Wisdom-Trek ©

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2728 of our Trek.   The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Today, we embark on a profound, philosophical, and deeply spiritual journey as we open Psalm 90, covering its opening verses, 1-9, in the New Living Translation.

This Psalm carries a rare and significant superscription: "A prayer of Moses, the man of God."   Written by the great lawgiver himself, this psalm is widely regarded as the oldest in the Psalter, born from the crucible of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness.   It is a sober meditation on the frailty of human life and the eternity of God, composed during a time when an entire generation was dying off due to their rebellion against the divine decree.

We transition here from the anguished question of the Davidic Covenant's failure in Psalm Eighty-nine—where the psalmist wrestled with God’s apparent abandonment—to a foundational truth: man’s mortality is not a failure of God's promise, but an unchangeable reality of human existence after the fall. Moses reminds us that before we can grasp God's promises, we must first confront our own fleeting nature.

This psalm is essential wisdom for our trek; it sets the proper scale and context for our brief time on earth.

So, let us open our hearts to this ancient prayer, recognizing the immense gap between the eternal God and the transient life of man.

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home.   Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

Moses begins his prayer not by complaining about the hardship of the wilderness, but by affirming God's eternal nature and His relationship to humanity: "Lord, through all the generations you have been our home."

The word "home" (ma‘ôn) means dwelling place, refuge, or habitation.   Moses is looking back over the entire history of the covenant people—from Abraham to the present wilderness generation—and declaring that God, not a physical tent or a specific land, has been their constant, reliable dwelling place.   This concept provides profound security: in a transient world, subject to change and decay, God is the one permanent, unshakeable refuge for His people.

Moses then paints a cosmic picture of God's existence, contrasting it sharply with the finite nature of creation: "Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God."

God's existence precedes all created things, even the most ancient symbols of stability, like the mountains.   The phrase "from everlasting to everlasting" (min-‘ôlām ‘ad-‘ôlām) encompasses all time, transcending our human concepts of beginning and end.   This is the eternal, uncreated God who stands outside of time, the ultimate Sovereign who rules the cosmos and sits as the unquestioned head of the Divine Council.   He is the self-existent one, utterly unlike the mortals who inhabit His creation.   Moses establishes this truth first, making clear the vast chasm between the Creator and the created, before turning to the frailty of man.

You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to the dust, you mortals!" For you, a thousand years are as yesterday when it is past. They are but a few hours in the night. You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it flourishes and is beautiful, but by evening it is wilted and dry.

Now, Moses directly addresses the condition of humanity, a condition established by the divine decree after the fall in Genesis 3: 19: "You turn people back to dust, saying, 'Return to the dust, you mortals!'"

Moses is writing during the forty years of wandering, a time when a whole generation died in the wilderness—a direct, ongoing fulfillment of God's judgment against their unbelief.   He confirms that the power of death is not random or natural; it is a sovereign decree issued by God.   God simply speaks the word, "Return to the dust," and the ephemeral nature of humanity is revealed.

To emphasize this transience, Moses contrasts human time with divine time: "For you, a thousand years are as yesterday when it is past. They are but a few hours in the night."

For the eternal God, even the longest stretch of human history—a thousand years—is nothing more than a day that has already passed, or a few brief hours of a watch during the night.   This cosmic disparity underscores the insignificance of human time when measured against God’s eternity.

Moses uses two vivid images to describe the brevity of human existence: "You sweep people away like dreams that disappear."

A dream, however vivid, vanishes instantly upon waking.   Human life is just as transient, here one moment and gone the next, swept away by God's sovereign breath.  The second image is even more tangible and common in the dry climate of the Near East: "They are like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it flourishes and is beautiful, but by evening it is wilted and dry."

This agricultural metaphor beautifully illustrates human fragility. The grass is fresh, vibrant, and beautiful in the cool morning dew, yet by the intense heat of evening, it is already scorched, withered, and dry.   Our entire lifespan, with all its vibrancy and activity, is merely the space between a single sunrise and sunset in God's eternal perspective.

Moses now turns from the general frailty of man to the specific consequence of sin in the life of the covenant community, the reason for the suffering they faced in the wilderness: "We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your rage."

The frailty of human life is compounded by the righteous anger of God.   The judgment they faced in the desert—the deaths, the hardship, the constant conflict—is explicitly attributed to God's burning anger and rage against their rebellion, a theme explored extensively in Psalm Seventy-eight. They are "consumed," suggesting total exhaustion and utter depletion by the consequences of divine wrath.

The psalmist acknowledges the perfect justice of this judgment, confessing God's omniscience regarding their guilt: "You have set our sins before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence."

God's judgment is not arbitrary; it is based on perfect knowledge.   He has judged their outward sins as well as their "secret sins"—the hidden motivations, the inner lack of trust, the unseen rebellions of the heart.   These secret sins are exposed, brought into the full "light of your presence," where nothing can be hidden.

The consequence of this confrontation with God's holiness is a life defined by regret and brevity: "All our days disappear in your wrath. We spend our years with a sigh."

Instead of the long, blessed life promised to the obedient, their years are marked by God's discipline, causing their days to "disappear" rapidly. Their existence is characterized by a "sigh" (hegeh)—a groan, a lament, a deep sound of frustration and weariness. The forty years of the wilderness generation, meant to be a period of triumphant pilgrimage, was instead spent under the cloud of God's wrath, a protracted funeral procession marked by sighing and death.

Psalm Ninety: Verses one through nine is a foundational meditation that juxtaposes God’s eternity with man’s transience and attributes the brevity and sorrow of human life not just to mortality, but to the righteous consequence of sin. It sets the stage for Moses to pray, in the verses that follow, for God to temper His anger and teach His people how to truly number their days.

The wisdom of Psalm Ninety for our trek lies in Setting Our Scale.

Our Ultimate Refuge is Eternal: We must recognize that the One True God—the eternal Sovereign who predates the mountains and judges the Divine Council—is our only reliable "home" and refuge. All earthly stability is fleeting; only God is permanent.

Our Time is a Shadow: We must confront the truth of our mortality.   Our life is a "dream" and "grass" that withers quickly.   This reality should not lead to despair, but to urgency—it should compel us to maximize the limited time we have to glorify God.

No Secret Sins Remain Secret: We are reminded that God’s judgment is perfect because His light exposes even our "secret sins." We must live with transparency and integrity, knowing that every hidden thought is visible in the "light of his presence."

Let us, like Moses, acknowledge the brevity of our days and the holiness of our God, so that we may pray for the wisdom necessary to redeem the time.

If you found this podcast insightful, subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2727 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Today, we confront the deepest theological crisis in Psalm 89, covering its final, devastating verses 38-52 in the New Living Translation.

This psalm, a Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite, is built entirely on the unconditional promise of the Davidic Covenant. In our previous treks, we celebrated the eternal assurance given to David: God promised His Unfailing Love, (ḥesed), would never be removed, and that even if David’s descendants sinned, God would punish them with a rod, "But I will never stop loving him, nor will I ever be untrue to my promise."  This was the bedrock: an unbreakable oath, secured by God's very holiness, with the moon as its "faithful witness in the sky."

Now, the psalmist transitions abruptly and violently from this glorious assurance to the horrifying reality of his present moment: the Davidic throne has fallen, the sanctuary is ruined, and the king is humiliated. This section is a profound communal lament, a desperate cry that asks: "If Your promise is eternal, why is our reality so utterly destroyed? Why did the unbreakable covenant break?" This lament models how the righteous wrestle with the apparent contradiction between God’s revealed truth and their crushing suffering.

So, let’s immerse ourselves in this agonizing confrontation, acknowledging the pain of disappointment and the desperation of clinging to truth when all hope seems lost.

But now you have rejected him and cast him aside, and your anger burns against your anointed one. You have renounced your covenant with your servant and tossed his crown in the dust. You have broken down all the walls of his city and reduced his strongholds to ruins. Everyone who comes by has plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. You have strengthened the arms of his foes and filled all his enemies with joy. You have made his sword useless and refused to help him in battle. You have ended his glory and overthrown his throne. You have cut his youth in half and covered him with shame.

The shift is immediate and devastating, signaled by the contrastive "But now." The eternal promise is violently confronted by the current despair: "But now you have rejected him and cast him aside, and your anger burns against your anointed one." The "him" is the Davidic king, the heir to the eternal throne. The psalmist accuses God of doing the very thing He swore He would not do: rejecting (ma'as) the king and allowing His anger to burn against His own "anointed one" (Mashiach). This is the core tragedy: the king who was supposed to be invincible is overthrown.

The king’s humiliation is total and explicitly attributed to God’s action: "You have renounced your covenant with your servant and tossed his crown in the dust." To "renounce" (na'ar) the covenant is the ultimate act of betrayal against the eternal oath God swore by His holiness. The visible sign of this renunciation is the king's crown—the symbol of his sacred, eternal authority—being "tossed in the dust," completely dishonored and destroyed.

The ruin extends from the king to the city, making the nation vulnerable: "You have broken down all the walls of his city and reduced his strongholds to ruins. Everyone who comes by has plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors." This describes the historical destruction of Jerusalem. The walls, which symbolize protection and national honor, are broken down, leaving the city defenseless. The king is plundered and becomes the "scorn of his neighbors," a humiliation often lamented in the Psalms (Psalm Forty-four, Psalm Seventy-nine). The defeat is not just military; it is a profound national and theological shame.

