Psalm 89:35-37

Psalm 89:35-37 35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: 36 His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me; 37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

”Once I have sworn by My holiness” God says. Think about that for a moment – God has put His holiness on the line for the preservation of David’s line. Can we comprehend what that means? God is not just a little holy, He is completely holy! I do not think that we can grasp that concept this side of eternity, we cannot comprehend someone who is completely righteous and whose motives are undeniably pure.

For God to swear by His holiness is for Him to swear by Himself alone. If God were not holy he would not be God. In essence what God is saying is that by everything that He is He will keep His own word. He will not go against himself. Think of the truths that we can claim as Christians because God has said that it is so! There is no safer place for us to be than included in His covenant. His promise to David was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus and can be passed along to Christians by our addition into God’s family. Look at Romans 8:16-17:

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

We have been adopted into the royal family and as such we can lay claim to all the promises about our security that God has given.

The psalmist continues saying that David’s throne “shall be established forever like the moon”. I like that thought, C.H. Spurgeon says about God’s kingdom ”The kingdom may wax and wane to mortal eyes, but it shall still abide as long as the moon walks in her silver beauty.”. Think about the phases of the moon for a moment. As we watch it progress through the sky we see it progress from full to dark. No matter what phase the moon is in we can be assured it is still there. The moon also does not have its own light, it reflects the glory of the sun. As it progresses through its cycle we see less and less of that glory reflected upon us.

Think for a second on how these truths are symbolic of the Church. She has also gone through periods where she reflected God’s glory in a mighty way and was visible for all the world to see. She has also, because of her sin, been so dim that the world thought she had perhaps passed away. True to His word, God has always preserved a remnant for Himself however and His church still stands today (See Ezekiel 6:8)

Jesus says in Matthew 16:18 “…on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”. There is nothing that can stand against His church no matter how bleak the times may seem. If you are in a period in your church or in your walk where the moon is dark – don’t lose hope. God is still working to bring about His will and has not forsaken His beloved (See Ephesians 5:25-29)

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all…