Rev. Don Campbell
PSALMS 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, May 6, 2019
“THE LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST”
Ethan begins Psalm 89 saying that he would make known God’s faithfulness to all generations (vv.1-2). In verses 3-37 he quotes God’s promises made to David. He then brings charges against God: “But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed. You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust” (vv.38-39). In verses 40-51 he lays out his case: “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?” (v.46). “Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?” (v.49). Ethan has already answered his own questions in verses 30-37 where he quotes God:
“If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,
if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne as long as the sun before me.
Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies.”
God had not moved; David’s offspring had moved and with them moved the nation.
Psalm 96 calls for all the earth to sing a new song (v.1). God’s salvation is to be declared to all nations who are called to worship God (vv.3, 7).
First, we go back to God’s promise to Abraham: “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). Second, we look at God’s word to David as quoted by Ethan: “I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me” (Psalm 89:34-38). Paul tells us that the salvation to be proclaimed to all nations is that all, Jew and Gentile (the nations), are justified by faith and are equally children of Abraham, therefore children of God: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:28-29).
Because of God’s great salvation, all the earth is called to make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100:1). While we sing of God’s steadfast love, we must also sing of his steadfast justice (Psalm 101:5-8).
Psalm 105 retells the history of God’s promise to Abraham and his offspring, their deliverance, and possession of the promised land, concluding that the purpose of it was “that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws” (v.45).
Psalm 132 brings together all the themes of our readings. In v.11, God’s oath and covenant with David is affirmed and the Holy Spirit points us back to this promise: “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:29-36).
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and it is accessed through Christ: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
CONNECTIONS
1. Paul says that all spiritual blessings are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). How many different blessings can you identify in verse 3-10?
2. Paul says that God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) and exceedingly rich in grace (v.7). God’s riches toward us goes beyond salvation from sin to all good things. What is our obligation toward these things (1 Timothy 6:17-19)?