The psalmist emphasizes the tragic irony: God, the one who promised to make the king strong, has instead empowered his enemies: "You have strengthened the arms of his foes and filled all his enemies with joy. You have made his sword useless and refused to help him in battle." This is the ultimate lament. God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who promised I will crush his foes before him (Psalm Eighty-nine, verse twenty-three), is now viewed as the one strengthening the enemy's hands. The king's sword, which should have been a tool of victory, is "useless" because God has withheld His support. The ultimate sign of God’s abandonment is His refusal to help in battle.

The tragedy culminates in the king's premature downfall: "You have ended his glory and overthrown his throne. You have cut his youth in half and covered him with shame." The eternal dynasty is "overthrown," the king's glory is "ended," and his life is tragically cut short. The great promise of an everlasting throne is seemingly reduced to dust and shame.

After presenting the evidence of the covenant's apparent failure, the psalmist returns to the fundamental questions of lament: "O Lord, how long will you hide yourself? Will your anger burn like fire forever?" This is the quintessential cry of the suffering righteous, echoing the anguish of previous psalms (Psalm Seventy-four, Psalm Seventy-nine). The anger that God promised would be temporary discipline (verses thirty-one through thirty-three) now feels like an eternal, consuming fire.

The psalmist then moves to a powerful appeal based on human mortality and divine purpose: "Remember how short my life is; for what futility you have created all humanity! No one can live forever; all will certainly die. No one can escape the power of the grave." This is a profound, almost Job-like question. The psalmist asks God to remember the frailty and brevity of human life (a theme we saw in Psalm Thirty-nine and Psalm Seventy-eight). He asks, "Why did you create humanity for such futility and such a short lifespan, only to destroy the eternal covenant in my generation?" If God's purpose for humanity is praise and glory in the land of the living, how can He allow the covenant that guarantees that purpose to fail? The appeal is to God’s mercy, asking Him to temper His anger by acknowledging the limitations of the mortal beings He created.

Lord, where is your unfailing love that you swore to David with a faithful oath? Ignore the insults of your enemies, O Lord. They are scoffing at your anointed king wherever he goes. Praise the Lord forever! Amen and amen!

The psalm reaches its climax with a direct, challenging, and desperate final plea, throwing God's own words back at Him: "Lord, where is your unfailing love that you swore to David with a faithful oath?" This is the most painful question of all. The psalmist does not ask if God has the power; he asks where is the Unfailing Love (ḥesed) that God swore with an oath—the guarantee that the covenant would never be broken! He is demanding reconciliation between the eternal promise of God’s holiness and the temporary reality of the king’s humiliation.

He pleads with God to act on behalf of His own honor: "Ignore the insults of your enemies, O Lord. They are scoffing at your anointed king wherever he goes." The enemies are mocking the fallen king, but their scorn is ultimately directed at the Anointing itself, at the divine source of the king's power. The Divine Council is watching. The nations are watching. They are asking, "Where is their God?" The psalmist begs God to silence the blasphemy and act to defend His own reputation by restoring His king.

The psalm, despite all the preceding anguish and unanswered questions, concludes with a surprising and powerful doxology—a formal expression of praise: "Praise the Lord forever! Amen and amen!" This doxology (which marks the end of Book Three of the Psalter) is placed here by the psalm's final editors, not as a resolution to the king's plight, but as a re-affirmation of faith in God's character despite the circumstances. The psalmist acknowledges the pain, but the Book of Psalms demands a final note of trust. Even when the king is overthrown and the covenant seems broken, God remains worthy of eternal praise. The two "Amens" seal this declaration of unwavering, committed worship, even from the midst of the rubble.

Psalm Eighty-nine is a masterpiece of lament, moving from the height of cosmic certainty to the depth of human disappointment. It leaves us with the agonizing tension of a seemingly failed covenant, forcing us to look beyond the immediate circumstances to the unchanging nature of God and the ultimate, future fulfillment of the promise in the ultimate Son of David, Jesus Christ.

If you found this podcast insightful, subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2726 of our Trek. The purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Today, we are beginning a new series of Theology Thursday lessons. These lessons are written by theologeon and teacher John Daniels. I have found that his lessons are short, easy to understand, doctrinally sound, and applicable to all who desire to learn more of God’s Word. John’s lessons can be found at on his website theologyinfive.com. Today’s lesson is titled When Honor Fails: David, Uriah, and the Call to Covenant Faithfulness.

In the world of the Ancient Near East, honor and shame defined the structure of society. A person’s standing in the community determined their worth, and shame was not merely personal; it was public, often irreversible, and tied to familial and tribal identity. Kings were at the pinnacle of this structure. They were expected to maintain their honor at all costs and were often considered above moral reproach so long as their image remained intact.

This cultural context is essential to understanding the events of 2 Samuel 11–12. David, Israel’s most celebrated king, commits adultery with Bathsheba and then conspires to cover up the sin by manipulating her husband, Uriah. Every move David makes is calculated to preserve his reputation. He is not initially concerned with righteousness, justice, or repentance. He is concerned with avoiding shame.

It is important to note that this cultural dynamic is not just ancient history. Honor and shame continue to shape many societies today, especially across the Middle East. The need to maintain family honor and avoid public disgrace often overrides considerations of justice or truth. Understanding this helps modern readers appreciate how deeply embedded these values were in David’s world and how bold the biblical response to his actions truly is.

When David realizes Bathsheba is pregnant, he summons Uriah home from the battlefield under false pretenses. David’s goal is simple: get Uriah to sleep with his wife so that the pregnancy will appear legitimate. But Uriah refuses. His reason is not based on suspicion or bitterness. It is rooted in covenantal loyalty and military discipline. He declares that while the ark, Israel, and Judah dwell in tents, and his fellow soldiers are in the field, he will not indulge in the comforts of home.

This is not mere stubbornness. Uriah was a seasoned warrior, one of David’s elite mighty men. He would have recognized the oddity of being called back so abruptly. The king’s urgent, repeated encouragements to go home, and later his attempt to intoxicate him, would have made David’s intent obvious. And yet, Uriah held firm. He would not be manipulated. Even inebriated, he acted more righteously than David did while sober.

In this, Uriah becomes a moral mirror. His unwavering integrity exposes David’s corruption. He represents what covenant faithfulness looks like: loyal to his comrades, obedient to higher principles, and unwilling to compromise. He is not just a victim. He is the righteous foil whose presence unmasks the king’s descent into treachery.

Though called a Hittite, Uriah had clearly joined the covenant people of Israel. His speech reflects deep reverence for the ark of Yahweh and solidarity with Israel’s military ethics. As a member of David’s elite warriors, he would have undergone conversion and become fully integrated into Israelite life. His foreign ancestry makes his faithfulness all the more striking—he lives out the values of the covenant more faithfully than the king himself.

Uriah’s marriage to Bathsheba also confirms his covenant status. As an Israelite woman of noble descent, Bathsheba could not have lawfully married a pagan Hittite. Uriah would have had to undergo full conversion—embracing circumcision and submission to Yahweh’s law—to be accepted both in marriage and in military service. His life was not only legally integrated into Israel but spiritually aligned with its covenant identity.

With Uriah refusing to provide the cover David needs, the king resorts to murder. He sends Uriah back to the battlefield carrying sealed instructions for Joab, the military commander. These orders direct Joab to place Uriah in the front lines and then pull back, ensuring his death. Joab complies, and Uriah falls.

David then marries Bathsheba, quickly incorporating her into his household. Outwardly, it may have looked like a compassionate gesture toward a fallen warrior’s widow. In reality, it was the final step in a carefully calculated campaign to preserve David’s honor, at the cost of justice, life, and truth.

Yahweh does not remain silent. He sends the prophet Nathan, who approaches David not with accusation but with a parable. Nathan tells the story of a rich man who steals a poor man’s only lamb, a beloved animal treated like family. David, enraged by the injustice in the story, declares that the man deserves to die.

Then Nathan turns the story: “You are the man.”

This moment is more than dramatic. It is revolutionary. Nathan does not appeal to David’s reputation or his failure to maintain royal dignity. He appeals to the covenant. He accuses David of despising the word of Yahweh and of shedding innocent blood. The prophet bypasses the honor and shame logic of the court and delivers divine moral judgment. This is not about what society sees. It is about what God sees. And that is the shift Yahweh is introducing into Israel’s moral framework.

David’s response could have followed the honor and shame script. He could have denied the accusation, retaliated against Nathan, or deflected blame. Instead, he confesses, “I have sinned against Yahweh.”

Psalm 51, traditionally understood to be David’s prayer of repentance after Nathan’s rebuke, reveals the depth of his realization. “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.” David does not appeal to his kingship, his past service, or public opinion. He casts himself entirely on the mercy of God. He embraces guilt, not because he was caught, but because he finally sees the truth.

This marks a theological turning point. David’s repentance is not framed by shame avoidance, but by moral conviction. This is Yahweh redefining what honor actually is: not public image, but humility before God.

David’s sin is forgiven, but the consequences remain. The child born from the affair dies. Violence and dysfunction plague David’s household. His family and kingdom bear scars that will not fully heal. And yet, Yahweh does not cast him off. The covenant stands. David remains king, not because he is righteous, but because he repented. God remains faithful, even when His servant fails.

This balance between justice and mercy is rare in the ancient world, where rulers typically faced no moral accountability. In Yahweh’s kingdom, even the king is under the covenant.

This episode illustrates how Yahweh chooses to work. He did not place Israel in a moral vacuum. He placed them in a culture saturated with honor and shame values, like their neighbors in Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia. Rather than abolish the culture outright, Yahweh entered into it and began reshaping it from the inside.

He introduced covenantal law that cut against social expectations. He elevated justice, mercy, and faithfulness over appearance. He used prophetic confrontation to teach that guilt is not about being found out, but about standing guilty before Him. The story of David and Bathsheba is a case study in how God slowly transforms a people by confronting their deepest assumptions.

