Psalms Of Faith And Doubt In Ancient Times
69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them. (NIV)
The psalm ends with David crowned king, and a reminder that all of the tribes, north and south, were subject to David’s rule. Through King David, God brought peace and prosperity to his people in their promised land. Every promise that God ever made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were fulfilled in the reigns of David and his son Solomon except for the coming of the Messiah himself, which was fulfilled in Jesus.
But even when the Messiah came, the people kept falling away, as they always had. The Psalm does not mention the divided kingdom directly, and may have been written before the division, but those terrible days saw unspeakable blasphemies and sacrilege committed by the people of Israel and Judah. The great prophets were called by God in those days, and so the word of the Lord flourished as God called out to his people again and again, but almost all of those great prophets were murdered by the very people to whom they were sent, to proclaim the word of the Lord (1 Kings 19:1; Luke 11:47-48; 1 Thessalonians 2:15).
And still today people reject Jesus Christ. Modern Jews in Jerusalem bicker about whether to build the temple once again or not—they would rather go on sacrificing sheep than trust the God who brought sacrifice to an end. “Christ…has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).
There is no hope for anyone who wants to return to the law of Moses; they would be condemning themselves to eternal damnation by rejecting Christ. Whether Jew or Seventh Day Adventist or anyone else, returning to Moses and Mount Sinai means leaving Mount Zion, and that means death. “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’ Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Galatians 3:10-11). And Paul went on to say, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Galatians 3:13-14).
Lord, Keep us steadfast in your word. Remind us of the indescribable blessings you have given us through your Son Jesus. Forgive us our sins, and keep our eyes fixed on the cross today and always. Let us see the world through the lens of the cross, and regard the whole world as forgiven sinners who need to be told about their Savior and ours: Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
