The Bible Study Hour

Guest (Male): Where is thy faithfulness? Something so grim had occurred in Israel that the psalmist was led to question God's faithfulness to his covenant with the King. In fact, the psalmist states in no uncertain terms that God is responsible for the demise of both king and country.

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Bible Study Hour, a radio and Internet broadcast with Dr. James Boice, preparing you to think and act biblically.

Dr. James Boice: Questioning God's faithfulness is not something the believer wants to readily admit, but most of us have experienced the feeling of abandonment and isolation when everything seems to go wrong.

Dr. James Boice: Join Dr. Boice as he shows us from the second half of Psalm 89 that we may not always understand what God is doing, but He does. We can rest assured that His covenant and all of His promises will eventually be fulfilled.

Dr. James Boice: Last Sunday morning we began a study of the 89th Psalm, and I pointed out at that time that it's one of the greatest chapters in all the Bible dealing with the faithfulness of God. It particularly stresses His faithfulness in keeping His covenant with David, but it does it in two ways that are very interesting.

Dr. James Boice: The first half of the Psalm, up to verse 37, praises God for His faithfulness exuberantly and without any shadow of qualification. But then in the second half of the Psalm, the shorter half toward the end, beginning with verse 38, the psalmist expresses the gap between the promise and the reality.

Dr. James Boice: It was as if we should sing that great hymn that we sing about the faithfulness of God, "Great is thy faithfulness." It goes, "Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee." And go all the way through that Psalm, and then get to the end and tack on an additional verse to the hymn that would go something like this, "Where is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father? There is no faith in Your dealings with me."

Dr. James Boice: Now, we would be wrong to sing it that way, of course, and the psalmist is wrong to the degree that he actually thinks that, but nevertheless, this is one of those Psalms which is honest enough to express before God the things that the psalmist thinks he sees.

Dr. James Boice: You see, you and I don't have to fear to do that. There are people who think, and sometimes it's true, that Christians hide their head in the sand when it comes to the difficult problems of life, somehow pretending they're not there because that's inconsistent with their belief in a good and all-powerful God. The argument goes, "If God is all-powerful, and if He's good, these things wouldn't happen." They do happen, therefore either He's not good, or He's not all-powerful. And Christians don't want to face that, so we hide our head in the sand, but that isn't the case.

Dr. James Boice: And this Psalm is a good example of that. Here's a man who praises God for His faithfulness, and then at the end opens up and tells Him what he actually sees. It does look very much as if God has broken His covenant with David. Now, that's what he says. Look at verse 39. "You have renounced the covenant with your servant."

Dr. James Boice: Now, it's hard to know exactly what had happened, what the circumstances are that lay behind that particular complaint. It obviously had something to do with the monarchy. There are some people who date this event early. They said, "Well, you can explain this Psalm by the breakup of the monarchy in the days of Rehoboam after the long reigns of David and Solomon," because the kingdom fractured there into the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah.

Dr. James Boice: They say, "Well, that would work." The advantage of that, the attractiveness of that, is that it fits an early dating of the Psalm. In fact, it's early enough that it could actually have been written, if that's the case, by this Ethan, whom David appointed to be one of the Temple musicians. Presumably, that would have been late in David's life. This man would have lived all the way through the reign of Solomon, 40 years, and into the reign of Rehoboam, and then written the Psalm though as an old man. Now, that's possible.

Dr. James Boice: Other people think that the language itself points to something far worse than that. For example, there are references to the breaking up of the city's walls, and the reduction of the King's stronghold to ruins. If you take that as literal language, and not figurative language, then that looks an awful lot like the overthrow of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar and the deportation and captivity of the last of the Davidic kings. His name was Jehoiakim. He was carried off when he was only 18 years old after a reign of only three months.

Dr. James Boice: And if that's what's being referred to, then it might be that verse 45 is speaking of this. "You've cut short the days of his youth." It's a way of saying not that he died young, but that he became, as it were, an old man while he was yet young. And that would fit Jehoiakim. And then there are views in between. One man thinks that this would fit the days of Josiah, or even Zedekiah, just before the fall of Jerusalem. But the truth of the matter is you just don't know.

Dr. James Boice: It seems to me the language is reflecting something very late, but we don't know. What we do know is that in the view of the psalmist, something had happened that was so grim that it really appeared as if God's faithfulness to the covenant had ended. Look at the language of this. How could God be faithful when the king's crown had been defiled in the dust, verse 39. The walls had been broken through, verse 40. The city plundered, verse 41. The enemies of the king exalted, verse 42. The edge of the king's sword turned back in battle. That is, they were defeated, verse 43. And his royal splendor terminated, verse 44.

Dr. James Boice: You see, if things like that had happened, you can well understand how the psalmist would say, "You've broken your covenant, and how can that be if You are the faithful God I believe You actually to be?"

