“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens” (vs1-2).
God has done great and mighty things for us, saving us from sin, destroying the enemy's power, and giving us the inheritance that we haven't earned (vs5-18). He says, “O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them. You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.” He has moved towards us in holy grace, conquered our unbelief, and He has revealed Himself to us in saving power, all for Jesus Christ's sake, rewarding us for His Son's obedience and in faithfulness to Him. We bless, praise, and honor God's name for this reason: He is our Savior, He overcame our foes, and He will be with us to the end.
This covenant is for a particular people - predetermined by God whom He purposed to save - and nothing shall ever altar His plan; it's His glory that He predetermines a people, saves them by blood, and brings us through unto the end ENTIRELY by His own power, His own faithfulness, and His doing for us BEFORE we do for Him. He says, “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to my servant David: Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations”. He is the Giver of grace, and grace precedes repentance and faith. Grace is the essential source where every blessing comes from! This love, this blood redemption, this covenant fulfilling God, is the cause of unceasing praise (Eph 1:3). He alone has saved us, destroyed the foes of sin and Satan, and He is praiseworthy continually. Bless His name FOR salvation!
Secondly, there is One chosen among the people, and His name is Jesus Christ, and He is the reason that we're saved, because God has exalted, loved, and blessed us in Him (vs19-29). It reads, “Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, and said: I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found My servant David; with My holy oil I have anointed him, with whom My hand shall be established; also My arm shall strengthen him”. He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and He is the mediator of the covenant, the One by whom we're blessed.
Christ's perfect obedience is the relationship with God that we need. Many think that God just loves people and wants to bless us, but they don't understand His utter holiness. When Adam sinned, the world was cursed, and babies were born subject to death, already depraved and OFFENSIVE to God (Rom 5:14). When the angels sinned, they were cast down to darkness, never to hear ONE WORD of mercy toward them. Sodom and Gomorrah, the world in the days of Noah, and the destruction of the Israelites as favored nation, all prove that God is holy, and only by the holiness of Christ... by someone OUTSIDE of us and apart from us... can God be just to save.
You are not saved because you keep up your end of the bargain, but continually, faith brings us to Christ as why we're saved, and then it acts accordingly. But, actions without faith are self-righteous, self-serving, and will not be received by Holy God (Heb 11:6). We must have faith in Christ as why God will give the blessing, and then by faith, we live in expectation of heaven to come. Don't put your obedience or merit on the scale with Christ, but see Him entirely as the reason you're favored, and you'll always have refuge in the storm.
Finally, we fail and falter, but God's with us still (vs30-37). He says, “If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, if they break My statues and do not keep My commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.” We have hardships and suffer punishment for our sins in chastening love, but the Father and son relationship we have will never be removed for Christ's sake. He is the reason God LOVES and saves you.
He chose you in Christ before the world began, and you're accepted in the Beloved. He didn't wait on us to get right, but He SAVED us (Titus 3:3-5). Now, even when we're wrong, He will not break the covenant, because the covenant is unbreakable!! Bless the Lord's name. We're chastened, and many prove to be bastards instead of sons, but God's TRUE elect, those real saints of God who trust Christ amidst our sinfulness, will never, no never be cast away. He says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. (Is 43:1-2). Our hope is the faithfulness of Christ to God, and God's faithfulness to us because of Him, and this is unbreakable, able to endure chastening, and belief producing amidst the storms. If I could depart from Christ and break the covenant, if I could cause God to repent of His love, then I’d be unloved for certain, as would everyone of us. But, the unbreakable bond is kept up by Him, so that even when my heart is cold, and I’ve had seasons of near departure, He's kept me in line for Christ's sake.
Brethren, praise and honor God for your salvation because it is FAITHFUL and sure, based upon Christ, and in covenant terms that will never crack or falter! He will love you to the end and bless you, and if you believe the promise is good because of Christ, then it is yours, and so is the security of knowing you're on God's side forever.
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