Israel never fully abandons the honor and shame framework. It remains embedded in their social and theological imagination. Genealogies, tribal roles, purity laws, and prophetic language all carry traces of it. Even Jesus, generations later, teaches in a world still shaped by those dynamics.

But what the biblical narrative does, beginning with stories like David’s fall, is redefine the foundation of honor. Yahweh consistently shows that true honor is not found in status, military conquest, or social standing, but in righteousness, repentance, and covenant loyalty. <#0.5#>

Throughout Scripture, those who are shamed by men are often honored by God—Joseph, Moses, Hannah, the prophets, and ultimately Christ Himself. And those who cling to their image without integrity—like Saul, Ahab, or even David at his worst—are exposed and brought low. In this way, Israel’s story does not reject honor and shame, it reorients them around divine justice.

The story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah is not merely a personal tragedy; it is also a profound moral lesson. It is a cultural turning point. In a world where kings could preserve honor at any cost, Yahweh strips away the illusion and speaks truth. Through Uriah’s integrity, Nathan’s courage, and David’s repentance, we see the beginning of a new moral vision—one that values truth over image, confession over concealment, and covenant over culture.

God does not destroy honor and shame culture outright. He inserts His people into it, then transforms it by teaching them that what truly matters is not how others see you, but how you stand before Him. This narrative is not just a rebuke of David. It is a moment when Israel is called to grow up. And it is an invitation to every generation to do the same.

How does Uriah’s refusal to go home reflect a deeper understanding of covenant loyalty, and what does it reveal about David’s moral decline?

In what ways does Nathan’s confrontation with David shift the framework from public shame to divine accountability? Why is that significant?

How does Yahweh’s response to David—both forgiving him and allowing consequences—demonstrate a balance between justice and mercy?

What are some modern examples, especially in Middle Eastern or communal cultures, where honor/shame values still shape decisions and behavior? How does the biblical model challenge or affirm these systems?

How does the story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah help us understand the broader biblical theme that true honor comes from righteousness and repentance, not reputation?

Join us next time on Theology Thursday where our lesson will cover The Divine Council Worldview and the Nations: A Biblical Perspective.

If you found this podcast insightful, subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

 

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2725 of our trek. The purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Today, we continue our deep exploration of the magnificent Psalm Eighty-nine, focusing on the pivotal verses thirty through thirty-seven in the New Living Translation.

This psalm is a grand meditation on the Davidic Covenant, which we covered in detail in our previous trek. We heard God's unbreakable oath to David, promising an eternal dynasty, an unwavering hand of support, and the title of "firstborn, the mightiest of all kings on earth." The core message was the perpetuity of the throne, guaranteed by God's eternal Unfailing Love (ḥesed).

Now, the psalm addresses the inevitable question that hangs over any covenant involving human beings: What happens when David’s descendants sin? This section provides the powerful, compassionate, and definitive answer. God assures the Davidic line that while sin will bring discipline and punishment, it will never break the covenant itself. This distinction between temporary discipline and eternal covenant is the central theological assurance of this passage, and it's vital for anchoring our hope.

So, let's open our hearts and minds to this profound divine teaching on the nature of grace, discipline, and eternal commitment.

God, who speaks through the prophetic vision in this psalm, moves directly to the problem of human failure. This is a realistic covenant; God knows that David's descendants, like all human rulers, will be prone to failure: "But if your descendants forsake my instructions and fail to live by my regulations..." The "But if" introduces the conditional clause, the possibility of covenant violation by the human party.

The psalmist emphasizes the deliberate nature of their potential disobedience. They don't just forget; they "forsake" God's instructions (tōrôt, the divine teaching or law), and they "fail to live by my regulations" (mishpaṭîm, the divine judgments or legal decrees). This is a profound failure of both heart and deed. They ignore the wisdom that we seek here on the trek!

The condition of sin is compounded: "if they ignore my decrees and disobey my commands," (ḥuqqôt, the statutes). This triple emphasis on ignoring God's various forms of written and revealed law highlights the severity of their potential offense. It is a wholesale rejection of God's authority and moral order.

And God, the righteous Judge, promises a certain and just response: "then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their rebellion with whipping." God guarantees that sin will not go unaddressed. The "rod" (shebet) and "whipping"  (nega’) symbolize discipline, chastisement, and firm correction. This punishment is a necessary consequence, ensuring that the moral order of the covenant is upheld.

This distinction is crucial, friends. The ancient Israelites understood that discipline was not synonymous with divorce. A loving father corrects a rebellious son, but he does not disown him. God is confirming here, that their disobedience will be met with divine discipline, ensuring that the sin of the king doesn't entirely corrupt the spiritual health of the nation, or lead to the kind of spiritual blindness that plagued the unjust rulers in Psalm Eighty-two.

Here is the heart of the covenant and the source of all hope, the powerful contrast introduced by a simple word: "But." After affirming that sin will bring discipline, God makes an absolute, unqualified commitment that He will never break His promise: "But I will never stop loving him, nor will I ever be untrue to my promise."

This declaration is a personal commitment to Unfailing Love (ḥesed). God promises He will never take His ḥesed away from David or his descendants. This is the unconditional core of the Davidic Covenant, distinguishing it from the conditional Mosaic Covenant. While the individual king's rule might be interrupted by sin, the dynasty itself will not be terminated.

God backs this assurance with an oath of divine integrity: "No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I will never lie." The foundation for the covenant's perpetuity rests entirely on God's perfect character. He invokes His "holiness" (qōdēš), His absolute separateness and moral perfection, as the guarantee. God cannot lie; His word is truth. This is the bedrock of ’ĕmûnâ—His faithfulness.

This declaration is critical in the context of the Divine Council worldview that the psalmist, Ethan the Ezrahite, would have understood. In the Divine Council, oaths and legal contracts are paramount. God is binding Himself by the highest possible standard, swearing by His very nature. This assurance is meant to silence any doubt, whether from human hearts or from the celestial beings (the "holy ones" we discussed earlier) who witness God's governance.

The psalm then repeats and confirms the eternal nature of the dynasty, linking the throne’s security to the cosmic order that God established: "His dynasty will go on forever; his throne is as secure as the sun. It will be as lasting as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky." This is the promise of perpetual existence. The throne is anchored to the cosmos: as enduring as the sun in the day and the moon at night. The moon is called God's "faithful witness in the sky," serving as a perpetual, visible sign of God's covenant commitment to David.

This section triumphantly declares that the Davidic Covenant is eternal, unconditional in its promise of perpetuity, and guaranteed by the holiness of God Himself, towering above the temporary failures and sins of human kings.

This third section is: Wisdom on the Trek: Discerning Discipline from Divorce <#0.5#>

The profound wisdom of Psalm Eighty-nine, verses thirty through thirty-seven, is the critical lesson on Discerning Discipline from Divorce.

This passage provides a necessary theology of suffering for the covenant people of God, and it offers three vital anchors for our hope:

The Unconditional Nature of the Covenant: We often fall into the trap of conditional faith, believing that when we sin or suffer, God must be preparing to abandon us. This psalm dismantles that fear. God explicitly states: "I will punish their sin with the rod, but I will never stop loving him." This teaches us that the Davidic Covenant (and by extension, the New Covenant in Christ, the Son of David) is built on God's character (ḥesed), not our performance. The punishment, the trial, the correction—all of it is an expression of His unfailing love, designed to drive us back to Him, not to sever the relationship.

The Purpose of the Rod: Discipline is proof of sonship. When we suffer correction, we should not view it as God's withdrawal, but as God's active engagement. He is correcting the sin that threatens to destroy us, preventing the moral corruption that would lead to total ruin. This assurance is especially vital when we feel weak, vulnerable, or consumed by darkness, as Heman did in Psalm Eighty-eight. God's anger is measured, and His purpose is restoration, not annihilation.

The Security of the Oath: Our hope rests entirely on God's holiness. The promise is guaranteed not by the strength of David's descendants, but because God swore by His very nature: "in my holiness I will never lie." This means that if the Davidic throne fails, God's very being fails, which is impossible. This unshakeable assurance is the ultimate comfort, providing a bedrock of certainty when our circumstances are chaotic and our own performance is lacking. The eternal throne of David is secured by the ultimate divine contract.

Let us commit today to distinguishing between God's loving discipline and His unfailing covenant. When the rod falls, let us receive the correction with humility, knowing that even the punishment is an active expression of the God who has sworn by His holiness to never break His promise.

If you found this podcast insightful, subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

 

Putnam Church Message – 09/28/2025

Last week, we continued through the letter of 1 John and explored how to have “A Discerning Life: Living in Light of the Lord’s Return."

This week, we continue through the letter of 1 John, and we will explore how to have A Discerning Life: Discerning the Works of the Devil" from 1 John 3:4-10 from the NIV, which is found on page 1901 of your Pew Bibles.

When a person today hears the phrase “What you’re doing is a sin,” they probably won’t hear it as “I love you enough to point out that destructive behavior in your life.” Instead, they hear something like, “I’m judging you.” The idea of loving sinners enough to help them deal with their sin is lost on a world that has increasingly downplayed that three-letter word.  (Bulletin)

To understand what sin is, we must explore the root meaning. In both Hebrew and Greek, its root meaning is “to miss the mark” or “to fall short.” It conveys the idea of missing a target, straying from the path, or failing to meet a standard.

Let me share two illustrations to understand sin:

Archery Picture: Imagine aiming at a target. Even if you shoot an arrow that lands just outside the bullseye, you’ve missed the mark. That’s how the Hebrew root ḥaṭṭāʼ illustrates sin—falling short of God’s perfect aim for us.