Dr. James Boice: Now, what is most striking about this seventh stanza, where he's beginning to talk about what God has done, is that in this list of accusations and the phrasing of them, in every case, God is seen to be responsible. You notice that? Notice the repetition of the pronoun "You," beginning with verse 38. It's the subject of nearly every sentence in the section, 11 times, the way the New International Version has translated it. You have to read it that way, you have to emphasize it.

Dr. James Boice: "But You have rejected. You have spurned. You have been very angry with Your anointed one. You have renounced the covenant with Your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. You've broken through all the walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. You have exalted the right hand of his foes. You've made all his enemies rejoice. You have turned back the edge of the sword and have not supported him in battle. You've put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth. You have covered him with a mantle of shame."

Dr. James Boice: That's pretty heavy, isn't it? It's no wonder that you just have a *selah* at that point. We're not sure exactly what *selah* means, but it seems to be an indication of some sort of pause. Well, we had very well better pause at that point, if God has done all that, and ponder on what it is that God is actually doing. You see, the problem isn't just bad things happen. Bad things happen all the time. It may be a problem, but the real problem from the perspective of the psalmist, who is a God-honoring, believing man, is that God's responsible, ultimately.

Dr. James Boice: Doesn't mean He's the author of evil, but He surely let it happen. You see, that's the problem. The problem? Yeah, but it's part of the solution too, isn't it? Just think it through. Suppose God is not responsible. Suppose all things just happen in a random way so that some good things happened to some people and bad things too, and a lot of bad things happened to other people. Well, if that's the case, then nothing in life really has any meaning, does it?

Dr. James Boice: I mean, if you're lucky, things go well, but you might just as well not be. And if you achieve something in life, that doesn't mean anything. There's no real purpose behind it. You say, it's just all meaningless. On the other hand, if God is responsible, if God's behind it, then you might not understand what He's doing, and why should we understand what He's doing? His ways aren't our ways. He's God. We're just limited by a very, very short amount of things that we can see in a short amount of time.

Dr. James Boice: Even though we don't understand what He's doing, you can believe He does know what He's doing, and so life does have meaning. And in the greater perspective of things, even the suffering has meaning, if we suffer as those who really believe and trust God.

Dr. James Boice: Now, some are going to say, when Christians speak that way, "This is just hiding your head in the sand. You're failing to face up to reality." But actually, the contrary is true. It's people who go blithely on that are hiding their head. Christians face up to that, or should, because you see, this is not a choice between an unfounded optimism and stark reality. This is a choice between belief and despair.

Dr. James Boice: And here's the psalmist who says, "I sure don't understand what's going on, and it certainly does look like God has broken His promise." So much so that he can say, "You've done it. You've broken your promise." But nevertheless, he's addressing it to God. And so, even though he's troubled and wrestling with the thing, he faces reality with God. Makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Dr. James Boice: Now, let's look at the next stanza. We find ourselves pointed in the right direction in this final stanza, verses 46 to 51, because the appeal is focused on the question, "How long, oh Lord?" You find in verse 46, you see it. That's a common question of the saints that arises out of the problems that we go through. We look to God for deliverance, and it doesn't always come, at least not according to our timing. And so we say, "Oh God, how long will it be?" In Revelation, this is what the saints are asking God, Sixth chapter, verse 10. "How long, oh sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" These are the martyrs speaking.

Dr. James Boice: See, believers ask that question when they feel abandoned by God, when they pray and they don't get an answer or God doesn't seem to act. But their cry is in unbelief. You see, to say to God, "How long, oh Lord," is not unbelief. It's placing ourselves before Him and actually praying that He will act and act while He can still help us.

Dr. James Boice: In other words, you see, the final analysis, the saints know that the problem they're dealing with is not God's unfaithfulness, though it may seem that way, but rather God's timing, or their own perception of what He's doing. Now that gives a different slant on what we have here in this last paragraph. One of the commentators, Marvin Tate, says, based on these verses, "God is charged with having broken His covenant obligations to David by His rejection of the Davidic kingship and by giving victory to the foes of the king." Now, it's true that the language reads that way.

Dr. James Boice: Because the psalmist isn't afraid to describe to God what he actually sees. But when you realize that what he's saying is, "How long? How long is this state going to continue?" You understand that he knows at the deepest level that God has not been unfaithful, and what he's doing is waiting for God to act. Now, that's the way the final stanza goes. He asks two pleas for God to act.

Dr. James Boice: If you look at it, you'll find it falls into two halves. This is not a passive man who is writing. He wants God to do something, and furthermore, he wants God to do it now. That is while he's still alive. And so here are his pleas. First of all, the shortness of human life, verses 46 to 48. You see, he knows that God's timing is his own. When he says to God, "How long?" he knows that God will do it when He wants to do it.

