When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. Psalms 94:18
Another way God’s steadfast love impacts our life! Here is a clear example of “being transformed by the renewing of our mind” (Romans 12:2)
How does God’s steadfast love “hold us up” when we are aware we are slipping in our thoughts?
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Psalms 115:1
What can the creature give to God? “nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:25)
God, then, does not need glory given. His glory is undiminished whether we acknowledge it or not. Who, then, is giving the glory in this verse? Think carefully. There is a speaker, the one spoken to, and the request. It does not say “to your name be glory” which would be a word of praise. It is instead a request. Think how grand God’s steadfast love is, if it brings honor and praise from the heights of heaven itself!
For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. Lamentations 3:31-33
In these verses we find two truths that sustain us in the middle of deep suffering. First, we need to know that our suffering is not random and meaningless. Verse 32 tells us that God sometimes “causes grief”. It comes by design.
But that truth alone is not enough to comfort. What if the God who designs these things for us is cold and cruel? What if we are only small pawns on His cosmic chessboard that are easily disposed of? We need to know not only God’s awesome sovereignty but also of his infinite goodness and love. Amazingly, verse 33 says, “God does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men”.
Put the two verses together and we are faced with an incredible reality about God. He causes grief but not willingly. He wills in one way what he doesn’t will on another.
According to verse 32, what is the core of God’s heart toward us in the midst of suffering? Remember that “compassion” is a feeling word. Why is this truth so comforting to know? What conception about God, common in suffering, does this adjust and answer?
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:18-19
Have you ever thought about what brings delight to God’s heart? How is steadfast love defined in this verse? Does it not leave us in awe exclaiming, “Who is a God like you!”. Because God delights in steadfast love he devised a way to “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (vs 19). He did this by “treading our iniquities underfoot” even as His own Son was tread underfoot for a time on that cruel cross.
This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:21-23
These verses are written in the middle of darkness and sorrow (Lamentations 3:18). Yet even while “hope has perished’, the writer says, “But this I call to mind and therefore have hope”. Hope when hope is gone! What is it that injects such hope into a hopeless situation? “Ponder anew what the Almighty can do if with his love he befriend thee”.
For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10
How does knowing that God is compassionate make the promise of this verse all the more meaningful? One of the sad realities of living is the loss of people from our life. People that we love die. Friends move away—sometimes not only physically but relationally. Nothing seems to last. In this precious verse God assures us that we can count on something to last. Never to depart. Never removed. More sure than the ancient Rocky mountains, Alps, or Himalayas. Something that will not change at last!
My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. Psalms 89:28
We learn two vital truths about God’s steadfast love in this verse. What are they? How are these same two realities experienced “in Christ”? See Matthew 26:28 and Jeremiah 31:3
Scripture: Matt 22:23-33 | Speaker: Pastor Tim Kerr | Date: January 20, 2013
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My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. Psalms 89:24
This is a promise regarding the Davidic Messiah King that was fulfilled in Jesus. (see Psalms 89:27-29) Again we see God’s faithfulness coupled with his steadfast love. God promises exaltation to this king in His name. How are God’s faithfulness and steadfast love now also with us “in Christ’s name”? See 1 Corinthians 1:9 and Romans 8:38-39
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face. Psalms 89:14-15
Note the foundational pillars of God’s sovereign rule. Then marvel at what emanates outward from the throne towards us! What a picture of the cross! This is no mere static doctrinal affirmation. It is to affect us deeply because it has massive implications.
The word translated “festal shout” could also be translated as “battle cry” or “joyful acclamation”. It is the same word used in Joshua 6:5. It is the declaration of faith in God when as yet his action is still unseen (Hebrews 11:1). Does the sense of God’s presence impart this kind of faith, or does this kind of faith make one aware of God’s presence? (lit. “the light of your face”)