Modern Analogy: If a GPS guides you to a destination but you take a wrong turn, you’ve deviated from the path. Sin is choosing our own path instead of following God’s direction.

Whatever happened to sin? When did it get deleted from our cultural lexicon? Why have we been told that it’s now one of those “politically incorrect” terms? The word "sin" is obviously no longer in use. Today, it’s been replaced by words like error, mistake, tragedy, addiction, sickness, misdeed, faux pas, failure, weakness, or fault. And on that last one, more often than not, it’s someone else’s fault!

However, the Bible presents an entirely different message regarding sin. The entrance, presence, and consequences of sin are major plot points in the drama of God’s story of creation,>fall,>and redemption. Romans 5:12 sums it up nicely: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Adam was the figure by whom sin made its first appearance on the stage of human history. The consequence of death followed. And from that point forward, the entire story was marred by sin, which spread universally to all humans and brought suffering and corruption to all creation (Rom. 8:18–22).

However, we’re not left in this desperate plight of bondage to sin and death. The hero of the story of redemption appears on stage, providing a way of escape for all of us enslaved by sin: Because one-person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. (Rom. 5:19). Jesus Christ is that life-bringing hero who bore our sin on the cross and rose again: For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s extraordinary grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. (Rom. 5:17).  Nevertheless, the drama isn’t over. The curtain hasn’t dropped. In the present act, we still await the return of Christ, when He will utterly vanquish sin and death. In the meantime, the old sin nature remains, still subject to disobedience, corruption, and death. The result is a spiritual conflict between the power of Christ’s righteousness dwelling in those who are saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit and the old tendency toward sin, which Paul calls “the flesh.” Paul depicts this constant melee in Romans 7:18-21:

What, then, should be the normal expectation of holiness in the Christian life? Constant victory? Constant drudgery? Frequent defeat? Slow but steady progress? The apostle John helps us begin to answer this question in 1 JOHN 3:4-10. We must be cautious here, though. If we don’t pay close attention to the specific words and the way John uses them, we might come away unsure of our salvation and wondering whether we’re saved by more than just faith alone. Let me assure you that John’s purpose is not to cast doubt on the truly saved but to call pretenders to conversion and straying believers to faithfulness.

With his opening words of this section, John refers to “everyone who practices sin.” Stop there. Understanding this phrase correctly will make the difference between good theology and bad theology, as well as right and wrong application. The Greek term translated “practices,” poiōn (from poieō [4160]), is a present active participle. John has in mind a person who sins continually, persistently, habitually—as a lifestyle, not an occasional sin.

In short, the kind of person described in 1 John 3:4 is the opposite of the Spirit-indwelled child of God. This person who “practices sin/lawlessness” is the opposite of the true believer mentioned in 2:29—the person who “practices righteousness.”

Christ’s mission in His first coming was to “take away our sins” (3:5). Christ came “in a body like the bodies we sinners have.” (Rom. 8:3) as the incarnate God-man, lived a sinless life, died to pay for the sins of others, and rose again because sin had no power over Him. Paul wrote, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[a] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ could only accomplish this self-sacrificial, substitutionary act if He was perfectly righteous, without sin. When we place our trust in Him and become children of God, the righteousness of Christ enables us to be declared righteous (positionally) and begins working within us to produce righteousness (experientially). The result for the believer is an all-day, every-day struggle against the power of sin. Because of the Spirit of God living in us, the battle is palpable, and righteous living is possible. But the unbeliever, devoid of the Spirit of God and the righteousness of Christ, will be characterized by “practicing sin.”

In 1 John 3:6, John hammers this point even harder. Nobody who abides in Christ—that is, true believers in fellowship with Him—lives in sinfulness habitually and persistently. And the opposite is also true: Those who do live in such a lifestyle of unchecked, unrepentant, continual sin have never seen or known Christ in a genuine, saving sense. Again, I need to underscore the fact that John doesn’t have in mind the true child of God who struggles against sin as part of their lifelong process of sanctification, who frequently follows the practice of 1 John 1:9—But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. Rather, in 3:6, John is writing about the unsaved person who has no intention of confessing sins because they are devoted to the world and its carnal pleasures.

We come now to the climax of this section, where John clinches the truth he’s driving home. He begins by repeating his term of loving affection, “Dear children.” He switches to this gentle tone because he warns us again, in his stern-but-loving, grandfatherly way, of the danger of false teachers: “don’t let anyone deceive you about this” (3:7). John knew that the deceivers who were on the prowl were dealing in more than just false doctrines about Christ. Their perverse practices and muddled morality were consistent with their counterfeit Christs.

One of the goals of the deceivers in John’s day was to persuade people that a life of righteousness really wasn’t all that important. Your lifestyle, these antichrists urged, has no relationship to the condition of your eternal soul. John severely strikes back at this false teaching, unleashing some of the strongest language he could muster. A person who is truly righteous by virtue of their positional relationship with Christ will practice righteousness (3:7). However, the one who practices sin “belongs to the devil,” who was a sinner from the beginning. I can’t think of a more sobering label than “belong to the devil” to describe unsaved false teachers.

For John, doing is the test of being. He must have been listening carefully when Jesus taught,

43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. (Luke 6:43–45)

And the phrase “belong to the devil” or, possibly, “from the devil” appears in Jesus’ teaching in John 8:44 when he says to some of the hypocritical Jewish leaders who were rejecting Him, For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does.

So, on the one hand, people are claiming to be followers of Christ who live such remorselessly wicked lives that they appear to be children of the devil rather than children of God. On the other hand, some people practice righteousness and follow the teachings of Jesus. And because the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. (1 Jn. 3:8), It stands to reason that the group that is doing the works of the devil can’t possibly be on the side of Christ.

What wise words! One of the best tests you can apply to any ministry is to weigh the importance it gives to balancing doctrine with duty, loving the Lord alongside loving one another, believing, and doing. If you’re not seeing both, something’s wrong. It may be a cult, or at the very least, a fertile seedbed for false teaching.

1 John 3:9 can appear to be a contradiction of 1:8-10 if we forget our careful definitions of terms as discussed in relation to 3:4. In 3:9, John says: Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life[a] is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. But in 1:8-10, John says, “8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. So, which is it? Does the person born of God “not commit sin”—even being unable to sin—or is such a claim to be without sin a lie? No, the verb tense in this passage indicates that sin will not have dominion over us. 3:9 We do not make a practice of sinning. The inability to continually practice sin is a direct result of being “born into God’s family” (3:9). This expression refers to the new birth of regeneration, resulting in the abiding presence and internal working of the Holy Spirit. The “seed” that abides in the one who has been born again is a reference to the Spirit, though the work of the Spirit is always connected to the planting and sprouting of the Word of God (Matt. 13:1–23). In 3:10, this section concludes with a final test to discern between the teachers of righteousness and the teachers of falsehood. The children of God live lifestyles of righteousness and love their brothers and sisters> in Christ,/ whereas the children of the devil do not live righteous lifestyles and do not love fellow Christians. What a stark difference John expects from the children of God and the children of the devil!

 

To help you blot out sin, let me give you three simple statements. For most of us, these are reminders of very basic biblical truths. However, I would like to add some important practical implications to each of them.

First, we’re all sinners. Some of us are saved sinners, and others are lost sinners. However, since the events of Genesis 3, all humanity has been in a state of sin, as sinning is inherent in our nature. The lost often don’t accept that they’re lost … and often don’t regard themselves as sinners or call their actions “sin.” Some have so resisted the inner conviction of the conscience that they have little or no remorse for the things they do (see Rom. 2:15; 1 Tim. 4:2). Such people are in persistent rebellion, usually antagonistic to God and the Christian faith. On the other hand, those of us who are saved sinners, who have acknowledged the truths of Genesis 3 and Romans 3, are still sinners; but we have a different understanding. We call it what it is: sin. (Missing the Mark) And we have a new desire to align our lives with Christ. The Spirit bears witness to our consciences that engaging in thoughts and actions contrary to the will of God is dishonoring to Him and destructive to ourselves.

Remember that each one of us saved sinners,/before coming to know Christ’s salvation, was a lost sinner. We need to have compassion for the lost, showing mercy and kindness as we offer to them what someone once offered to us: forgiveness from the guilt of sin and a new start. Don’t be surprised when lost sinners persist in sin, make fun of spiritual things, or find your own struggle against sin for the sake of Christ silly. But when those who claim to be believers in Christ embrace a sinful lifestyle, you have every right to question and challenge this contradiction. Read 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 for Paul’s perspective on how we should approach lost sinners and saved sinners.

Second, God loves sinners. He loves lost sinners enough to send His Son to die for them (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8). He loves lost sinners enough to send His Spirit into the world to “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” (John 16:8). At every moment, God bids the lost sinner to come home. God also loves saved sinners enough to send the Holy Spirit into their lives (Rom. 5:5). His love compels us to live self-sacrificial lives (2 Cor. 5:14–15; 1 Jn. 3:16; 4:9–11). And His love for us through the Son keeps us in a permanent relationship of salvation (Rom. 8:35–39). He never leaves us nor forsakes us (Heb. 13:5).

As believers—sinners saved by grace—our response to both the lost and the saved should reflect this basic truth of the love of God. Just as God loves the lost enough to reach down from heaven through the Son and the Spirit, we, too, as the body of Christ indwelled by the Spirit, must reach out to the lost across the street and around the world. If the perfectly holy God loves lost sinners, what excuse can saved sinners like us possibly have to reject the lost as unworthy of the gospel? How are you involved in...