Dr. James Boice: He knows that God isn't rushed. God could have a million years, a billion years, two billion years, 100 billion years. God could act whenever He wants to act, but that doesn't help him. He's just a human being, and human beings don't live very long. So he's saying, "Look, God, You can take a billion years if You want, but don't forget that I'm here, and I'm going to be dead before very long. So if I'm going to see Your faithfulness, I have to see it now." You see, that's not a bad argument with God.

Dr. James Boice: Doesn't mean that you can manipulate God that way. It's true that God will do what God will do, but you can certainly pray that way. "God, if I'm going to be able to testify to Your faithfulness, I have to see it now." And so you can ask God to act. Here's the second of his arguments. He says that God is being dishonored by His enemies, verses 49 to 51. That's the same argument that Moses used in the wilderness when God said He was going to destroy the people because of their sin in worshipping the golden calf.

Dr. James Boice: Remember, Moses pleaded for them, and one of his arguments was this, he said, "What are the Egyptians going to say? You know, You demonstrated great power there in Egypt in bringing Your people out. They believe that You're a powerful God. Now, if You destroy them in the wilderness, they're going to say, 'Well, He brought them out with evil intent. He wanted to kill them.' What kind of a God is that? He might be powerful, but who wants to follow Him?" And so he said, "Think of the witness before the world." That's not a bad argument either.

Dr. James Boice: Now, in these verses, the writer seems to combine mockery against God, mockery of the King, and mockery directed at himself. In other words, he takes this personally. Notice verses 50 and 51. "Remember, Lord, how Your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, the taunts with which Your enemies have mocked, oh Lord, with which they have mocked every step of Your anointed one." So the enemies are mocking the King and the nation and me.

Dr. James Boice: And he says, "That shouldn't be, because we're Your people, and they should be able to praise You in us." When we pray selfishly, this is not a selfish prayer, this is for the glory of God. When we pray selfishly, our prayers don't have a lot of power with God. But they do have power when we can say, as Paul did in Romans, "The insults of those who insult You have fallen on me." So now my honor, Your honor, that really is at stake.

Dr. James Boice: Now, I can't end this treatment of Psalm 89 without pointing out that Paul seems to have dealt with exactly the same thing in the Book of Romans, in that important middle section, verses 9 through 11. The situation isn't exactly the same. Paul is well aware that the faithfulness of God to His covenant with David is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the King who is sitting upon the throne of David forever and ever, who will never be shaken. He knows all of that. The problem Paul is dealing with is the fact that God is not working in his day in a great way to save many Jews. The Gospel seems to be going to the Gentiles, but the problem nevertheless is the same because it deals with the covenant.

Dr. James Boice: See, Paul says, "You made a covenant with Your people, Your nation Israel, and You don't seem to be fulfilling it." So that's what he deals with. And what he says is that in time, God is going to do it. We might say now, "How long? How long?" But in time, God will act. In time, he says, "All Israel will be saved," Romans 11:26. And the reason is that God is faithful to His covenant.

Dr. James Boice: Now, let's take that and take the lessons that Paul develops and apply them to ourselves, because we're party to a covenant as well. Theologians talk about a covenant of works. God entered into with Adam, that was broken on Adam's side by his disobedience, so that wrath, judgment, and death came upon the race, and a covenant of grace, which is established in Jesus Christ, so that those who are joined to Him by faith are now part of an eternal covenant of salvation. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you're part of that covenant.

Dr. James Boice: What that really means is that you can count on God. He's faithful, and you can count on Him, even though in any particular point in your life, there may be difficulties that God doesn't seem to be solving right now. J. I. Packer, in his very popular book *Knowing God*, lists six areas in which God doesn't change, in which we can count on Him, and it's a good summation of what this is all about. Number one, he says, "God's life doesn't change." Created things, that is, everything but God, have a beginning, and in most cases, they have an end. Not human souls, but heaven and earth are going to pass away.

Dr. James Boice: God's life isn't like that. God doesn't grow old. God doesn't mature. God doesn't get weak. God doesn't change for the better because He's already perfect, and He certainly is not going to change for the worse. Number two, God's character doesn't change. What God has declared Himself to be in the past, He still is. You know, one of the great passages in the Bible that speak of the character of God, quoted many times in the Old Testament, particularly, is Exodus 34:6 and 7.

Dr. James Boice: Moses had asked to see the face of God. God said, "You can't see My face and live, but I'll tell you this: I'll put you in a cleft of the rock. I'll cover you with My hand. I'll pass by." And as He passed by, God spoke. God revealed Himself to Moses in words. And this is what God said: "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin." And He doesn't leave the guilty unpunished. He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generations.

