Promises

Psalm 89

“She promised me she would do this!”  “He gave me his word that he would do that!”  How often do we hear promises from others that they would do this or that, only to see that never happen?  A boss promises an employee something, a parent promises a child something, a friend, a spouse, so many people make promises, yet they are quickly broken or forgotten.  A man or woman of their word, of integrity, is sometimes not too easy to find. It is easy to become cynical. We can take comfort, though, that when God makes a promise, He will keep it.  In our psalm for this week, Psalm 89, we read of one particular promise that He made, that of the Messiah through the family line of King David.

God had promised King David that his descendants would reign on the throne forever (vs. 3-4, 19-29, 33-37).  However, King Rehoboam, his grandson through King Solomon, lost half of the kingdom. Then within a few hundred years, Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the people taken into captivity by Babylon, and the Davidic dynasty came to a disgraceful end.  They were punished because of their continual disobedience, but God never broke faith with them. Despite their rampant idolatry and evil, the nation divided and later being exiled, there was always a faithful, godly remnant. God can always be trusted to keep His Word.

As most of us have found out at one time or another, people will fail us.  We soon find out that everyone, at one time or another, will let us down and that they are not always reliable.  The people of Israel could have looked at what had happened to their kings, and believed that the promises of God were no better than those of anyone else.  God, however, is reliable and dependable. He will never let us down. It may have looked like, from a human standpoint, that this promise went by the wayside.  Sometimes it looks like His promises to us have gone that way, as well. However, the eternal throne and kingdom God was talking about here was not an earthly throne with an earthly king.  It was a heavenly throne with a heavenly king, the Messiah, the Son of God. God fulfilled His promise to David through Jesus Christ (vs. 35-36). Jesus fulfilled over 300 Biblical prophecies.

Sometimes the Lord needs to discipline us, just as He did Israel (vs. 30-33).  At those times it may seem as if God is hiding Himself. It sure did to the people of Israel then (vs. 46).  The throne was gone, the capital was gone, and the promise seemed to be, as well. However, God will never reject His Blood-bought children.  His mercy is everlasting (Hebrews 12:5-11). God did keep His promise through His Son, Jesus, born through the family line of David.

Just like David was chosen by God from among the common folk to become king, (vs. 19), Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth and became a man, like us.  He has become a brother to believers. We now have a brother in heaven! We may be poor, but He is rich! He is King! Jesus is a brother born for adversity.  He knows our wants and needs, and sympathizes with us.

God is always faithful and reliable, and will always keep His promises.  That is consistent with His very nature (vs. 5). Righteousness, justice, love, and faithfulness are part of God’s character and of His rule over creation (vs. 14-15).  As His children and believers, our actions should show that, as well. The Source of our security has not changed since this Psalm was written. God kept His Word and promises back then, and He keeps them today.  He is still the only certainty in this life. We can count on the One who is faithful, just, and loving.