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2723 of our Trek. The purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

The Title of Today’s Wisdom-Trek is: The Eternal Throne, God's Unbreakable Promise to David a Trek through Psalm eighty-nine 19-29.

This psalm, a Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite, is the grand meditation on the Davidic Covenant.

In our previous conversations, we’ve heard the psalmist anchor his hope in God's eternal Unfailing Love and Faithfulness. He established God's cosmic power as the guarantor of this promise, declaring that God rules the oceans, owns the heavens and the earth, and that Righteousness and Justice are the very foundation of His throne.

Now, the psalm moves to the actual historical declaration of the covenant itself. God speaks directly to the prophet, recalling the moment He chose David, anointed him, and laid out the spectacular, eternal nature of the promise. This section details the divine foundation of David's kingdom, promising an unwavering presence, decisive victories, and a dynasty that will endure longer than the heavens. This is the unbreakable contract that is meant to sustain Israel's hope, even when all else fails.

So, let's open our hearts and minds to this profound divine revelation, recognizing the depth of God's commitment to His chosen king.

You once spoke to your faithful prophets in a vision and said, "I have raised up a warrior who is mighty, chosen him from the people. I have found my servant David; I have anointed him with my sacred oil. I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm, I will make him strong."

The psalm now shifts to a recollection of the original prophetic vision that established the covenant. The psalmist reminds the people that God didn't make this promise lightly; He spoke in a vision to His "faithful prophets" (or 'saints,' referencing those in the Divine Council who hear and proclaim God's decrees).

God announces His sovereign choice: "I have raised up a warrior who is mighty, chosen him from the people." This directly references David’s humble beginnings. David was not chosen from a royal line or a place of prominence; he was chosen "from the people," from the fields, as a mere shepherd, defying all human expectation. Yet, God elevates him, recognizing his internal character, describing him as a "warrior who is mighty."

God confirms His personal relationship and investment: "I have found my servant David; I have anointed him with my sacred oil." The search was complete; God "found" the man after His own heart. The act of anointing with "sacred oil" was a powerful, physical symbol of divine setting apart, establishing David as the Mashiach—the "Anointed One." This act transforms a shepherd into a king, placing him under God's direct, exclusive authority.

This divine commission is immediately accompanied by a promise of unwavering support and strength: "I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm, I will make him strong." God promises to personally "steady" David, to stabilize his reign against all threats, and to grant him power with His "powerful arm." David’s strength would not come from his own might, but from God's own irresistible power. This is the ultimate security guarantee for the king and the dynasty.

God promises David absolute victory and protection against every conceivable adversary. The assurance is direct and comprehensive: "His enemies will not defeat him; the wicked will not conquer him." This is an unwavering guarantee of invincibility for the chosen king. No military force, no political plot, no internal rebellion, no external wickedness can ever overcome the king whom God has anointed.

God promises to take direct, personal action against David's enemies: "I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him." God does not delegate this fight; He says, "I will crush." This is the same power that smashed Rahab and tamed the chaos of the oceans (Psalm 89:10). The destruction of David's enemies is a direct display of God's power, executed on behalf of His chosen servant.

The foundation for this victory is rooted entirely in God’s character: "My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and I will increase his power." David's success is a consequence of God's perpetual presence. Faithfulness (’ĕmûnâ) and Unfailing Love (Ḥesed) are committed to David, walking with him as divine guardians. Because of these attributes, God promises to "increase his power" (Hebrew: rām,  to exalt or lift high).

This exaltation leads to unprecedented dominion: "I will extend his rule over the sea, his dominion over the rivers." This promise surpasses the historical kingdom of David. It speaks of a vast dominion, controlling the sea (symbolic of chaos and the ends of the known world) and the rivers (the boundaries of foreign lands). This vision of universal rule is messianic; it looks forward to the ultimate Son of David, Jesus, whose dominion truly extends to the entire earth. God promises David a kingdom that is not only secure but globally extensive.

God then reveals the intimate reciprocal relationship established by this covenant: "And he will cry out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!'" This is David’s voice, responding to the immense honor of the covenant. The relationship shifts from servant to son. David addresses God with supreme intimacy: "my Father," expressing trust and dependence; "my God," expressing loyalty and worship; and "the Rock of my salvation," expressing absolute reliance on God’s stability and power to save. This relationship of sonship is the pinnacle of the Davidic covenant.

In turn, God grants David an exalted status among all creation: "I will declare him to be my firstborn, the mightiest of all kings on earth." The term "firstborn" (bĕḵōr) in this context signifies preeminence, supreme rank, and authority, regardless of birth order. God is declaring David (and his dynasty) to be the highest human authority, "the mightiest of all kings on earth." This title echoes the supremacy of the Divine Council itself, positioning David as the ultimate earthly ruler, sanctioned by the Most High.

God then seals the covenant with a powerful, comprehensive assurance of its eternal nature: "I will love him with unfailing love forever; my covenant with him will never be broken. I will establish his dynasty forever; his throne will endure as long as the heavens." The promise is absolute.

God’s Unfailing Love (Ḥesed) is eternal ("forever").

The covenant will "never be broken" (a profound assertion of divine integrity).

The dynasty is perpetual ("forever").

The throne is guaranteed to "endure as long as the heavens" (echoing verse 2, tying the promise to the permanence of the cosmos).

This section concludes the central argument of Psalm 89: God's promise to David is not conditional on human performance, but on God's own eternal character—His ḥesed and His cosmic power. This is the unshakeable foundation of hope that must stand against all present darkness and fear, even the despair Heman expressed in Psalm 88.

If you found this podcast insightful, subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

 

 

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2722 of our Trek. <#1.0#> The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. <#1.0#>

The Title for today’s Wisdom-Trek is: God’s Cosmic Dominion – The Unrivaled Strength of the Almighty - A Trek Through Psalm Eighty-Nine 9-18 <#1.0#>

This psalm is a grand meditation on God's covenant faithfulness, and this middle section serves to powerfully establish God's absolute cosmic power as the guarantor of that covenant. <#0.5#>

In our last conversation, we heard the psalmist, Ethan the Ezrahite, begin with an eternal commitment to sing of God's Unfailing Love and Faithfulness forever. He anchored that hope in the Davidic Covenant—God's eternal promise of an unending dynasty—and affirmed God's supremacy over the Divine Council, declaring that no angel can compare with Him. <#0.5#>

Now, Ethan shifts from the celestial courtroom to the vastness of creation, demonstrating that the God who made that eternal promise is the only One powerful enough to keep it. He is the God who calms the raging sea, defeats the ancient powers of chaos, and possesses all the power, righteousness, and justice necessary to sustain His promise forever. This is a powerful, awe-inspiring affirmation designed to build our confidence in the absolute authority of the Most High. <#0.5#>

So, let's open our hearts to this declaration of God's universal sovereignty, recognizing the immense power of the One who holds us in His hand.<#0.5#>

You rule the oceans when their waves surge high. You are the one who smashed the great sea monster, Rahab, and scattered your enemies with a mighty arm. The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is made by your hands. You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.

The psalmist begins by affirming God's absolute dominion over one of the most terrifying forces in the ancient world: the sea. "You rule the oceans when their waves surge high." In the ancient Israelite worldview, the sea was often seen as a symbol of chaos, instability, and raw, untamable power. For God to "rule the oceans" means He exercises complete control over the very forces of chaos and destruction. When the waves surge in fury, God is the supreme authority who limits them and commands their retreat. <#0.5#>

This dominion over chaos is illustrated by a great historical and mythical allusion: "You are the one who smashed the great sea monster, Rahab, and scattered your enemies with a mighty arm." "Rahab" is often used in the Old Testament as a mythical figure representing primeval chaos, similar to the sea monsters Yam and Leviathan. More practically, it is a symbolic name for Egypt, the great oppressor of Israel. By saying God "smashed" Rahab, the psalmist is referring both to God's cosmic victory over the forces of disorder at creation, and to His historical victory over the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. God used His "mighty arm" to overcome the world’s greatest empire and scatter His enemies. This imagery powerfully asserts that there is no chaos, no political power, and no physical force that can withstand the strength of the Almighty God. <#0.5#>

The affirmation of God's power then expands to encompass all of creation: "The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is made by your hands." This is a comprehensive statement of ownership and creation. God's dominion is not limited to the ocean or a single nation; He owns the entire cosmos. "Everything in the world" is a product of His hands, meaning there is nothing outside His control, His design, or His authority. <#0.5#>

This universal ownership extends to all geographical markers: "You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name." "North and south" signifies the totality of direction and distance. The mention of Mount Tabor (in central Israel) and Mount Hermon (the highest peak in the north) provides specific, tangible examples of God's absolute creation. These majestic mountains stand silent, yet their sheer existence is a continuous testimony: they "praise your name." Their grandeur is a testament to the greater majesty of their Creator. <#0.5#>

This section establishes God as the supreme Ruler of the cosmos, whose creative and destructive power utterly guarantees the certainty of His covenant promises.

