# 26 2020 Dev. Psalm 89:8. Faithfulness! Read all of Psalm 89. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
Ps. 89:8 “Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.”
Ps 89 is the last Psalm of a series of six (84-89) that end Book Three of Psalms. The Psalm is a prayer for the nation and repeats many of the themes found in this series. The prayer is in the first person and is divided into two parts: vs. 1-37 praises God for His faithfulness and for His salvation, “You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior”. The second part, vs 38-51, complains to God about what is perceived as His rejection, “you have rejected, you have spurned, you have renounced the covenant with your servant” (David). The author, Ethan the Ezrahite, a Levite, paints a picture of major disruption of the nation.
This is a prayer that followers of Jesus are tempted to pray today because this prayer is about the lineage of Jesus Christ, it is about God’s choosing his people by Grace and God’s subsequent discipline of the nation for the short comings of David and the descendants of Abraham. We may read the genealogy of Jesus in the book of Mathew Ch.1:1-16 and in Luke Ch. 3:23-38, a long list of people who fell short of God’s ideals. The two genealogies are somewhat different because both Joseph and Mary are in the line of David. Followers of Jesus may want to identify with both sections of this prayer.
Certainly, we identify with the first part of this prayer: “Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.” Here we see God’s grace, His forgiveness and His love. Along with the Psalmist we say: “Praise be to the Lord forever!”
The second part of the prayer is more difficult to identify with, not that the whole world is in trouble, it is, but let us look at our own situation for the purpose of this short devotional. The second part of this prayer comes about due to the short comings of the Nation of Israel, unfaithfulness, idolatry, and the rejection of God and of God’s ways. That is the very situation we find ourselves in right now. As we saw in the book of Hebrews some time back, God tests and teaches (disciplines) those whom He loves. How easy it is to point at the secular culture around us, but no, we also bear a responsibility; are we praying for all that is going on around us; leaders, federal, state, local, and church leaders? How about those who oppose us? All legitimate (dully elected) authority comes from God, Romans 13:1-2. Are we practicing what we say we believe? Are we speaking the words that bring life, words of encouragement, words of healing, words that glorify God and His Salvation? Followers of Jesus, we have our work cut out for us and that is what God is preparing us for, by drawing us closer and closer to Jesus by His Holy Spirit. Amen and amen!
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