"Faithful, but Holy" March 20 Readings: Psalm 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132

Today's Reading - Psalm 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132  

Background

Today we read more Psalms, mostly Psalms of David, about worshiping the faithful God.

Devotional

The lengthy Psalm 89 trumpets the faithfulness of our God - a faithfulness we experience by grace even though we don't deserve it. In verses 30-34 we learn two important lessons.

First, it is a serious thing to take God's faithfulness lightly and use it as an excuse to sin. The fact that God is so good, so forgiving, so faithful ought to motivate us to gratitude, to holiness and to Christ-centered living. It ought never to make us careless, as if our sin did not matter to God.

Speaking of the sins that might come (and did) in the lives of the descendants of King David, God gave this warning, in verses 30-32.

If his children forsake my law

    and do not walk according to my rules,

if they violate my statutes

    and do not keep my commandments,

then I will punish their transgression with the rod

    and their iniquity with stripes,

It is no small thing to ignore God's grace and faithfulness and embrace the life of sin. God promised that if they did so, he would hold them to account for their rebellion with his rod of discipline.

Hebrews 13 tells us that God disciplines us as a father disciplines his children. He loves us too much to allow us to wander into sin and stay in it comfortably. God will come after rebellious and disobedient children with loving discipline.

But verses 33-34 go on to remind us that even in this discipline, God remains eternally faithful.

but I will not remove from him my steadfast love

    or be false to my faithfulness.

I will not violate my covenant

    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

God promised that even when David's offspring failed in their end of the covenant he would stay faithful to his commitment. He will discipline, even harshly, but he will not violate his covenant or abandon his people.

God never leaves us or forsakes us. Even his discipline is designed to bless us, to draw us near to him that we might experience his faithfulness daily. I might be disciplined by God, but I will not be abandoned by him. Even when I fail, he is faithful to his covenant of grace with me.

So, this passage is both a warning and a comfort. We are reminded that sin is serious in God's eyes and he will wield the rod to correct us. But we are comforted that he will never abandon his work in us, but will always love, always restore and always work to conform us to Christ.

We are secure in Christ, but that does not mean that it is safe for us to live in sin. Our big and powerful God is not to be trifled with!

Father, I thank you that your mercy and faithfulness are great. May I never treat that lightly, but walk in holiness and purity in all things. 

Think and Pray - Faithful, but Holy

Do you keep these ideas in balance?
Do you seek to maintain a holy walk with Christ?
Do you rest in your unshakeable relationship with Christ?