The second section is: The Throne of Righteousness and Justice <#0.5#>

(Psalm eighty-nine 13-14) <#0.5#>

Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in victory! Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants. <#0.5#>

The psalmist summarizes God's irresistible strength with a flourish: "Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in victory!" The repetition of "arm" and "hand" emphasizes the physicality and immediacy of God's power. His "right hand," traditionally the hand of strength, favor, and action, is perpetually "lifted high in victory." This is the image of a King who has won the war and whose triumph is eternal. <#0.5#>

But this power is not arbitrary or tyrannical; it is perfectly moral and ordered: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants." This is one of the most profound statements about God’s governance in the entire Psalter. It describes the divine council and the cosmic order of God's kingdom. <#0.5#>

Righteousness (Tsedeq—moral integrity and adherence to God's standard) and Justice (Mishpat—fairness in judgment and upholding the law) are the foundation upon which God's eternal throne rests. His rule is completely steady because it is utterly just. <#0.5#>

Unfailing Love (Ḥesed—steadfast loyalty) and Truth (’Ĕmûnâ—reliability and faithfulness) are His attendants (qādam—to go before Him). These two characteristics clear the path and prepare the way for God's every action. <#0.5#>

This theological truth is critical for the psalmist. It assures him that the powerful, ocean-taming God is also the perfectly moral God. His power is always used in service of justice and love. This perfect moral consistency guarantees that the Davidic Covenant will be kept, not just because God is strong enough, but because He is righteous enough. <#0.5#>

The third section is: The Blessing of Knowing the Sound <#0.5#>

(Psalm eighty-nine 15-18) <#0.5#>

Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exalt in your righteousness. You are the glory of their strength; it is your favor that makes us triumphant. Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king. <#0.5#>

The psalmist now turns his attention from the cosmic reality to the blessed reality of God’s people: "Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, O Lord." "Happy" (’aśrê) is the same word used in the opening of many psalms—the declaration of blessing. This blessing belongs to those who hear the "joyful call to worship" (tĕrû‘â)—the triumphant shout or the sound of the shofar. This sound is the signal of God's presence and deliverance. Those who respond to that call will "walk in the light of your presence," experiencing His guidance, favor, and protection. <#0.5#>

This blessing manifests as unending joy and confidence: "They rejoice in your name all day long; they exalt in your righteousness." Their joy is perpetual ("all day long"), and it is focused entirely on God’s name (His character) and His righteousness (His perfect justice). They find their highest honor not in their own accomplishments, but in God’s moral perfection. <#0.5#>

The psalmist concludes with a declaration that links God's character directly to the security of His people and the Davidic Covenant: "You are the glory of their strength; it is your favor that makes us triumphant. Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king." <#0.5#>

God is the "glory of their strength"—He is the source of their power and the boast of their might. <#0.5#>

Their triumph is not earned; it is a gift of God's "favor" (rāṣôn—His good pleasure). <#0.5#>

Their ultimate protection comes from the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. <#0.5#>

This final statement grounds their security in the Messianic hope. God, the supreme cosmic Ruler, the one whose righteousness is His foundation, is the very one who "has given us our king." This affirmation ties the overwhelming, universal power demonstrated in the heavens and the sea directly to the specific, enduring promise of the Davidic throne. It assures the people that because God is so great and so true, the covenant and the king are utterly secure. This is the profound comfort that resolves the anguish of Psalm eighty-eight—God may allow darkness, but His foundational truth, His eternal covenant, and His ultimate victory are unshakeable. <#0.5#>

If you found this podcast insightful, please subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of <#0.5#> ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’ <#0.5#>

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this Trek of life together, let us always: <#0.5#> Live Abundantly... Love Unconditionally... Listen Intentionally... Learn Continuously... Lend to others Generously... Lead with Integrity...<#0.5#> and Leave a Living Legacy Each Day...

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….<#0.5#>reminding you to,<#0.5#> ‘Keep Moving Forward,’<#0.5#> ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ <#0.5#> and, ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday! <#0.5#> See you next time for more daily wisdom!

 

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2721 of our Trek. <#1.0#> The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. <#1.0#>

Today, we continue with the 16th  and final segment of this series of Theology Thursday lessons. Next week we will begin a new series. Today, I am reading the final chapter of the book "Supernatural," written by Hebrew Bible scholar, professor, and mentor Dr. Michael S. Heiser, <#1.0#> who has since passed away. Supernatural is a condensed version of his comprehensive book, ‘The Unseen Realm.’ If these readings pique your interest, I would recommend that you read ‘The Unseen Realm.’ Today, we will read through chapter sixteenth: “Ruling over Angels” <#1.0#>

It’s crucial to our faith that we understand who we are as Christians. We are the sons and daughters of God, a re-fashioned divine council that already participates in our Father’s kingdom. But there’s more to it than that. Yes, we are God’s family council—but to what end?

While we are already in the kingdom (Colosians 1:13), we have not yet seen the full unveiling of that kingdom—we have not seen the world become Eden. This “already, but not yet” paradox runs throughout the Bible in many ways. In this chapter, I want to give you a glimpse of the “not yet” that answers the question “To what end?” <#1.0#>

Our participation in God’s kingdom isn’t predetermined, in this sense: We are not mere robots performing functions programmed for us. That violates the whole idea of being God’s imager, his representative. We were created to be like him. He is free. If we do not have genuine freedom, we cannot be like him—by definition, we would not be like him. We are free to obey and worship, or rebel and indulge ourselves. And we will reap what we sow. Our sowing is not programmed. <#1.0#>

But God is greater than we are. He had a plan and it will come to pass. Its success neither depends on nor is forced to adapt to human freedom. We cannot undermine it—nor can the divine beings who are also free to choose. <#1.0#>

Think about the heavenly council meeting I showed you in chapter 1. I asked whether you believed the things the Bible says, and then took you to a meeting of God and his heavenly council in First Kings 22. God had decreed (and so it must happen) that it was time for wicked Ahab to die. But God then let the spirit beings in his council decide how to accomplish that (First Kings 22, verses 19–23). <#1.0#>

Predestination and freedom work hand-in-hand in God’s kingdom rule. His purposes will never be overturned or halted. He is able to take sin and rebellion and still accomplish—through other free representatives—what he desires. As C. S. Lewis once said of God (in the book Perelandra), “Whatever you do, He will make good of it. But not the good He had prepared for you if you had obeyed him.” <#1.0#>

To what end, here and now, are we God’s family council? To participate with God in liberating people from darkness. To show people how to live justly and with mercy—imitating God for those who need the illustration. To defend and spread truth about the true God in a hostile world under the dominion of envious divine intelligences. To enjoy life as God intended it. <#1.0#>

All these callings are training for the kingdom to come. As Paul asked the Corinthians, who had lost a divine perspective while bickering about the affairs of this world, “Do you not know that we are to judge [rule] angels?” (first Corinthians 6 verse 3). He was serious. Paul was getting at something specific in that statement. <#1.0#>

The final form of the kingdom is yet to come. When it does, the powers of darkness will be defeated. The demonic gods will lose their dominion over the nations permanently—replaced by God’s glorified human family and council. Look at what Jesus said in the book of Revelation: <#1.0#>

Hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. (Revelation two, verses 25–28) <#1.0#>

Are you puzzled by that final statement in Revelation two, 28?  <#1.0#> “I will give him the morning star”? It does sound odd, but it speaks of our joint rule with Jesus over the nations after the evil powers are dealt with. “Morning star” is used to describe divine beings (Job thirty eight, 7). It is also a messianic term. Since the messiah is divine, “star language” was sometimes used to describe his coming reign. Numbers twenty four, 17 says “A star will go out from Jacob, and a scepter will rise from Israel.” In the book of Revelation, Jesus describes himself this way: “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (Revelation twenty-two, 16). <#1.0#>

The wording of Revelation two, 25–28 is powerful. Not only does Jesus say he is the messianic morning star, but he gives to us the morning star—he shares his messianic rule with us. Revelation three, 20–21 takes it one step further so believers don’t miss the point: <#1.0#>

Behold, I stand at the door and knock! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, indeed I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also have conquered and have sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation three, 20–21) <#1.0#>

To what end have we been made partakers of the divine nature? Why does Jesus introduce us in the council as his brothers and sisters? So that God can give us the dominion over the earth he originally desired. Heaven will return to earth in a new, global Eden. <#1.0#>

Let’s consider the Eternal Eden <#1.0#>

From the first chapters of Genesis, Eden was a focal point of God’s plan for man, the rest of his divine imagers, and his kingdom. So it’s neither a surprise nor a coincidence that the last chapter of the book of Revelation takes us back to Eden: <#1.0#>

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation twenty-two, 1–5) <#1.0#>

Did you notice that the Tree of Life heals the nations? The nations, once dominated by principalities and powers, will be ruled by the new sons and daughters of God—you and me. <#1.0#>

This wasn’t the first time the Tree of Life showed up in Revelation. Speaking to those who believe unto the end, Jesus said in Revelation two, 7 and 11, “I will grant [them] to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God … [They] will not be hurt by the second death.” The reference to the Tree of Life is clearly Edenic. The first death refers to physical death, brought by Adam’s sin and expulsion from Eden. Since all humans, believers and unbelievers alike, are resurrected before judgment, the second death is the final judgment (Revelation twenty-one, 8). Those who continue to live with God in a new Eden do not suffer the second death. <#1.0#>

Once again we ask the question, Why This Matters <#1.0#>

Many Christians have an inadequate view of the afterlife. Scripture doesn’t tell us everything about what it will be like, but some aspects are certain. We aren’t going to be playing harps or singing endlessly while floating around on clouds. We won’t just be sitting on celestial couches chatting with departed loved ones or well-known believers from the past. <#1.0#>

Rather, we will be living the life Eden offered—we will be busy enjoying and caring for what God has made, side by side with the divine beings who remained loyal to him. Heaven and earth will no longer be separate places. <#1.0#>

Knowing our destiny ought to mold our thinking in the here and now. As Paul said, “What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love him” (first Corinthians two, 9). <#1.0#> Knowing this spectacular, glorious outcome helps keep our present circumstances in perspective. After Paul wrote the words we just read, he said this in his second letter to the Corinthians: <#1.0#>

