A covenant is a solemn oath or promise, given by one person or group to another. It is much more important than a child promising his parents he will mow the lawn after school, or a daughter promising to do the dishes. A covenant is a promise made between two or more groups of people, one of these often in a position of power, or between business organizations. Throughout the Bible we find covenants being made. There were covenants between the kings and their people, between one country and another, and we especially see covenants made between God and His people. Today’s psalm speaks of one such covenant between God and His servant, King David. Let’s take a quick look.
In the Bible, we find that there are two different types of promises or covenants made. There are the conditional promises or covenant, and then there is the unconditional promise. It is important to take note of these two differences, because when it comes to wondering if the covenant has been kept or not, we need to see if the promises were conditional or unconditional. A conditional promise is if the one party promises to do something, then the other party will follow through with their part. An example could be if a son promises to wash the car all summer, then the parent will buy his sports equipment. That is an example of a conditional promise. In the Bible we see where God promises to protect the nation of Israel from their enemies and provide for their needs if the people worship only Him, and not worship pagan deities. An unconditional promise or covenant is one where God’s promises will be performed without any requirements. One unconditional promise is when God promised to never destroy the world again with a flood.
Our psalm today speaks of another unconditional promise or covenant that God made with His people, with King David in particular. In Psalm 89 we read of God’s unconditional promise of the Messiah, and His descent from the family line of King David. This was an unconditional promise, as God did not say that the Messiah would only come from David’s line if David behaved himself at all times. As we know, David did not always behave himself, yet Yahweh vowed He would make His covenant with him and establish His seed with David’s line forever (vs. 3-4).
As we read in our psalm, God chose David from the people (vs. 19). David was one chosen by God from among the people of the tribe of Judah, and also was chosen from among his several brothers to be God’s chosen king to replace King Saul. Prophetically, though, these verses also speak of the Lord Jesus, who is the descendant of David’s that is the chosen Messiah. God chose David to be His servant, and prepared him for that calling. His humble position as a shepherd was the starting place for training to be God’s servant. While on the run from Saul, David led a band of men. That prepared him to lead the army of Israel. What we go through in life is training us for what lies ahead.
Jesus was also chosen out of the people so that He could know our wants, our trials, and our temptations, and could sympathize with us (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is fully divine and became fully human, fully man. Thus He is able to be my Brother. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we can then honestly say that we have a Brother in heaven. Here on earth we may be poor, we may not have much at all, and be the humblest person in our neighborhood, but we have a divine Brother who has the riches of the universe at His disposal, and is a King. He is a Brother born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). There are times when just about everyone else may fail us, our friends are nowhere to be found, and they cannot or will not help us. But our Heavenly Brother is there for us. Whatever difficult and painful road we are on, it is marked by the footsteps of the Savior.
Life has gotten more unsure as the decades pass. However, our Source of security has not changed. The Lord God has not, and will not, ever change. His Word, His promises and covenants, stand as strong and sure as they ever have. We can trust in Him to keep His Word to us. God is still the only certainty in this life. We can count on the One Who is faithful, just, and loving.
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