Psalm 89:15 15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance. Let’s build off the thought from the previous post, we left the discussion talking of God’s mercy and truth and how they apply to our eternal security when compared to His power. Let’s look a little closer at verse 14 which says ”Mercy and truth go before Your face”. Spurgeon refers to mercy and truth as the “harbingers and heralds of the Lord” or in other words, they announce God’s approach.
That seems to track in the verse doesn’t it? The Psalmist has built his case for the power and glory of the Lord and has just come to the place where God is completely holy and completely just. Those two truths taken together leave us in the place of judgment because of our sin. But before we are left only with the judgment we hear the Lord’s heralds, Mercy and Truth, announcing His coming.
No wonder verse 15 starts with Blessed! If you look closely you’ll notice that the verse says “know the joyful sound”, why is that important? There is an important difference between “hearing” and “knowing”. All of creation may hear the sound of God’s arrival but it is only those who know Him that will recognize the sound for what it is.
Let me explain… WARNING!!! BAD ILLUSTRATION AHEAD!!!! WARNING!!! I grew up in a rural setting and had never heard the melodic sound of an ice-cream truck (no kidding – I grew up as a country bumpkin). When I was a married adult living with my wife and kids in the suburbs I remember the first time I heard the truck coming down the street. I thought somebody had lost their mind and was playing some pretty strange music, but when I went outside to see what was going on you can imagine my surprise. I partook of the manna that is a “Rocket Pop” and you can be sure I listened for the strains of that music with a different ear. You see I had experienced the goodness of the truck and knew that there was going to be something good when it pulled in front of my house.
The same principle applies to the Christian. We have heard His voice and we have learned that he is wonderful! Look at Jesus’ words in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” We do not respond in fear when we hear of the Lord’s approach, instead our souls cry “Hosanna!” when He is near because we have tasted the Lord and know that He is good. Our Lord has called us from a world of sin and has given us rest. We know His voice when we hear it and rejoice when He is near.
The Psalmist goes on to say that His people walk “in the light of Your countenance”. What a wonderful thought. How close would you have to be to someone to walk in the light of their face? You’d have to be right beside them wouldn’t you? Is there a more blessed place to be than right next to the Lord basking in His glory? Think about it for a second, if we walk closer with the Father than our propensity to sin is going to decrease because His light will continue to burn away all the darkness of our soul.
Pray that I draw closer to my Lord and continue to delight in His heralds and I’ll do the same for you…
Psalm 89:13-14 13 You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face. (NKJV) In the last post we discussed the fact that God owns everything and is everywhere. Today we’re going to discuss His power and try to wrap everything up in a tight little bow before we move on to the next point.
Mighty arm and strong…hand both are symbolic of God’s strength. Think for a moment of the strength that is at God’s command. With just words He spoke all of creation into existence. There is none greater than Him and there is none that can stand against Him when He decides to move.
In the previous verses of this Psalm the Psalmist lays out some of his attributes. No one can compare to Him (vs 6), He is to be feared (vs7), He rules creation (vs 9), He owns creation (vs 11) and He is all powerful (vs 13). If that is all that we knew about God and were to stop at that point we would be left in a most miserable state. Human experience has taught us that the most powerful among us are usually the most cruel, when no one can question or stand against man he becomes a despot. Not so with God.
Look at His attributes as described in vs 14 of this Psalm: Righteous – God is perfectly holy, Justice – God is completely fair, Mercy – God is rich in mercy, Truth – God cannot lie. With the power that is at God’s command we will suffer if we stop after any one of these attributes, see if my thought tracks below.
God’s Holiness compared to ours –> man is doomed because of his sin. We cannot meet a perfect standard
God’s Holiness + God’s Justice –> God’s judgment of our life is perfectly fair and we rightfully deserve whatever punishment He decrees.
God’s Holiness + God’s Justice + God’s Mercy -> We are still left in a place of insecurity because even if God is merciful and reduces our punishment the chance of falling out of His favor still exists.
God’s Holiness + God’s Justice + God’s Mercy + God’s Truth -> The best place for us to be. Look back at vs 3 for a second, God says ”I have made a covenant with my chosen…”. God has made a commitment to His people and that commitment will not be broken because God is truthful. Because God is truthful we can claim all of the wonderful promises in the Bible about our eternal security. We can rest in the comfort of knowing that if we repent and confess that He will always forgive us (see 1 John 1:9), we can also know that once we are His we are always His (see John 10:28-29).
