Read
(A special psalm by Ethan the Ezrahite.)
The Lord's Agreement
1 Our Lord, I will sing
of your love forever.
Everyone yet to be born
will hear me praise
your faithfulness.
2I will tell them, “God's love
can always be trusted,
and his faithfulness lasts
as long as the heavens.”
3You said, “David, my servant,
is my chosen one,
and this is the agreement
I made with him:
4 David, one of your descendants
will always be king.”
5Our Lord, let the heavens
now praise your miracles,
and let all your angels
praise your faithfulness.
6None who live in the heavens
can compare with you.
7You are the most fearsome
of all who live in heaven;
all the others fear
and greatly honor you.
8You are Lord God All-Powerful!
No one is as loving
and faithful as you are.
9You rule the roaring sea
and calm its waves.
10You crushed the monster Rahab,
and with your powerful arm
you scattered your enemies.
11The heavens and the earth
belong to you.
And so does the world
with all its people
because you created them
12and everything else.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon
gladly praise you.
13You are strong and mighty!
14Your kingdom is ruled
by justice and fairness
with love and faithfulness
leading the way.
15Our Lord, you bless those
who join in the festival
and walk in the brightness
of your presence.
16We are happy all day
because of you,
and your saving power
brings honor to us.
17Your own glorious power
makes us strong,
and because of your kindness,
our strength increases.
18Our Lord and our King,
the Holy One of Israel,
you are truly our shield.
19In a vision, you once said
to your faithful followers:
“I have helped a mighty hero.
I chose him from my people
and made him famous.
20 David, my servant, is the one
I chose to be king,
21and I will always be there
to help and strengthen him.
22“No enemy will outsmart David,
and he won't be defeated
by any hateful people.
23I will strike down and crush
his troublesome enemies.
24He will always be able
to depend on my love,
and I will make him strong
with my own power.
25I will let him rule the lands
across the rivers and seas.
26He will say to me,
‘You are my Father
and my God,
as well as the mighty rock
where I am safe.’
27 “I have chosen David
as my first-born son,
and he will be the ruler
of all kings on earth.
28My love for him will last,
and my agreement with him
will never be broken.
29“One of David's descendants
will always be king,
and his family will rule
until the sky disappears.
30Suppose some of his children
should reject my Law
and refuse my instructions.
31Or suppose they should disobey
all of my teachings.
32Then I will correct
and punish them
because of their sins.
33But I will always love David
and faithfully keep all
of my promises to him.
34“I won't break my agreement
or go back on my word.
35I have sworn once and for all
by my own holy name,
and I won't lie to David.
36His family will always rule.
I will let his kingdom last
as long as the sun 37and moon
appear in the sky.”
38You are now angry, Lord,
and you have turned your back
on your chosen king.
39You broke off your agreement
with your servant, the king,
and you completely destroyed
his kingdom.
40The walls of his city
have been broken through,
and every fortress
now lies in ruins.
41All who pass by
take what they want,
and nations everywhere
joke about the king.
42You made his enemies powerful
and let them celebrate.
43But you forced him to retreat
because you did not fight
on his side.
44You took his crown
and threw his throne
in the dirt.
45You made an old man of him
and put him to shame.
46How much longer, Lord?
Will you hide forever?
How long will your anger
keep burning like fire?
47Remember, life is short!
Why did you empty our lives
of all meaning?
48No one can escape the power
of death and the grave.
49Our Lord, where is the love
you have always shown
and that you promised
so faithfully to David?
50Remember your servant, Lord!
People make jokes about me,
and I suffer many insults.
51I am your chosen one,
but your enemies chase
and make fun of me.
52Our Lord, we praise you
forever. Amen and amen.
Reflect
Ethan focuses on God’s faithful love to David and his people. His vision is of God’s eternal covenant with his Church finally established through the Messiah, Jesus Christ (vv 1,2).
What deep confidence we can experience, knowing this God of love and faithfulness. He stands by every promise to David of an eternal line eventually fulfilled in Jesus! The heavens and the assembled people of God praise him calling out “Who is like the Lord”? (v 6 NIV). The seas, with their surging waves, and the earth from north to south, all reveal the power of God’s strength (vv 9-12). The Holy Spirit, through these psalms, calls us as families as well as congregations to praise our God on his throne of righteousness and justice, of love and faithfulness (v 14).
I have found the phrase Francis Schaeffer used of God – the Infinite/Personal God – very helpful. Many today who have absorbed the idea of a god of impersonal force, find it difficult to believe in the true God who is both infinite as well as personal. Yet how can an impersonal force be in a covenant with us which is righteous, loving and faithful? We have this immense blessing to rejoice in his name and glorious strength while we walk in the light of his fatherly presence (vv 15-17).
All of this is fulfilled in Jesus our Lord, “David my servant,” whom God has anointed with the sacred oil of his Spirit (v 20). These prophecies ( vv 21-29) look forward to all that Jesus would be and do as “the Rock, my Saviour,” the ”first-born” of God, “the most exalted of the kings of the earth” (vv 26,27 NIV).
Respond
Praise the Lord for all he is and does and what he will do for you today.
George Anderson
George is a retired Presbyterian minister who resides in Binbrook Ontario, Canada with his wife, Audrey. George & Audrey emigrated from South Africa to Ile Perrot, Quebec, in 1989 with their four daughters all of whom are now married and living in Ontario with their nine grand-children. After teaching high school Math and working in SU in South Africa, George pastored two churches there and four churches in Canada, the last being in the beautiful Muskoka town of Huntsville. The main focus of George’s ministry has been building up congregations through the renewing grace and power of the Spirit of Jesus as expressed in Acts 2 v 42 – teaching, fellowship, eating together and prayer. George enjoys bird-watching and hiking with Audrey and the occasional tennis and golf.