“‘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.’ Selah. 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.” Psalm 89:35-39
Devotional Thought For The Day
The psalmist has up to this point truthfully and honestly recounted the wondrous promises God made to the house of David – again, promises which are fulfilled chiefly in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who reigns over all things to this very day! May He be blessed forever! However, the psalmist has run into a common problem that believers often have with God. First, he identifies the promises of God with earthly grandeur and splendor, with the political and visual success of “institutions.” The disciples did the same – and how easy it is for us to gauge the success of God’s kingdom by our own definitions of “success,” usually by visual and quantifiable criteria. Hence we must remember Jesus’ assertion to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world.” [John 18:36,37] His followers are certainly in this world, but the nature of His kingdom does not conform to our usual notions of “kingdom.” Second, the psalmist charges God with renouncing His covenant with David, as if God were the culprit. Perhaps it was too sorrowful a thing for the psalmist to re-read the actual historical account of the wretched perversion of both the Northern Kingdom [Israel, the ten northern tribes] and the Southern Kingdom [Judah, the two southern tribes]. When reading these accounts in the books of the Kings and the Chronicles, one is left wondering how God put up with the deplorable wickedness for so long, and not that He didn’t do everything He could to keep His covenant with the nation.
The psalmist wrestles with limited “scope” in his evaluation of the faithfulness of God to His promises against his current circumstances. We can easily understand this – for we often do the same thing. God’s promises regarding blessings upon His faithful children, and His solemn warnings against the wicked, often seem to contrast with what we can see and observe. People who care nothing for God rake in millions of dollars, including people who despise His holy Word, the Bible, while humble pious believers in Christ wrestle with poverty and privation. Corporations that exist solely for the generation of profit flourish, while corporations which “house” the kingdom of God, faithful believers, struggle with finances and with the assaults of those who promise corporate success for only “minor” violations and forsaking of God’s Word. Lord, have mercy! Those who have limited “scope” feel compelled to capitulate, and many despair at the apparent failings of Christ’s church, giving up faith and loyalty to Christ altogether. The problem is scope, vision that is too myopic, and therefore does not take in all the data, especially the most important data regarding the final day of judgment, and also an inability to “see” the glorious things of the kingdom of God because our focus is on temporal visible institutions, which we naively identify as the “kingdom.”
The Lord Jesus Christ also suffered the description of the psalmist in His crucifixion. Read the description again, and consider whether or not it perfectly fits what Christ suffered and endured for our sins, for our salvation: “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.” As is always the case, God’s actions against His anointed, against His Christ, were calculated to accomplish the greatest good – our salvation, renewal in life, and ultimate glorification, and Christ’s victory over all of mankind’s enemies, sin, death, and the devil – in faithfulness to His covenant with us. And though He was humbled for a time, He is now exalted and glorious beyond adequate description, and He is coming again in great power and glory to set all things new and right within His world. So the psalmist, in lamenting his current circumstances, actually describes the most blessed deliverance of God. Likewise, despite the humble nature of Christ’s followers, true believers in Christ who remain faithful to His Word ARE the most blessed and glorious and richest people living on earth – and it is only a matter of time before this will be evident to all. So let us keep faith, and gain the right vision, and persevere in faithfulness to Jesus, understanding our place in the history of His kingdom.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, may it never be that we hold You to be unfaithful in keeping Your promises, unfaithful in Your great love for us. Help us to pass through the trials, troubles, and tribulations of this life seeing the glorious realities soon to come. Help us to remain faithful servants who truly work in Your vineyard for the building of Your kingdom – and keep us from becoming faithless hirelings. How we long for Your return, and yearn for Your kingdom! Even so, come Lord Jesus! Amen.