The theme behind this psalm is the covenant that God has established with David. God will keep his end of the deal because He is God. There is nothing we can do to stand against His will and there is nothing we can do to separate ourselves from Him once we are his (see Romans 8:31-39)
Psalm 89:12 12 The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. (KJV)In the last post we talked about God creating heaven and earth. Verse 12 continues in the thought that all of creation belongs to God. North and south go without explanation, Tabor is a mountain west of the Jordan river and Hermon is a mountain to the east. So in essence the Psalmist is saying ,”Wherever you are and wherever you look the Lord is there”.
God’s omnipresence is at the same time a very comforting and very disturbing thought. It is comforting from the point that no matter where you go, He is there. Psalm 33:18 says “Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;”. His watchful eye is always on his beloved children wherever they travel. This thought is also disturbing for the very same reason, He is always with us. He is with us when we are angry toward another person without cause, He is with us when we think lustful thoughts, He is with us when we commit any multitude of sins which is why it is comforting to know that he looks upon all of us with mercy. Let us be ever mindful that God is continually with us.
”Rejoice in thy name” the psalmist says. All of creation rejoices at the name of the Lord. Paul in Romans 8:22 tells us that all of creation groans like a woman in labor, why wouldn’t it? Creation was corrupted by the entering of sin into the world and this cancer continues to eat away at it slowly each day. All of creation rejoices when it feels the Lord’s presence because it knows that deliverance and mercy is only a word away. The same truth applies to the soul of man that longs to find meaning outside of God. We run from Him, we deny Him, we want nothing to do with Him; for those that are His a question… How much did we rejoice when God breathed life into our spirits?
Rejoice in the truth that God is ever with you. You are never truly alone…
Psalm 89:11 11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them. (NKJV)Look at the two things that the Psalmist says belong to God. The heavens and the earth.
Spurgeon says in The Treasury of David that we are to look at God’s possession of heaven as the model of His possession of the earth. Let us think for a moment on what Heaven must be like but let’s leave the streets of gold, glorified bodies, halos and harps out for a second. What must it be like to be in the presence of the Almighty God?
First, His will is perfectly done. Imagine that truth for a second, God’s will perfectly executed. We talked a couple of weeks ago about how the angels watch the face of God for command to go and assist his people (Matthew 18:10). What a wonderful thought! His will is never questioned or ignored – it is simply done. If that is the model of how it is to be here on earth we are sorely lacking.
Second, in heaven His presence is not veiled. He is seen in His glory by all who are in His presence. No wonder the angels do not question Him. They are too enamored by His beauty and holiness and majesty to even consider questioning Him. What a marvelous thing to be in His presence! As the hymn says “when we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing His praise than when we’ve first begun”. We will never tire of being in His presence.
Third, there is no decay in heaven. Sin isn’t there so none of its ravages are there either. No tears, no bloodshed, no inequity, no injustice, just God’s goodness being poured out to all who are there. Again – the thought is too much for us to imagine.
If God’s possession of heaven is to be the model of His possession of the earth than we have so much work to do. We can work to insure that His will is done here on earth as Jesus told us to pray in Matthew 5. We can “unveil” his presence in our lives, living each moment in the knowledge that God is with us every waking moment. We can repent of the sin in our own lives to minimize its effect and then we can spread God’s message of repentance to the rest of mankind.
The task sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Let’s not worry because the psalmist also tells us “You have founded them”. Creation not only belongs to God – it was made by Him. He has all the power that we need. We can rest in the knowledge that He will enable us to do anything that He asks us to do. What does Jesus say at the end of Matthew? “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” That should be enough to spur us on to do great things for Him.
Here are the scriptures that I quoted from this past Sunday morning. All text is taken from the New King James Version of the bible… Bro. Jeff
The Prophets and The Apostles said:
Isaiah 9:6 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
John 1:1-3 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Colossians 2:8-10 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Titus 2:11-14 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Hebrews 13:8 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
1 John 5:20 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Jesus Said:
Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen
John 14:9-11 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
John 10:25-30 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.26 “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.30 “I and My Father are one.”
Revelation 1:8 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John 8:54-59 54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.55 “Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
John 20:28-29 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Mark 14:61-64 61 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?64 “You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.
John 5:17-18 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
