14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness.
17 You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong.
18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.
19 Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people. You said, “I have raised up a warrior. I have selected him from the common people to be king.
20 I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil.
21 I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm I will make him strong.
22 His enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him.
23 I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will grow in power.
25 I will extend his rule over the sea, his dominion over the rivers.
26 And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 I will make him my firstborn son, the mightiest king on earth.
28 I will love him and be kind to him forever; my covenant with him will never end.
29 I will preserve an heir for him; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.
30 But if his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations,
31 if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
32 then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their disobedience with beating.
33 But I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him.
34 No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said.
35 I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie:
36 His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun.
37 It will be as eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!”
Interlude
How many times have you regretted things you have said...wished you could take them back?
Hopefully as we get older it happens less. Even so, there is something about the wild nature of the tongue...and it most often is directly related to the swiftness with which we speak, before we give full thought to the words.
Occasionally our regret materializes as circumstances change. I promised to work the weekend for one of my fellow chaplains recently. If I had only known that another opportunity would come my way...
Yesterday we looked at the beginning of this psalm and were reminded that we need to look back at the whole history of God's activities in order to evaluate His faithfulness. Today, we see
notice something very important about that history. In referring to His choice to make David the King of Israel, God says "I will love him and be kind to him forever; my covenant with him will never end." Some might call it "the heat of passion." We say a lot of things when we are in love...and God loved David.
Now, many years later...when David's descendants have made a mess out of everything...you might think God would reconsider. Not a chance. Instead, the promise is reconfirmed. "I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him. No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie."
I get the clear picture this promise is about David, not his descendants. In a flush of passion God promised David something forever. And David was a man after God's own heart. I don't doubt he was worthy. Furthermore, God is not susceptible to carelessness so He knew what He was saying. This is all very good. The strength and faithfulness of this particular covenant rests upon two things I cannot control...the righteousness of God and the worthiness of David.
I just reap the benefit...
Most of us recognize Jesus Christ, the Son of God...and the Son of David...as the fulfillment of this promise. An earthly return of David's throne is also anticipated. So, don't get bogged down in the historical dispersion of Israel. It's only temporary. Let's get to the real point here.
God has told us, when we become people of faith, we are grafted into this lineage of David. How? God changes our spiritual DNA. "If any man is in Christ He is a new creation." Simply put...I am no longer Lee, but I am Lee with God's Spirit added. My nature has changed, offering me eternal life.
That's a promise God made to me. The good thing, it doesn't rest on me, but on the holiness of God and the worthiness of Christ. God loves His son with such a passion that he isn't going to change his mind simply because He sees my bad behavior. "If his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations, if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands, then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their disobedience with beating". Discipline me, perhaps. Take back His promise? Never!
Our biggest problem is that we experience God's discipline and we think He's changed his mind.
The promise, through Christ, remains. "His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun. It will be as eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!” We are part of that dynasty.
Aren't you glad it's not about you?
Live boldly out there today...
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