Today, Saturday September 02
Placing Our Faith in God’s Faithfulness
Psalm 89:46-52
“How long, LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men? What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? Selah
Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, Which You swore to David in Your truth? Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants-- How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples, With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
Blessed be the LORD forevermore! Amen and Amen.
Psalm 89 proclaims the faithfulness of God! The inspired writer of this Psalm was probably in captivity in Babylon with the people of Israel. As he reflected on the present condition of Israel he began to think about the character of God and His past faithfulness of God to the nation (vv. 1-18). The writer not only thought about how God is faithful in His character, but that God Is faithful to His covenant and we should trust Him. Then in verses 38-45, we find that God Is also faithful in His chastening.
Now Psalm 89:46-52 concludes by reminding us that God's faithfulness will never cease. And whether or not we understand our present dilemma, we need to wait for Him. In verses 46-48, the psalmist looks ahead and asks the painful question, "How long, O Lord?" Since he lived in the captivity, and in the time of Jeremiah the prophet, it very possible that he knew the prophecy of Jeremiah that the people would be in exile for seventy years and then permitted to return to their land (Jer. 25:1-14; 29:4-14).
You might be in a time when your world has fallen apart and even though you know and believe God’s promises to be with you and always help you still are wanting His deliverance right now! Or at least you long for God to deliver you as soon as possible. To the psalmist, it all seemed so futile (v. 47). So he writes about how life is short, how all people will die, and God's people had to spend their days in exile.
Then the psalmist looked back in verse 49 and asked what had happened to the great lovingkindnesses the Lord had shown to David. But God's love had not changed; it was Judah's love for the Lord that had waned. Like any good parent, God shows His love to His children either by blessing their obedience or chastening them for their disobedience, but in either situation, He is manifesting His love.
Finally, the psalmist looked around in verses 50-51 and felt keenly the reproaches of the enemy. The king of Judah was now a common prisoner in a foreign city! No doubt Jehoiachin was paraded shamelessly in Babylon as living proof that the gods of Babylon were greater than Judah's God. How the Babylonians must have enjoyed following the parade and taunting the captive Jews, especially the anointed king!
Psalm 89 has an interesting ending because verse 52 is not a part of the original psalm but forms the conclusion of Book 3 of The Psalms. Remember the similar ending of each book. Book 1 ends with Psalm 41:13, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. Book 2 ends with Psalm 72:18-19, “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”
Book 3 ends with Psalm 89:52, “Blessed be the LORD forevermore! Amen and Amen.” This should remind us of the great truth that no matter how much we suffer because of the sins of others, and no matter how perplexed we may be at the providential workings of the Lord, we should still be able to say by faith, "Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!" And our fellow sufferers ought to respond with, "Amen and amen! So be it!"
My friend, that's the way of trust! We place our faith in the faithfulness of the Lord whether we feel like it or not!
God bless!