Psalm 89:1-4
1 Your love, O Lord, forever will I sing;
from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.
2 For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever;
you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.
3 “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your line for ever,
and preserve your throne for all generations.'”
What does it mean to say we are chosen? What does is mean when God seeks a man out for a covenant relationship with himself? This is a core question when we talk about our faith.
One of the gravest misunderstandings, even if we don’t say it out loud, is that God chooses people on the basis of something that we bring to offer him. We need only look at the great chosen line of kings in the Bible to understand that is not the case.
The covenant that God swore to David might be the greatest act of “choosing” that could be bestowed on any person. Who was David? He was but youngest son and an obscure shepherd. There were countless thousands of young shepherds throughout the world during David’s day. So why did God choose David to be king? Why did God furthermore choose to establish David’s throne FOREVER? Was it because all of David’s descendants were the best kings? Just read the books of Kings to answer that question.
Psalm 89 establishes the basis for God’s choosing- GOD. God is forever, he is faithful, and he is love. That’s why he chooses. HIS character, not ours. And think about the blessing that God bestowed upon David. To be the ancestor of the Greater King whose kingdom would be established through a cross and an empty tomb.
When considering how and why God chooses, let it be an occasion to reflect on the character of God, his faithfulness, and his love. You will never rationalize it by what you see in yourself, but you will rejoice at what you see in God.
- Why does the Psalmist have confidence in God?
- How does worship fuel confidence in God?
- Do you think David in his heart felt unworthy of his choosing?
- Do you think Jesus’ earthly mother and father felt unworthy in their choosing?
- How can we worship and revel in God’s character in spite of…..or because of….our own feelings of unworthiness?