The Faithfulness of God…….

“I know, O LORD, that Your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. Let Your steadfast love comfort me according to Your promise to Your servant. ”                                                                                                   Psalms 119:75-76

• Psalm 119:90  “Your faithfulness is to all generations; You have founded the earth, and it remains.”
• Psalm 89:8  “O Jehovah, the God of Hosts, who is a strong Jehovah like You? And Your faithfulness is round about You?”
• 2 Thessalonians 3:3  “But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you and guard you from the evil.”
• 1 Peter 4:19   “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing, as to a faithful Creator. “

 

“I know, O LORD, that Your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me….”

There’s nothing worse than knowing you did something wrong and not admitting it.  Sadly, we are living in a world where doing what is wrong and right have become a gray area in the way we deal with each other.

We might think we get away with doing wrong but little by little it begins to corrupt the way you think, the way you behave.   On the other hand, in regards to our relationship with God, we cannot get away with wrong doing for long, because He has given us wisdom through His Word on how we are to behave before Him.

If we count ourselves as His children, He will work in and work out all He desires to see more of Himself in us.  That means that when we as believers do wrong before Him, we will be chastised by Him, in mercy and and kindness.

The Psalmist has undergone a great testing by God but in the chastisement he never lost hope under his trial.   “I know”  He avows the strong conviction of his wrong an confesses that he had been justly and wisely chastened.  “Your rules are righteous” .

Before this trial, he knew but now he knows. He was absolutely positive about it and speaks without a second’s hesitation.    It was not because God was unfaithful that he found himself in this tough time, but the opposite…..it was the faithfulness of God to His own covenant which brought this ‘Chosen One’ under the rod.   It became necessary  and therefore the LORD did not withold the blessing.

‘“And Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who gathered at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings by all the people.  No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear. You make Jehovah’s people to transgress.    If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sins against Jehovah, who shall plead for him? But they did not listen to the voice of their father, because Jehovah desired to kill them.  1 Samuel 2:22-25

Eli was a Levite Priest who had two sons, and is an example of what happens when we know we are doing wrong in God’s eyes and not doing anything about it.  Eli was a bad father to his sons because he let them get away with the profane things his sons were doing bringing shame to God.

The awful thing is that everyone else knew about all this.  Eli, not only hurt himself, his sons, by not disciplining them timely, he hurt the congregation. This opened up a door for the enemy to try and divide the people by seeing that God was favoring Eli and was willing to turn his eyes away from this evil.

Wrong. God governs the lives of his people justly, and even though He is long-suffering;  eventually His discipline will come, for the good.   God is no Eli,  He will not suffer His children to sin, without rebuke.  God’s love is too intense for that.

“Let Your steadfast love comfort me” 

Having confessed the righteousness of the Lord, he now appeals to God’s Mercy.  Righteousness and Faithfulness are one of the banners we come to appreciate in a loving Father.

Merciful- Kindness is exactly what we need when we are in this kind of trial.  Notice the Psalmist didn’t “ask out” of this chastisement.  He asks for God’s comfort while he is in the trial.   God continues to give us what we need in that trial.  He shows us that He gives mercy to forgive our sins, and kindness to sustain us while we’re in the trial.

“According to Your promise to Your servant”

This is my absolute part of this verse,  “according to Your promise, according to Your Word”   The motive for God’s mercy, and the manner of mercy.

Our prayers are according to the mind of God when they are according to the Word of God.   In other words, when we read through our Bibles daily, we knowingly  or in most cases unknowingly store away a vast amount of who God is, and what and why He does what he does in our lives.   When we agree that His decisions are the best for us, we are living according to the mind of God.   His word with His Spirit brings the necessary conviction by the Holy Spirit when we begin to stray away.  God brings the necessary disciplines to conform our thinking according to His Word.   That is why David wrote in Psalm 139:7-12

• “Where shall I go from Your Spirit or where shall I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend up to heaven, You are there: if I make my bed in hell, behold You are there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttemost parts of the sea: even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.   If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.  Yea, the darkness cannot hide from You, but the night shines as day: the darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

“I can see now, God, that your decisions are right; Your testing has taught me what’s true and right.  Oh, love me—and right now!—hold me tight!  Just the way you promised.”

How about you today, are you in the middle of a “good old fashion” chastisement by God?  Remember that God “chastises those whom He loves”  That you might experience His Merciful Kindness.   Why not go before Him today and ask Him to “search and see if there be any wicked way in me”.    Ultimately, you might get away with it with people; but with God all things are visible, and since He motivated by His love for you, He won’t let you get away with it.

Here’s today’s Video: