Psalm 89: 38-45

See three very important things:

God keeps His Word: It looked as though God had broken His Covenant to the psalmist. But let’s not jump to hasty conclusions. Study hard to know exactly what God has said in His Word. Don’t settle for a superficial knowledge of the Bible. God did exactly as He said (30-32). The Psalmist, and the people of his day, just didn’t fully appreciate all that God had said. This shows how godly people can have major blind spots. We know now that God’s covenant with David did not fail and never will. But the psalmist lived before Jesus’ time, and he had probably lived through the siege of Jerusalem and what looked like the final and irreversible destruction of David’s throne. The big question was what had gone wrong? Had God renounced His covenant with David (39), the very covenant He had declared He would not violate (34)? It seems the psalmist had forgotten the warning God gave to Solomon (1 Kings 9:4-9) as well as not understanding the full import of his own words (30-32). We can read God’s Word selectively. It may not be deliberate, but people have the knack of subconsciously editing out what they don’t want to see.

Privilege brings responsibility: If God has made us His covenant people, then He expects us to keep within its terms. Disobedience has consequences, and this holds true for believing people. We don’t have an exemption clause. God’s anger (38) is a real thing. He is not an over-indulgent granddaddy figure in the skies, saying, ‘There, there now; boys will be boys.’ If it’s okay for us to be angry over sin in our children, why would we have a problem with God’s anger? He is a moral God; a holy God. He cares about wrongdoing. He cannot be indifferent to it. Our God is an awesome God. Beware of the ‘God All matey’ syndrome! Hebrews 12 talks about God disciplining His children. He chastens us. This is not because He doesn’t love us, but because He does. God’s anger is to be seen as a facet of His true love. Real love will become very angry over that which spoils and mars and defaces the life of the one so loved. God loves us; we’re His children; and because of that deep, deep love he will discipline us. God’s grace brings forgiveness into our lives. But His free grace must not be turned into cheap grace in our thinking. There are warnings as well as promises in the New Testament. Let us heed them.

Be careful where your security lies (40): Things we trust in that are not God will fail us. They are flimsy. There is no ultimate security in anything man-made. Be careful that you are not attempting to lean on a spider’s web. It will not hold you.