October 26, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Faith and Doubt

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Eternal God, I come before You now because You occupy such a special place in my life. I am open to Your truth.

Read Psalm 89:1-52

For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.

[1] A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. [2] I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself. [3] You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, [4] ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'” [5] The heavens praise your wonders, LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. [6] For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? [7] In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. [8] Who is like you, LORD God Almighty? You, LORD, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. [9] You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. [10] You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. [11] The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. [12] You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. [13] Your arm is endowed with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. [14] Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. [15] Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD. [16] They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness. [17] For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. [18] Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel. [19] Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: “I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have raised up a young man from among the people. [20] I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. [21] My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him. [22] The enemy will not get the better of him; the wicked will not oppress him. [23] I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries. [24] My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. [25] I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. [26] He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’ [27] And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. [28] I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. [29] I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. [30] “If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, [31] if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, [32] I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; [33] but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. [34] I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. [35] Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness- and I will not lie to David- [36] that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; [37] it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.” [38] But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. [39] You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. [40] You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. [41] All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. [42] You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. [43] Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle. [44] You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. [45] You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame. [46] How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? [47] Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all humanity! [48] Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave? [49] Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David? [50] Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, [51] the taunts with which your enemies, LORD, have mocked, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one. [52] Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

It is clear that a church “which goes on singing [only] ‘happy songs’ in the face of raw reality is doing something very different from what the Bible itself does” (Walter Brueggemann). This lesson is taught in this psalm.

Football fans have a saying that football can be “a game of two halves.” A first half in which one side dominates is often followed by a reversal in the second half.

This psalm is also a poem of two contrasting halves, in which the celebration of God’s faithfulness and love, reflected in the order and beauty of creation and in the covenant promises given to David (1-37), is followed by an unexpected and startling reversal as the present, actual experience of the people of God stands in stark contrast to that earlier sense of confidence and joy (38-52). The word “But” in verse 38 is the hinge point of the poem, where we pass from praise of the known character of God to lament at his presently experienced absence and judgment. The loving God of the first half has become hidden from view, with the result that the meaning of life itself is endangered (47).

Honest spirituality is the glory of the psalms, reflecting here a faith that is rooted in the God whose “love stands firm forever” (2) but also an honesty about experiences which seem to contradict such a confession and result in pain and anguish. Alas, too often Christians seem to be afraid of such honesty, fearful that admitting to the experience of doubt and struggle may let the side down. The two halves of this psalm offer us a model of biblical spirituality in which pain and loss do not have to be denied or covered up, but find honest expression in the presence of the God whose very nature is love and faithfulness.

Apply

Think about the balance between the two halves of this psalm. Which half do you identify with and why? How has God helped you through some tough times? Write down the times when his faithfulness kept you going.

Closing prayer

Faithful God, You are the Lord of the ups and downs of life. You alone are my source of hope, guidance, and strength.

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