Daily Devotional Podcasts

522_God’s covenant faithfulness Psalm 89 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” 3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah 5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! 6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, 7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? 8 O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you? A little boy once asked his grandfather, “Grandpa, why do you always keep that old pocket watch in your pocket? It doesn’t even keep time properly anymore.” The grandfather smiled, took out the worn watch, and said, “This was given to me by your great-grandfather on the day I left home as a young man. It may not keep perfect time, but it reminds me of his love and his promise: that no matter where I went, I would always have a home to return to.” That watch, though imperfect as a timepiece, was a faithful reminder of an unchanging promise. In a far greater way, Psalm 89 points us to a God whose promises are not tarnished by time, nor weakened by circumstances. His covenant faithfulness endures, no matter what His people may face. Ethan the Ezrahite, who wrote this psalm, lived during a time of national calamity—perhaps after a crushing defeat at the hands of enemies. Yet, in the midst of that despair, Ethan anchors his song in the faithfulness of God, whose covenant with David was unshakable. He begins not with complaint, but with praise: “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 89:1). The word used here for steadfast love is hesed—God’s covenantal, loyal love. It is His unbreakable commitment to His people, reflecting His own character. Knowing that God’s mercy and faithfulness are everlasting should bring forth unending praise. He longs to make God’s faithful love known so that generations to come will also glorify God. In verses 5–14, the psalmist declares the majesty of God. “The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them” (v. 11). There is none like Him, in heaven or on earth. The universe was made by him and belongs to him. Yet greater far is God’s character as verse 14 says, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” God rules not with tyranny or unpredictability, but with rich grace

521_God in wrath and salvation Psalm 88 O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. 2 Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! 3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, 5 like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. 7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 9 my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. 10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah 11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? 15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. 16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. 17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. 18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness. Several years ago, Charles Spurgeon, known as the “Prince of Preachers, spoke openly about his struggles with depression. His sermons shook London with the gospel and still inspire believers today. Yet once he confessed, “I could say with Job, ‘My soul chooseth strangling rather than life.’ I could readily enough have laid violent hands upon myself, to escape from my misery of spirit.” He described weeks of such unhappiness, when even prayer felt impossible. Even so, he kept preaching, kept crying out to God, and kept believing that beyond the darkness, light would break. Many of us know what it is like to go through the place where it feels like our prayers are unheard and God’s wrath is sweeping over us. At such times, faith is not about soaring but about surviving—holding on to God when it feels like He has let go of you. Psalm 88 is called the saddest psalm, maybe even the darkest passage in the entire Bible. Most laments in the Psalms begin in sorrow but end in hope. They start with grief, but hark back to God’s wonderful works in the past and his faithfulness. This leads the psalmist to

520_All my springs are in you Psalm 87 On the holy mount stands the city he founded; 2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah 4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush— “This one was born there,” they say. 5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. 6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah 7 Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.” A few years ago, there was an extraordinary engineering project in a desert region. A team of experts had spent months trying to dig wells in search of water. Technology was at its peak—satellite mapping, drilling equipment, scientific surveys—but well after well came up dry. The villagers, weary from years of scarcity, waited anxiously. Then, one day, an old man from the community suggested a spot no one had considered. He pointed to a patch of ground that looked barren, but he was certain water lay beneath it. Out of respect, the engineers drilled—and to everyone’s amazement, they struck a strong underground spring that gushed with life-giving water. It changed everything. Crops flourished. Families no longer walked miles for drinking water. The spring became the center of the community’s life. That picture of hidden, abundant water bringing life to a dry and weary land is exactly the image Psalm 87 leaves us with when it says, “All my springs are in you.” It is not only a poetic flourish but a profound truth about God and His city: He alone is the source of life, refreshment, and lasting joy. Psalm 87 is often called a prophetic psalm, one that draws our eyes beyond the ruins and disappointments of earthly life to something eternal—the city of God, Zion, the dwelling place of the great King. Humanity has always longed for such a city: a place of peace, beauty, and permanence where justice reigns and joy overflows. Empires have risen and fallen, cities have been built and destroyed, but the yearning remains. Psalm 87 tells us there is indeed such a city—not the product of human effort, but the dwelling place of God Himself. The psalmist begins with these words: “On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.” The mountain is holy not because of its geography, but because the Holy God has chosen to place His name there. God’s foundation is in Jerusalem, His city. Since God’s redemptive plan unfolds in real time and space, it needed a location, and He chose Jerusalem as the stage where so much of His work in history would take place. The psalmist declares, “Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.” And indeed, glorious things have unfolded there. Melchizedek, the mysterious king and priest of