the

pinnacle

of his

creation

were also

created

with purpose

with

intentionality

and our

primary purpose

is to glorify

God

but also

to enjoy

him

all of our

days

and into

eternity

so this

remember

it's at

verse 1

but it's

actually

commanded

four other

times

or four

times total

rather

in this

section

from verse 1

to verse 8

and although

it doesn't

say remember

four times

what we do

see is that

in verse 1

2 and 6

there's this

word that

says before

which

recalls

verse 1

remember

so remember

the Lord

as your

creator

before

before

before

remember

God

before the

evil days

come

remember

God

before

life

darkens

remember

God

before

life

is utterly

spent

and again

since we

can never

know the

exact

hour

of our

death

the call

is to

remember

in the

present

it's not

to remember

in the

future

but is

to remember

right now

and here's

the true

beauty

of

this act

of remembering

for as we

seek to

remember

God

God

remembers

us

consider

Hannah

this is

from 1st

Samuel chapter

1

Hannah

is one

of two

wives

of

an

Israelite

and God

seems to

open the

womb

and bless

the one

wife

and Hannah

remains

barren

but it's

not just

that she's

barren

she's

neglected

she is

forgotten

she is

an

afterthought

completely

overlooked

and what

does she

do

she cries

out to

God

to remember

her

remember

me

she says

remember

me

bless

me

and what

does

God

do

he

provides

for her

and

expresses

his love

to her

he

remembers

her

and it

spurs

him

on

to

action

through

her son

Samuel

Israel

would be

delivered

from

all of

her

enemies

and guided

by the

Lord

I'll

read

just

two

verses

1st

Samuel

chapter

1

verse

11

this

is

Hannah

speaking

and

Hannah

vowed

a vow

and said

oh

Lord of

hosts

if you

will

indeed

look

on the

affliction

of your

servant

and remember

me

not forget

me

but remember

me

remember

your

servant

and give

your servant

a son

then I

will give

him to

the

Lord

all the

days

of his

life

and no

razor

shall

touch

his

head

it

continues

on

in

verse

19

of

1st

Samuel

chapter

1

and this

is what

it says

they rose

early

in the

morning

and worshipped

before the

Lord

this is

Hannah

and her

family

then they

went back

to their

house

at Ramah

and Elkanah

Hannah's

husband

knew

Hannah

his wife

and the

Lord

remembered

her

and in

due time

Hannah

conceived

and bore

a son

and she

called

his name

Samuel

for she

said

I have

asked

for him

from the

Lord

you see

God

would not

forget

the promises

that he

made to

Hannah

he will

never forget

the promises

that he

makes

ever

and by

remembering

them

he acts

upon them

I'll wrap

up with

this

in Luke

Luke 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

God

remembers

the promise

that he

made to

Abraham

centuries

and centuries

and centuries

and centuries

before

that through

his seed

the world

not just

Israel

but the

world

would be

blessed

like with

Hannah

Mary

was

blessed

with a

child

that would

be the

embodiment

of God's

remembrance

so again

God doesn't

just say

I remember

making that

promise to

Abraham

but rather

I will show

you how

I remember

by seeing

those promises

come to

fruition

so like

Samuel

through Christ

God

he remembers

his promises

to bless

and to

heal

and to

help

all

those

who live

vain

lives

under

the

sun

yet

who

have

eternity

written

on their

hearts

and what

does he

do

he helps

us to

enjoy

fellowship

with him

forever

and

Jesus

himself

remembers

for after

Jesus took

upon himself

the cross

upon his

back

but really

the sins

of the

world

upon his

back

dying

on a

Roman

crucifix

and rising

again

he appeared

to his

disciples

and he

commissioned

them

to proclaim

that the

one

true

God

is the

God

who

remembers

and then

he tells

them this

I am

with you

always

to the

end

of the

age

and friends

that is

an aspect

of God

remembering

and that

truth is

for us

today

remember

also your

creator

in the

days of

your

youth

before

the

evil

days

come

and the

years

draw

near

of which

you

will

say

I

have

no

pleasure

in

them

friends

remember

your

creator

for

your

creator

remembers

you

he

sent

his

son

for

you

he

fulfilled

his

promises

for

you

and that

his

son

defeated

death

for

you

and his

promises

remain

that he

will

neither

leave

us

or

forsake

us

if you

are here

this

morning

and you're

a Christian

or kind

of on

the fence

about

Christianity

or outside

of the

Christian

faith

if you

are

wondering

is it

worth

being a

Christian

is it

worth

living a

life

where I

consider

God

as

creator

and that

I

remember

him

is he

worthy

of my

remembrance

the answer

is yes

because

God

first

remembered

you

and

proved

it

in his

son

Christ

do