JULY 20: GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

Focal Passage: Psalm 105:1-11, 42-45 

Many of us have spent so many years seeing Psalms as the big book that marks the middle of the Book, that we fail to remember that it is like a hymnal in the middle of the Bible. 

The Psalms were meant to be sung, and some churches still sing from them every Sunday. 

Psalm 105 begins with a call to worship. I grew up in a church that used a detailed bulletin every Sunday, and in my formative years I only understood the phrase “Call to Worship” as the description of the first congregational song. 

Like reveille to a soldier, the call to worship is a wake-up call, whether spoken or sung, to remind us why we gather on Sunday morning. 

The content of the worship that follows tells us whether we have rightly understood the purpose of the assembly. While we enjoy the sense of family and hearing something to prepare us for the week, the gathering is for God! 

The psalmist exhorted God’s people to commune with Him by giving thanks to Him, calling on Him, and singing to Him. 

He called the people of God to commune with each other by telling of His wondrous works, boasting in Him, and seeking the Lord and His strength (Psalm 105:1-4). 

He also reminded them of the necessity to look back to see the wondrous works God had done and the judgments He pronounced. He did so by reminding the Israelites that they were the offspring of Abraham and the descendants of Jacob (Psalm 105:6). 

Following a reminder that God governs the whole earth (Psalm 105:7), the psalmist recounted one of the most visible parts of God’s unconditional promises to Israel through the Abrahamic covenant: the land of Canaan. 

His choice of Israel and the blessings He promised her were due to nothing but God’s grace, and His grace should always lead His people to praise Him. 

How does this apply to us? As Gentiles, we have been grafted into God’s family (Romans 11:7) as children of Abraham by faith. The offspring of Abraham through whom all the world would be blessed (Genesis 26:4) included Jesus, the Savior of the world! 

Although people often think of the land of Canaan as the greatest part of the Abrahamic covenant, it has only temporary significance in light of the coming destruction described in 2 Peter 3:7, 10. 

On the other hand, the gift of eternal life through Christ lasts forever. Paul made the powerful connection between God’s promises to Abraham and our status as believing Gentiles: “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). 

Like Abraham, we know God and His declaration of our righteousness by faith alone (Genesis 15:6). 

Knowing these truths, we, like the psalmist, should call each other to worship our gracious God. We can worship in even greater detail than the Old Testament saints, because we know that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem the world. 

As we gather on Sunday and as we live the Christian life day to day may the Word of God be a constant reminder that our worship is reserved for our faithful God. B&R