Dave's Diary

Dily Readings: 2 Samuel 13 and Psalm 89

God had promised David that his kingdom would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:16). Yet, after sinning the way he had, David must surely have known that he did not deserve this kind of goodness and favour. As the events of chapter 13 unfolded, he must have realised that his sons were just as sinful as he was and that they too were utterly undeserving of carrying God’s favour to the next generation. So Psalm 89 comes at the right moment for us, as a powerful reminder that God’s promises stand firm because of God’s own goodness and not David’s (or that of his descendants).

As he reminds us of God’s promise to David (Psalm 89:4), Ethan the Psalmist declares: “I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm for ever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.” (v.1-2) Again and again in this lovely Psalm he sings of God’s faithfulness as the foundation of David’s kingdom (v.5, 8, 14, 24, 33). As we approach the end of the Psalm, the tough questions begin. We realise that Ethan must have been writing a good few generations after David’s death, when the sins of the nation had caught up with them and they had been taken into exile. The kingdom appeared to have been utterly destroyed and it seemed that God’s promise to David had failed. Yet, even in the face of this apparent “end of the kingdom”, Ethan’s Psalm prays to the LORD for rescue, relying on His great and never-failing faithfulness and love. God, he rightly believed, will never forsake His covenant. His word of promise will never fail. So this must be a temporary setback! And he is able to end the Psalm on a note of triumph: Praise the Lord!

Heavenly Father, I trust in Your unfailing love and faithfulness. No matter what happens in my life today, please help me to lean completely on Your promises and presence in my life. Come Holy Spirit and strengthen my faith so that, like Ethan, even in the darkest moments of apparent failure, my hope may be firmly set on You. Amen.