Standing On The Promises

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 18
Focus: Psalm 18:30

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”

As you read tPsalm 18, which is a fairly lengthy psalm, your eyes will likely be drawn to verse 30. Initially it will seem that David’s words here are an abrupt, although delightful, departure from the rest of the psalm. At first blush, it seems that David has taken a side-bar to attest to the inspiration and veracity of Scripture. Yet upon further review, this verse is in complete unity with the rest of the psalm, simply and succinctly verifying David’s testimony of God’s faithfulness to him.

The title of the song at first seems to suggest that David penned these words after a Divinely orchestrated deliverance from King Saul’s insane jealousy and murderous rage. However, the internal evidence of the psalm indicates that this is really a retrospective on the faithfulness of God over the course of David’s life in fulfilling the promise to establish David as king over an everlasting dynasty in place of Saul. (See II Samuel 7:8-16)

In looking back, David reflects that even though the road he has travelled to kingship has been rocky, to say the least, and at times, the success of his journey certainly hung in the balance, yet at the end of the day, at the end of each day, God had been faithful to David. God had kept him. God had delivered him. God had exalted him. And now, David offers this wonderful song of praise that recognizes the many qualities of God that has made him worthy of David’s praise.

Then we come to that wonderful verse, verse 30, where David’s worship takes on an increased volume of heartfelt praise as he sings in effect, “Yes, the promises of God have proved to be true and trustworthy. Every word he has spoken over me has been flawlessly fulfilled. I can count on his word; I can stand on his promises. With God, I am on safe and secure ground.”

Of course, what David said of the words of God (see Psalm 12:6, 30:5) is also true of the Word of God. In the next psalm, Psalm 19:7-9, David proclaims,

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.

The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.

Now here’s the deal: What was true for David is true for you. The Word of God is as true today as it was in David’s day. And out of God’s Word, through your time of prayer and refection upon it, God will speak to you as he did David (remember, it will always be in line with his written Word), and give you a word specific to the circumstances you face. And you can depend on God’s word in those times to be flawless as well. God’s promises to you are certain.

__________________

“God is not silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second person of the Holy Trinity is called ‘The Word.’ (A.W. Tower)

 

Making Life Work: Are you standing on the promises of God? Are you claiming his word? Are you leaning into his Eternal Word? David would say to you, “You can depend on God’s Word—and his word. And of all people, I would know.”

A Promise Made—A Promise Kept

Read Psalm 89

Featured Verse: Psalm 89:34

“I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.”

God makes promises…and he keeps them.

We ought to be grateful for that! You and I are alive today—saved, forgiven, adopted into God’s family, walking daily in an intimate relationship with Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit for good works, destined for an eternity full of unending purpose and indescribable fulfillment—only by virtue of God’s faithfulness to his promise.

The fact that God makes a promise guarantees he will keep that promise.

Yet that has not been true of our earthly experience, has it? We have been made promises only to have them broken. Parents, friends, teachers, bosses, politicians, preachers, and even our spouses—all have made promises, and chances are, most, if not all, have failed to deliver on their guarantees. In the realm of human relationships, our experience has taught us that a promise made is not necessarily a promise kept.

And we, ourselves, have made promises only to break them before the ink dried on our guarantee.

Not so with God. He makes covenants, and because he is a covenantly faithful God, he will do what he has promised to do. Even though we may fail him—and suffer the consequences of our failure, either through Divine punishment or natural outcomes, or both—God will stay true to his promise. (Psalm 89:30-37) God cannot help himself. Psalm 89:35 reminds us,

Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David-

No, God will not lie to David, nor will God lie to you. Of course this psalm is specifically referring to God’s covenantal promise to King David, but it should be generally applied to God’s covenantal promise to all who are his people by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s me, and that’s you, and that’s a very good thing!

So here’s the deal: Even though the people around your may fail to keep their end of the bargain, and though you may not always follow through with what you have said you would do, you can relax with God—he will always come through for you.

Guaranteed!