Dr. James Boice: Now, that's what God was like in the days of the Jewish Exodus, and that's what God is like today. God's character doesn't change. He's a righteous God, but He's a compassionate, merciful, forgiving God. If He wasn't like that, not one of us would have any hope. But you see, God holds out that mercy to those who will have it in Jesus Christ.

Dr. James Boice: Number three, God's truth does not change. What that means is that God's revelation to us in the Bible doesn't change. It doesn't become outdated. So we say, as some people do, "Well, that was then, but this is now." What God tells us then is true now because His words don't change.

Dr. James Boice: Number four, God's ways do not change. He still continues to act toward sinful men and women the way He does in the Bible, in all its stories. He shows His freedom and Lordship by discriminating between sinners, causing some to hear the Gospel, and some of those who hear it to respond. Still He blesses those on whom He sets His love in a way that humbles them, so that all the glory might go to God alone. Still He hates the sins of His people, and He uses many things to cause them to grow in grace.

Dr. James Boice: Number five, God's purposes do not change. The ups and downs of history don't frustrate God. They frustrate us, but God is the Lord of history. He knows where it's going. He's guiding it to His own appointed ends. Therefore, He always accomplishes what He has planned to do. Has He planned to bring many sons and daughters into glory through faith in Jesus Christ? Then He'll do it.

Dr. James Boice: Has He purposed to bless Israel nationally? Then it will come to pass. What God has planned in eternity, He brings about in time.

Dr. James Boice: Number six, God's Son doesn't change. That's the most blessed truth of all for Christians because we know God through Jesus Christ. And so what we find Him to be in the Gospels, we also find Him to be today. It remains true today that He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him.

Dr. James Boice: You know, when the Great Protector Oliver Cromwell was dying, in his pain and sickness at the end of his life, he became overcome with depression, and he began to wonder whether he was still in grace. He asked his chaplain that question. He said, "Tell me, is it possible to fall from grace?" His chaplain said to him, "No, it's not possible to fall from grace." Then said Cromwell, "I am safe because I know that I was once in grace. I'm the poorest wretch who ever lived, but I know that God has loved me."

Dr. James Boice: Let me give you a question from the Heidelberg Catechism. We don't refer to it often, but it's a wonderfully written document, and one of the questions is this: "What is thy only comfort in life and in death?" And then there's this classic answer: "That I with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins and redeemed me from all the power of the devil, and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head. Yea, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live under Him."

Dr. James Boice: There's one last point. In the Targums, documents written by the Jewish rabbis, the rabbis interpreted verse 51 as a reproach to God because of His delay in sending the Messiah. They said this, "He delays so long in coming that they say He will never come." They're throwing it up to God. Now, I'm not sure at all that that's what the psalmist actually intended in that verse. When he speaks of your anointed one, he probably meant the reigning or last reigning Davidic king, not the Messiah. But whether Ethan, the author of this Psalm, had the Messiah in view or not, it is certainly the case that the Messiah is the fulfillment of the covenant with David.

Dr. James Boice: And so we come to the end of this Psalm, also the end of the third of the Psalter's five books, and we're brought face to face with Jesus Christ and the promises of God that are fulfilled in Him. Do you remember that verse I mentioned, referred to briefly, the cry of the saints in Revelation, how they are saying in that Sixth chapter, the 10th verse, "How long, oh Lord, how long?" That's a cry that permeates the book. It's common among the saints, but it's very common throughout Revelation, and it's right there at the end.

Dr. James Boice: But you get to the end of Revelation and you get the answer as well, because there Jesus is speaking. And the last words of Jesus are these: "Behold, I am coming soon. My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." And the saints who at this point still don't see the end, believe it and respond, and they say, "Amen. So come, Lord Jesus."

Dr. James Boice: Now, may I point out that that's where the editor who pulled these things together had his faith, because that's the way he ends the third book. You see, here's this Psalm ending with a question of the faithfulness of God. But the editor, after he had put it in there and let it be the ending of the third book, adds the words, "Praise be to the Lord forever. Amen and Amen." And that's what you and I say as well. We don't have all the answers. How could we?

Dr. James Boice: We can't even see all the problems, let alone understand the answers. But Jesus sees the problem, and He is the answer, and He is coming again. And so we say, "Praise God," and, "Amen."

Dr. James Boice: Our Father, we do thank You for this Psalm. We thank You for the honest way it faces the problems that also confront us from time to time, and many of us a great deal. We thank You for the faith of the psalmist. We're told in Scripture that the faith is shared from faith to faith, that is, the strong faith of one to the weaker faith of another. And so we pray that You will bless this Psalm to that end. That as we have studied it, and as we meditate upon it the rest of this day and throughout the week, You may bring blessing to many hearts.

Dr. James Boice: Not necessarily by resolving the problems that we face, but by lifting our hearts and minds to rest in Your character, Your faithfulness, and Your grace. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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