Monday, December 19, 2016

Psalm 89:38-52 - How Long? O Lord

Psalm 89:38-52
38 But You have cast off and rejected, You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
39 You have spurned the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken down all his walls; You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass along the way plunder him; He has become a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You also turn back the edge of his sword And have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease And cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have shortened the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah.
46 How long, O Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!
48 What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.
49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord, Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants; How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.

Message:  How Long? O Lord

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

[Having focused on God up this point and His provision, the Psalmist takes a shift and begins to humbly express his disagreement and disapproval with God.]

Lord God, it seems you have cast off and rejected your anointed. You have invested in your people, but now You have been full of wrath against them. You have broken down all his walls and all the means of protection and safety. What was a stronghold is now to ruin. Those who pass along the way of him plunder him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors and all who walk along his way. Am I really the anointed? Are these called out ones really your everlasting family and kingdom? His enemies rejoice; they seem to have the power now. The sword which was a shield has been turned back and now I can't nor your people defend oneself. Our splendor ceases and throws his throne to the ground. My days are shortened [The youthful and flourishing estate of David’s kingdom was very short, and reached not beyond his next successors, and it had been languishing, by degrees, till this time, when it seemed to be dead and buried.] How long, O Lord? Will you hide Yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire? How long will this present state continue? Remember how short my span of life is or is it all vanity what you have created? All men are mortal and miserable alone. We can not deliver our soul from the power of death? Where are your promises, your former lovingkindness and mercy, O Lord? Where is all that you swore to David in your faithfulness? We have boasted of all that you have done for us in the past. We have been vain and confident; remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants. We wait for Your anointed, the Messiah to come. But whatever at any time may be our distress, either as a community, or as individuals, still I believe, I hope, I will still bless, and praise Jehovah, whose word is true, whose works are faithful, whose chastisements are mercies, and all whose promises are, in Christ Jesus, yea and amen, for evermore. Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.

Promise: Our creator has kept His covenant with David, raising Jesus from the dead as proof of His steadfast Love to the Davidic line. Our Father is always truthful to His Word.  -- Tabletalk, August 21, 2015

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