“God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises; leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.”
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Standing On The Promises

Read Psalm 18

Featured Verse: Psalm 18:30

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”

As you read the fairly lengthy Psalm 18, your eyes will likely be drawn to verse 30.  Initially it will seem that David’s words here are an abrupt, although delightful, departure from the rest of the psalm.  At first blush, it seems that David has taken a side-bar to attest to the inspiration and veracity of Scripture. Yet upon further review, this verse is in complete unity with the rest of the psalm, simply and succinctly verifying David’s testimony of God’s faithfulness to him.

The title of the song at first seems to suggest that David penned these words after a Divinely orchestrated deliverance from King Saul’s insane jealousy and murderous rage.  However, the internal evidence of the psalm indicates that this is really a retrospective on the faithfulness of God over the course of David’s life in fulfilling the promise to establish David as king over an everlasting dynasty in place of Saul.  (See II Samuel 7:8-16)

In looking back, David reflects that even though the road he has traveled to kingship has been rocky, to say the least, and at times, the success of his journey certainly hung in the balance, yet at the end of the day, at the end of each day, God had been faithful to David. God had kept him.  God had delivered him. God had exalted him.  And now, David offers this wonderful song of praise that recognizes the many qualities of God that has made him worthy of David’s praise.

Then we come to wonderful verse, verse 30, where David’s worship takes on an increased volume of heartfelt praise as he sings in effect, “Yes, the promises of God have proved to be true and trustworthy. Every word he has spoken over me has been flawlessly fulfilled.  I can count on his word; I can stand on his promises.  With God, I am on safe and secure ground.”

Of course, what David said of the words of God (see Psalm 12:6, 119:160) is also true of the Word of God. In the next psalm, Psalm 19:7-9, David proclaims,

  • The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
  • The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
  • The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
  • The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
  • The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
  • The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.

Now here’s the deal:  What was true for David is true for you.  The Word of God is as true today as it was in David’s day.  And out of God’s Word, through your time of prayer and refection upon it, God will speak to you as he did David (remember, it will always be in line with his written Word), and give you a word specific to the circumstances you face.  And you can depend on God’s word in those times to be flawless as well. God’s promises to you are certain.

Are you standing on the promises of God?  Are you claiming his word?  Are you leaning into his Eternal Word?  David would say to you, “You can depend on God’s Word—and his word.  And of all people, I would know.”

“God is not silent.  It is the nature of God to speak.
The second person of the Holy Trinity is called ‘The Word.’”
—A.W. Tozer

A Promise Made Is A Promise Kept

Joshua 21:1-24:33

A Promise Made Is A Promise Kept

Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel
was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.
Joshua 21:45

Go Deep: A certain Bible scholar has pointed out that God has made over 6,000 promises to us in the Bible.  Some of those promises are universal in nature—all believers anytime and anywhere who are walking in obedience to his commands can claim them.  Other promises are quite specific to certain people at certain times, and the Holy Spirit reveals them to us through prayer and the study of God’s Word in response to situations that arise in our lives.

Whether God’s promises are universal or personal, what we are taught over and over again in the Bible, including this verse in Joshua, is that God is a promise maker, and more importantly, God is a promise keeper.  The fact is, God has never broken a promise—not even one!  I can’t say that about me, and you probably can’t say that about you, but we can say that with complete certainty about God.  With him, a promise made is a promise kept.

When I was a little kid in Sunday School, we would often sing a song about God’s promises that went something like this:

Every promise in the Book is mine
Every chapter, every verse, every line.
I am standing on his Word Divine,
Every promise in the Book is mine!

Over 6,000 promises—and he will bring every single one of them to pass.  A few of those promises are for you.  Which one are you “standing” on, as the little song goes?

That he will forgive all your sins? (Psalm 103:3)

That he will supply all of your needs? (Philippians 4:19)

That he will never leave you or forsake you? (Hebrews 13:5)

That he will give you Divine wisdom for your lack of human understanding? (James 1:5)

That he will turn all of your circumstances to your good and for his glory? (Romans 8:28)

What is your area of concern?  There is a promise that covers it, so look it up in God’s Word.  Fulfill your end of the promise—that’s the big caveat here—and then rest in God’s proven character.  With him a promise made is a promise kept, so you can expect that “God will perfect everything that concerns you.” (Psalm 138:8, NKJV)

Just Saying… Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian who was martyred by the Nazis toward the end of World War II, said, “God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises…leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.”

