THY GLORY IS THEIR STRENGTH

In our readings today, we see the perfect balance between the promises, the warnings and the mercy of God. The promises of God are based on His power, that is, His ability to fulfil them. The warnings of God are based on His holiness, but His mercy is always available to complement them. It is this mercy that we are solely dependent upon.

The character of David’s throne was to be derived from that of God’s throne, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne; mercy and truth shall go before thy face”, v. 14. The king and people who followed these principles and relied on God for their strength and defence were assured of continued joy and blessing, v. 16. “For thou art the glory of their strength”, v. 17. Reliance on God, publicly expressed, brings glory to Him.

The specific blessings promised to David are enumerated in verses 19-29. They culminate in verse 27, where David is made “firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth”. We see here an interesting and instructive example of the important word “firstborn”, which does not mean born first, but rather to be preeminent in a certain sphere. This is followed by the restatement of God’s promised faithfulness to the Davidic dynasty, vv. 28, 29.

Human responsibility immediately follows the divine promise, “If his (David’s) children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes”, vv. 30-32. However, God goes on to say that “my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail”, v. 33.

Our blessings came about by our association with God’s Firstborn, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we have seen, “firstborn” emphasizes supremacy. The Lord Jesus’ supremacy over all things arises from His position in relation to creation and resurrection, being firstborn of both, Col. 1. 15, 18.

Our blessings are thus assured because, even if we are unfaithful, “he abideth faithful”, 2 Tim. 2. 13. However, like unfaithful Israel, we too can be visited “with the rod”, for “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth”, Heb. 12. 6.