Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Humans have never been more public and less durable than they are today. A fourteen-year-old in Toledo has as wide a cast as Caesar would have had thousands of years ago. It is amazing. At the same time we are less durable. For instance, if someone is engaged nowadays, it has probably been videoed and put out on social media in a number of ways. I’m not saying that is intrinsically wrong, but the question is, “How likely is it that marriage will last?” Likewise, there are all kinds of venues that are engaged costing thousands of dollars for wedding ceremonies that result in a marriage that lasts five years. It is very public, but not very durable.
That is why in Psalms 89 the faithfulness of God is such a poignant topic. The faithfulness of God is found throughout the psalm. Verse 1 says, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.” Faithfulness means “to be firm, secure, stable, or true.” If we talk about “this is my truth,” then it is not truth. If we talk about gravity, we are not talking about “my gravity.” Either it is a law or it is not. If I step off the third-story balcony, then I know what is going to happen regardless of what “my” truth says about it. I’m not trying to be cranky. I am just saying that God’s faithfulness is firm, secure, stable, and true.
Now, in Psalm 89, this faithfulness of God is first of all demonstrated in nature and in history. Regarding nature, the psalmist says that God rules the raging of the sea. Nothing is more unstable than the sea, and nothing is more stable than the faithfulness of God. In verse 10, the psalmist says, “Thou [God] hast broken Rahab [Egypt] in pieces.” So, in history and in nature, God has shown Himself to be faithful and powerful.
The intent of the psalm is to describe the faithfulness of God. In verse 2 it says that God’s “mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.” So, for duration and for height God’s faithfulness is limitless. Verse 11 says, “The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.” So, in the heavens and on the earth God is faithful. Verse 12 talks about the North and the South. He is talking about from one end to the other. From highest high to lowest low, God is faithful.
Then he gets to the real point which is that God is faithful to David, the Davidic Covenant. In verse 20 God says, “I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him.” Then he talks about His faithfulness to David, and He talks about His faithfulness not failing. Then, after verse 38 where the psalm kind of turns, the psalmist talks about God’s covenant being established forever with King David.
Verse 38 says, “But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.” Now, whatever the context of the writing of this psalm, the king of Israel had apparently lost his grip and the nation had lost her place. The psalmist is saying, “God, You have been faithful in nature, in history, from top to bottom, from North to South, East to West, and You have promised to be faithful to David. God, what is happening?” He says, “Wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?”
It is important to remember that Luke 1, the Christmas story, is a reminder of the eternal faithfulness of God. The Gabriel that appeared to Mary in Luke was the same Gabriel that had appeared to David seven hundred years before. There is a continuity in Heaven that we do not find on earth. Gabriel says to Mary about Jesus in verse 32-33, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
It is amazing that in Psalm 89 God inspired a psalm that literally is saying, “God, you are faithful, but I can’t see that in the circumstances of the day.” Maybe you have felt that way. Then, in Luke 1 you find that Jesus, God the Son, would be given the throne of His father David and there will be no end of His kingdom. Jesus embodies the faithfulness of God. Jesus is the faithfulness of God in a body. Think about God’s faithfulness through Jesus.
First, God’s faithfulness through Jesus extends beyond Israel. How I thank God for the Jewish people through whom God has given Jesus. If you are like me, you are not Jewish, yet God’s faithfulness extends beyond geographical, racial, and historical boundaries. It includes Israel, but it goes beyond Israel.
Second, God’s faithfulness embodied in Jesus extends beyond earth. There is coming a day when this earth will burn with a fervent heat, but the faithfulness of God endures.
Third, the faithfulness of God embodied in Jesus extends beyond time. David and every other king that has ever lived has died, but God will be faithful. What you need is a faithful God, not just in the things you can see temporarily today, but a faithfulness that will continue beyond what you can see into eternity.
Jesus embodies the faithfulness of God. His faithfulness extends beyond what you perceive, feel, or think today, and you can be glad of that.