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction.… For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (second Corinthians one, 3–9, emphasis added) <#1.0#>

God can preserve us in life. But even in death, we will be raised to sit with Jesus on his throne (Revelation three, 21). <#1.0#>

We either live with our destination in view, or we don’t. And our awareness of our destiny ought to alter our behavior. If you knew you’d someday be sharing an apartment or working in the same office as that person you criticize, belittle, and otherwise disdain, you’d invest a little more effort into being a peacemaker, an encourager, and perhaps even a friend to that person. How is it that we treat fellow believers so poorly, then? How is it that we don’t put as much energy into moving the unbeliever toward Jesus as we do into engaging with him or her as an enemy? We either have eternity in view, or we don’t. <#1.0#>

How much rule does Jesus need to share with you to keep you happy? The question might seem odd, since any such gift from Jesus would be wonderful. Why, then, do we vie with believers for status? Why do we bicker with each other for advantage, attention, and personal gain? Are we no better than the Corinthians, whom Paul had to remind of their destiny? We’re either content to rule and reign with him, or we’re not. <#1.0#>

Christian, it’s time to live as though you know who you are and know the plans God has for you. <#1.0#>

Let’s review the book, Supernatural in our Conclusion

We’ve come to the end of our journey. But it’s probably better to say that we’ve only just begun. We’ve considered some fundamental questions: Do other gods exist? If they do, does that make much difference in how we understand the Bible? What does it mean for our faith if we presume the unseen world described in the Bible is actually real—not just the familiar and accepted parts, but the unusual and often-ignored parts? Once I started catching the drift of the supernatural plotline of Scripture, I realized I needed to think differently about all sorts of things. But I can sum them up in two words: identity and purpose. I hope you have been challenged in both of those areas as you’ve read this book. <#1.0#>

So what is Our Identity—We Have a Home in the Family of God <#1.0#>

What this book has discussed has significant implications for how we perceive what it means to be a Christian​—to be “in Christ,” as the New Testament so often puts it. Once we realize the gods of the Old Testament are real, then the meaning of God’s command to have no other god before Yahweh, the God of Israel, comes into focus. The command isn’t about not giving attention to money or boats or cars. It’s about God’s jealous love for his people. In other words, the command actually means what it says. The insanity of loyalty to any god other than the God of all gods is hard to miss. <#1.0#>

The awfulness of living with the consequences of how God judged the gods and their people (the “nations”) is also pretty obvious. We were once disinherited, enslaved to the corruption and exploitation of other gods. We were, as Paul says, alienated from God and outsiders to his covenant love (Ephesians two, 12). We were lost, enslaved to darkness, enemies of God in the service to unseen overlords (Ephesians four, 18; and Colosians two, 21). <#1.0#>

Having a grasp of that situation makes doctrinal concepts like adoption and inheritance more meaningful. It gives them context. God was unwilling to void the plan of living on earth with his family, enjoying the created world that came from his own hand. Yes, at Babel he turned his back on humanity, but in the next moment, he called Abraham to raise up a new family—and to be the conduit through which those disinherited could find their way back to him (Acts ten, 26–27). <#1.0#>

Embracing the supernatural reality of the spiritual world of the Bible is essential for understanding the Bible. It explains why, as the Old Testament moves forward, the sin of idolatry will not just be like any other sin. It will be the sin. Israel was created to be loyal to God; when she turned to other gods instead, she was sent into exile, cast off like the other nations. This is a central reason why salvation in the Bible is always described in terms of faith. God is not ultimately looking for better behavior. He is looking for faith—for believing loyalty. When we choose to align our hearts with the God of gods, he will save us. When we choose another, we are sowing what we will one day reap. <#1.0#>

For us today, believing loyalty means embracing what Jesus did on the cross, because he was God in flesh. Our ethics and behavior (our works) aren’t about becoming loyal enough for God to embrace us. We follow his commands because we’ve already chosen him. And his commands will lead to our happiness and contentment because they steer us away from the destruction of self and others. They provide a glimpse of life in harmony with God and the rest of his family—our family—seen and unseen, in his kingdom, the new Eden. <#1.0#>

So what is Our Purpose? <#1.0#> We All Play a Part in God’s Plan to Restore Eden <#1.0#>

Membership in God’s family has only one condition: unswerving faith in the God of gods, come to us in the person of Jesus Christ. That membership not only bestows wonderful privileges, but also provides us with a clear purpose in life. <#1.0#>

The members of God’s family have a mission: to be God’s agents in restoring his good rule on earth and expanding the membership of his family. We are God’s means to propel the great reversal begun in Acts two, the birth of the church, the body of Christ, until the time when the Lord returns. As evil had spread like a contagion through humanity after the failure of the first Eden, so the gospel spreads like an antidote through the same infected host. We are carriers of the truth about the God of gods, his love for all nations, and his unchanging desire to dwell with his family in the earthly home he has wanted since its creation. Eden will live again. <#1.0#>

It’s a scientific fact that the world’s continents move farther apart every year. But the progression of “continental drift” is undetectable to human senses. We only know it occurs because of observations we can make after the fact. So it is with the steady, unrelenting advance of the kingdom of God. We can’t perceive with the naked eye how each day shrinks the domains of the gods, the powers of darkness, or how the gospel liberates, one by one, those held under dominion. But it is an indiscernible certainty. <#1.0#>

The key to seeing ourselves in this picture is to firmly grasp that God is still working his plan even when we can’t see it. We cannot genuinely claim to believe in the unseen, supernatural world while not believing that God’s intelligent providence is active in our lives and the affairs of human history. God wants us to live intentionally​—believing that his unseen hand and the invisible agents loyal to him and us (Hebrews One, 14) are engaged in our circumstances so that, together, God’s goal of a global Eden moves unstoppably onward. <#1.0#>

Each of us is vital to someone’s path to the kingdom and the defense of that kingdom. Each day affords us contact with people under the dominion of darkness and opportunities to encourage each other in the hard task of fulfilling our purpose in an imperfect world. Everything we do and say matters, though we may never know why or how. But our job isn’t to see—it’s to do. Walking by faith isn’t passive—it’s purposeful. <#1.0#>

Join us next time on Theology Thursday as we begin a new series. <#1.0#>

If you found this podcast insightful, subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek,...

 

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2720 of our Trek. <#1.0#> The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. <#1.0#>

The Title for Today’s Wisdom-Trek is: The Eternal Song of God's Unfailing Love - A Trek Through Psalm Eighty Nine 1-8 <#1.0#>

Today, we begin a new, pivotal, and magnificent chapter in our journey through the Psalms: Psalm Eighty-Nine. We are covering its opening, foundational verses 1 through 8, in the New Living Translation. <#1.0#>

This psalm is a Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. Ethan, like Heman from the deeply sorrowful Psalm Eighty-Eight we just concluded, was one of the wise men and musicians of Solomon's time. Yet, where Psalm 88 ended in the absolute darkness of suffering and silence, Psalm Eighty-nine explodes with a powerful, unrelenting declaration of faith in God's two greatest attributes: His Unfailing Love and His Faithfulness.

This psalm is the theological answer to Heman's despair! It essentially says, "Even when I feel consumed by darkness, even when God's fury seems heavy upon me, I will still sing of His steadfast love!" Psalm 89 is a grand meditation on the Davidic Covenant, a promise from God that established David’s throne forever. The opening verses are a magnificent hymn, celebrating the God whose word is established in the heavens and whose power is unrivaled, even in the Divine Council.

So, let's allow this hymn of divine promise to lift our hearts and anchor our hope in the unwavering character of the Most High God. <#1.0#>

The first section is: The Eternal Covenant of Love and Faithfulness<#1.0#>

(Psalm Eighty-Nine 1-4)<#1.0#>

I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever; your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. The Lord said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen servant; I have solemnly promised David: ‘I will secure your throne among your descendants forever; I will make your dynasty last as long as the skies!'" Interlude <#1.0#>

The psalm opens with an immediate, resolute, and eternal commitment to praise: "I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!" This is a personal vow, made by the psalmist, that will last for all time. The focus is squarely on God’s "unfailing love" (ḥesed), that steadfast, covenant loyalty we’ve discussed so many times. It is the core quality of God's character that guarantees His adherence to His promises. The declaration to sing of it "forever" contrasts starkly with the finite life and suffering Heman described in the last psalm. Here, the emphasis is on the infinite nature of God's goodness. <#1.0#>

This praise is meant to be intergenerational: "Young and old will hear of your faithfulness." The truth of God's character must be passed down through history, fulfilling the educational command we saw in Psalm Seventy-Eighth. All generations need to hear and bear witness to God's faithfulness (’ĕmûnâ), His reliability and trustworthiness. <#1.0#>

The psalmist emphasizes the eternal nature of these two divine attributes: "Your unfailing love will last forever; your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens." The ḥesed of God is not subject to time; it "will last forever." And His ’ĕmûnâ is as sure and "enduring as the heavens," the visible cosmos. In the ancient Israelite worldview, the heavens were considered the ultimate symbol of permanence and stability. By equating God's faithfulness to the permanence of the sky, the psalmist affirms that it is unshakeable, reliable, and absolutely certain. <#1.0#>

The psalmist then moves from God’s general attributes to His specific, binding covenant with David, revealing the source of this certainty: "The Lord said, 'I have made a covenant with my chosen servant; I have solemnly promised David:'" This is God’s voice, speaking of His own initiative. A covenant (berît) was a solemn, legally binding commitment. God chose David, His "chosen servant," and bound Himself by His own word. <#1.0#>

The substance of that promise is staggering: "‘I will secure your throne among your descendants forever; I will make your dynasty last as long as the skies!'" The covenant promises two things: <#1.0#>

A secure throne (the continuity of the monarchy).

