Nov. 13, 2020

He will remember His covenant forever.

Psalm 111 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the company of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord;
They are studied by all who delight in them.
Splendid and majestic is His work,
And His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonders to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will remember His covenant forever.
He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.

The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
They are upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.

 

The psalmist says:  Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; They are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is His work, And His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonders to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever.   What covenant is it that God will remember forever? Is it the Adamic Covenant found in Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16-17 and 3:15, which included the command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, pronounced a curse for sin, and spoke of a future provision for man's redemption? Is it the Noahic Covenant found in Genesis 9:11, when God said: "I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." This covenant included a sign of God's faithfulness to keep it—the rainbow.  Is it the Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis 12? This unconditional covenant, first made to Abraham promised God's blessing upon Abraham, to make his name great and to make his progeny into a great nation. The covenant also promised blessing to those who blessed Abraham and cursing to those who cursed him. Further, God vowed to bless the entire world through Abraham's seed. Circumcision was the sign that Abraham believed the covenant. Is it the Mosaic Covenant found in Deuteronomy 11? This conditional covenant promised the Israelites a blessing for obedience and a curse for disobedience. Much of the Old Testament chronicles the fulfillment of this cycle of judgment for sin and later blessing when God's people repented and returned to God.  Is it the New Covenant, which was promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and fulfilled by Jesus? It promised that God would forgive sin and have a close, unbroken relationship with His people. The promise was first made to Israel and then extended to everyone who comes to Jesus Christ in faith.(Covenant summary taken from compellingtruth.org) The answer is of course that God will remember all of His covenant promises. Isaiah 55:10-11 says: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.  God’s covenants are all valid and He remembers them all. It’s a matter of which covenant we will live and walk in and under.

 

In Deuteronomy 11:26-28 God says:  “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.”  In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus says:  “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”  In John 14:15 Jesus says:  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”   Obedience to God is a necessary requirement for us to receive the benefits and promises of God’s covenants.  Many expect that they can claim the benefits without fulfilling the requirement of obedience. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says:  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”   In Luke 9:26 Jesus says:  “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.  We cannot, either as individuals, or collectively as a nation, be ashamed of Jesus and His words, we cannot neglect His commandments; we cannot embrace and practice the lawlessness of the world and our culture and expect the blessing of God. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments.   

 

The psalmist says:  He has made known to His people the power of His works, In giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are sure. They are upheld forever and ever; They are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.  Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, our redeemer and precious Holy Spirit, who gives us wisdom and understanding. Amen.