Psalm 89: Promises

Read Psalm 89:1-52

A Promise Made—A Promise Kept

I will not violate my covenant or alter
what my lips have uttered.
(Psalm 89:34)

God makes promises. And he keeps them.

We ought to be grateful for that! You and I are alive today—saved, forgiven, adopted into God’s family, walking daily in an intimate relationship with Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit for good works, destined for an eternity full of unending purpose and indescribable fulfillment—only by virtue of God’s faithfulness to his promise.

The fact that God makes a promise guarantees he will keep that promise.

Yet that has not been our earthly experience, has it? We have been made promises only to have them broken. Parents, friends, teachers, bosses, politicians, preachers, and even our spouses—all have made promises, and chances are, most, if not all, have failed to deliver on their guarantees. In the realm of human relationships, our experience has taught us that a promise made is not necessarily a promise kept.

And we, ourselves, have made promises only to break them before the ink dried on our guarantee.

Not so with God. He makes covenants, and because he is a covenantly faithful God, he will do what he has promised to do. Even though we may fail him—and suffer the consequences of our failure, either through Divine punishment or natural outcomes, or both—God will stay true to his promise. (Psalm 89:30-37) God cannot help himself. Psalm 89:35 reminds us,

Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David-

No, God will not lie to David, nor will God lie to you. Of course this psalm is specifically referring to God’s covenantal promise to King David, but it should be generally applied to God’s covenantal promise to all who are his people by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s me, and that’s you, and that’s a very good thing!

So here’s the deal: Even though the people around your may fail to keep their end of the bargain, and though you may not always follow through with what you have said you would do, you can relax with God—he will always come through for you.

Guaranteed!

“God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises;
leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.”
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Psalm 18: Standing On The Promises

Read Psalm 18

Standing On The Promises

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”
Psalm 18:30

As you read this fairly long psalm, your eyes will likely be drawn to verse 30.  Initially it will seem that David’s words here are an abrupt, although delightful, departure from the rest of the psalm.  At first blush, it seems that David has taken a side-bar to attest to the inspiration and veracity of Scripture. Yet upon further review, this verse is in complete unity with the rest of the psalm, simply and succinctly verifying David’s testimony of God’s faithfulness to him.

The title of the song at first seems to suggest that David penned these words after a Divinely orchestrated deliverance from King Saul’s insane jealousy and murderous rage.  However, the internal evidence of the psalm indicates that this is really a retrospective on the faithfulness of God over the course of David’s life in fulfilling the promise to establish David as king over an everlasting dynasty in place of Saul.  (See II Samuel 7:8-16)

In looking back, David reflects that even though the road he has travelled to kingship has been rocky, to say the least, and at times, the success of his journey certainly hung in the balance, yet at the end of the day, at the end of each day, God had been faithful to David. God had kept him.  God had delivered him. God had exalted him.  And now, David offers this wonderful song of praise that recognizes the many qualities of God that has made him worthy of David’s praise.

Then we come to wonderful verse, verse 30, where David’s worship takes on an increased volume of heartfelt praise as he sings in effect, “Yes, the promises of God have proved to be true and trustworthy. Every word he has spoken over me has been flawlessly fulfilled.  I can count on his word; I can stand on his promises.  With God, I am on safe and secure ground.”

Of course, what David said of the words of God (see Psalm 12:6, 30:5) is also true of the Word of God. In the next psalm, Psalm 19:7-9, David proclaims,

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.

The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.

Now here’s the deal:  What was true for David is true for you.  The Word of God is as true today as it was in David’s day.  And out of God’s Word, through your time of prayer and refection upon it, God will speak to you as he did David (remember, it will always be in line with his written Word), and give you a word specific to the circumstances you face.  And you can depend on God’s word in those times to be flawless as well. God’s promises to you are certain.

Are you standing on the promises of God?  Are you claiming his word?  Are you leaning into his Eternal Word?  David would say to you, “You can depend on God’s Word—and his word.  And of all people, I would know.”

“God is not silent.  It is the nature of God to speak.
The second person of the Holy Trinity is called ‘The Word.’”
—A.W. Tozer