Today
the coast of Florida is getting hit by a major category 4 hurricane which will
make its track up through the Southeastern Coastal states. Who knows how many
people will be affected and suffer tremendous loss in the next hours. I have
two granddaughters who live in the Tampa Bay area and of course we are praying
for them and their safety as well as for everyone else that will feel the
terrible force of this storm.
Psalm
89 is a beautiful Psalm that proclaims the faithfulness of God! We believe that
this Psalm was probably written during the captivity of Israel in Babylon.
Things were as bad as they could be at this time for the nation, and the future
looked pretty bleak too. But instead of groaning and moaning and blaming God
for this terrible time, Ethan or whoever wrote this Psalm, decided to reflect
upon the greatness and faithfulness of God!
In
the first five verses, the psalmist mentions the “faithfulness” of God at least
four times. In the eighteen verses before us today, we are reminded that God is
faithful in His character, and we should praise Him. Wherever we look we find
the LORD being praised. In verse 5, we see that not only Heaven, but that the heavens
are a place of worship. God is surrounded by His saints and angels alike who
are praising the LORD for His glorious attributes (vv. 5-8; see Rev. 4 and 5),
for there is no god like Him.
Maybe
the writer of Psalm 89 remembered Exodus 15:11 telling how Moses and people
worshipped the LORD and sang a song of praise after their Red Sea experience: "Who
is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
In
verses 9-14, the earth joins the hymn and even the mighty waves of the sea obey
Him and praise Him. In the Scriptures the tumultuous sea is often used as an
image of the nations (Psalm 93:3; Isa. 17:12-13; Rev. 13:1; 17:15). The psalmist then mentioned God's victory
over Rahab which is Egypt (v. 10). The "scattering" of God's enemies
(v. 10) reminds us of Numbers 10:35. Hermon is an imposing mountain to the far
north, near Damascus, and Tabor is a much smaller mount about fifty miles
southwest of Hermon. The psalmist heard the mountains singing praises to God,
just as Isaiah did centuries before (Isa. 55:12).
If
any people on earth have a right to praise God, it is the nation of Israel,
God's chosen people. They had a holy land, given to them by God, a royal
dynasty chosen by God, and the light of the holy law that guided their steps in
the ways of the Lord. They had a holy priesthood to serve them and bless them
(v. 15; see Num. 6:24-26), men who would blow the trumpets to signal the
special holy days and feasts ("the joyful sound"; see 81:1). In verse
18, "our shield" refers to
their king (Psalm 84:9), now in captivity. In many Jewish synagogues today,
verses 15-18 are recited on their New Year's Day after the blowing of the
shofar.
As
we reflect on these verses, we should also remember God’s faithfulness despite
what storms we might be facing in our lives and join all creation in
worshipping and praising Him!
God
bless!