An eternal dynasty (lasting "forever" and "as long as the skies"). <#1.0#>

This is the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7). God promises an unbroken, perpetual lineage for the king, guaranteeing that a descendant of David will always occupy the throne. This hope—the eternal promise of a righteous King—was the ultimate hope for Israel and finds its perfect fulfillment only in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. <#1.0#>

The "Interlude" gives us a moment to absorb the weight of this divine promise: God's eternal character is tied to a promise made to a human king, a promise that transcends human time and ensures an everlasting reign. <#1.0#>

The Second Section is: The Cosmic Chorus of Praise <#1.0#>

(Psalm Eighty-Nine 5-8) <#1.0#>

All the heavens will praise your great wonders, O Lord; the assembly of holy ones will praise your faithfulness. For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord? The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, who is as mighty as you, O Lord? You are surrounded by your faithfulness. <#1.0#>

Having established God's faithfulness through the Davidic Covenant, the psalmist now envisions the cosmic response to God’s nature: "All the heavens will praise your great wonders, O Lord; the assembly of holy ones will praise your faithfulness." The praise is universal and celestial. The "heavens" (the physical cosmos) praise God's "great wonders" (pele’—His astonishing deeds). <#1.0#>

The "assembly of holy ones" (qehāl qedōšîm) is a direct reference to the Divine Council. In the ancient Israelite worldview, God presided over a council of angelic or spiritual beings. This council is here depicted as actively praising God, affirming His faithfulness. This shows that God’s trustworthiness is acknowledged and celebrated by the highest spiritual authorities in the cosmos. <#1.0#>

The psalmist then launches into a powerful rhetorical challenge to the entire Council: "For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?" This echoes the unrivaled supremacy we saw declared in Psalm 86: "You alone are God." Here, the challenge is cosmic. The psalmist asserts that among all the spiritual, powerful beings of the Divine Council, none possess the unique attributes—the power, the holiness, and the unwavering ḥesed—that belong to Yahweh. The "mightiest angel" (bĕnē ’ēlîm, sons of God or mighty ones) is absolutely incomparable to the Lord. <#1.0#>

The council itself is depicted as standing in awe: "The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne." The reverence from these powerful spiritual beings highlights God's absolute transcendence. He is not merely the Chairman of the Council; He is the Most Awesome (nôrâ) being in existence. His majesty dwarfs even the most brilliant spiritual beings who serve Him. <#1.0#>

The psalmist concludes this section by uniting God’s power and His faithfulness: "O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, who is as mighty as you, O Lord? You are surrounded by your faithfulness." The title "Lord God of Heaven’s Armies" (Yahweh Elohei Tseva’ot) emphasizes His military and cosmic power. His might (ḥasîn) is unmatched. <#1.0#>

And the reason for His mighty and trustworthy nature is beautiful: "You are surrounded by your faithfulness." God's ’ĕmûnâ, His reliability, is not just one trait; it is His very atmosphere. It is the armor that surrounds Him and the very substance of His character. Everything He does is rooted in, and guaranteed by, His unwavering truth. <#1.0#>

Psalm eighty-nine opens with a magnificent, eternal, and cosmic declaration of God's Unfailing Love and Faithfulness. It sets the stage for the rest of the psalm, which will move into a deep lament when circumstances seem to contradict this very promise. <#1.0#>

 

The Third Section is: The Unshakeable Anchor <#1.0#>

The wisdom of Psalm eighty-nine for our trek today lies in The Unshakeable Anchor of God's Character. <#1.0#>

Eternal Truth Over Temporary Feelings: This psalm forces us to sing of God's ḥesed "forever," a deliberate choice to ground our hope in His unchanging truth, even when our life feels consumed by the "darkness" Heman described in Psalm 88. Our feelings change, but God's love does not.

The Promise is for Posterity: The covenant with David, and the command to tell the next generation, reminds us that the truths of God's faithfulness are a legacy. Our faith must be generational, ensuring that "young and old will hear."

God is Unrivaled: The cosmic challenge to the Divine Council is our defense against doubt. When we are tempted to question God's power or to look to earthly rulers for salvation, we must remember: "You alone are God." His power is supreme, and His faithfulness is the very air He breathes. <#1.0#>

Let us commit to singing the eternal song of God's love, trusting that His faithfulness, which is as enduring as the heavens, is the guarantee of our future hope. <#1.0#>

If you found this podcast insightful, please subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’ <#1.0#>

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this Trek of life together, let us always: Live Abundantly... Love Unconditionally... Listen Intentionally... Learn Continuously... Lend to others Generously... Lead with Integrity... Leave a Living Legacy Each Day... <#1.0#>

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to, ‘Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and, ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday! See you next time for more daily wisdom!

 

Putnam Church Message – 09/21/2025

Last week, we continued through the letter of 1 John and explored how to have “A Discerning Life: Dealing with Deceivers."

This week, we continue through the letter of 1 John, and we will explore how to have A Discerning Life: Living in Light of the Lord’s Return" from 1 John 2:28-3:3 from the NIV, which is found on page 1901 of your Pew Bibles.

The doctrine known as the Second Coming (or the return of Christ) either attracts mockery, strikes fear, or brings comfort.  Many men and women were raised with a respect for the Bible or were brought up in the church, but never fully grasped the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. As such, they hear about the coming of Christ to judge the living and the dead … and it brings dread. Perhaps there are also some true believers who have strayed so far from the right path that they fear the coming of the Savior as the day they must give an account for their lives of unfaithfulness to the Lord. In both cases, the Second Coming is associated with fear or shame. However, many believers eagerly await their Lord’s return with hope and anticipation. They know and believe with longing the words of Paul:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died[a] will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. (1 Thes. 4:16–18)

Invariably, when I have the privilege of serving people who have lost loved ones, I remind them of this very passage of Scripture. It’s the event grieving believers can look forward to—the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and a great “family reunion” with all those who have gone before us!

The doctrine of the return of Christ is no fairy tale to get children to behave, no soothsaying fantasy to get people through a dismal world, and no fad invented to sell books to people worried about the future. On the contrary, the second coming of Christ is part of the body of truth taught not only by Jesus Himself but also by His apostles, the early church, and every generation of true believers throughout the last two millennia.

In 1 JOHN 2:28–3:3, John refers twice to the moment “when He appears” (2:28; 3:2). It’s clear that he’s urging all of us, his readers, to think and plan ahead, to realize that the Lord’s return is an inescapable reality which we can face with assurance, not shame. In light of Christ’s coming, we’re to be filled with hopeful anticipation, knowing that “we will see Him just as He is” (3:2).

Christ is coming back one day. It may be today. It may be next week. It may be years, decades, or even centuries from now. Nobody knows when (Mark 13:32). But His future coming from heaven is as certain as His past ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9–11). The fulfillment of this prophecy, based on the unbreakable promise of God, is certain. But the responses of believers to the coming of Christ vary. For those who are ready, it brings comfort and promotes purity. For those who are unprepared, it strikes fear and shame. How should we live in light of Christ’s return?

John begins this section with a straightforward command: “And now, dear children” (1 Jn. 2:28). This is the same Greek term (menō [3306]) that was used in the previous section regarding our response to false teachers. We’re to “abide in the Son and in the Father” by letting God’s word abide in us (2:24). And we “abide in Him” by the power of the Holy Spirit, our Teacher, who abides in us (2:27). When John tells his readers to “abide in Him” in 2:28, we know this involves walking in the light,/ keeping God’s Word, /attending to the foundational truths of the faith, /avoiding deception by false teachers,/ and living lives in conformity with Christ’s example—all by the power of the indwelling Spirit. The verb “abide” is in the present tense, which implies an ongoing activity, not a one-time event. We’re to continually abide in Him.

This vital command to continue abiding in Christ is followed by a reassuring reminder. The result of abiding in Christ is that we will anticipate His return with confidence, not being put to shame by His appearance (2:28). The Greek word translated “coming” is parousia [3952], which in this context refers to Christ’s “Messianic Advent in glory to judge the world at the end of this age.” By abiding now, /we’ll have confidence then. But the opposite is also true: By failing to abide in fellowship with Him—walking in the Spirit—we’ll shrink back in shame when He appears!

Because we know that the coming Son of God “is righteous” (2:29), we also know that He will judge righteously. Acts 17:31 says, “For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” So, for those who have walked in the Spirit and strived to serve Him with their lives, the righteous Judge will reward justly, as Paul wrote: “And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:8). Paul makes this point crystal clear when he refers to the judgment seat of Christ, where each believer must appear—not to determine whether we are worthy of salvation, but to be rewarded for our faithfulness in our life of service to Him (1 Cor. 3:12–15; 2 Cor. 5:9–10). This should prompt all those who are “born of Him” to practice righteousness (1 Jn. 2:29). But John’s point goes even deeper. Those who are “born of Him” are those who have genuinely experienced regeneration by grace through faith. They are thus declared righteous and are spiritually united to Christ by the Holy Spirit. Stephen Smalley notes, “It is only by being ‘born again’ (through Christ) that the believer can be properly related to God.… (Bulletin) Moreover, only as the believer is firmly related to God through Christ, and by the Spirit, is it possible to ‘abide in him’ and ‘act rightly.’ ” By the righteousness of Christ, God has provided two things:

the internal ability—spiritual union with Him that declares us righteous in Him and enables us to live rightly.

the external motivation—the fact that we must give an account to Christ as a righteous Judge who will reward us for our faithfulness.

The regenerating work of Christ freely grants believers a right standing before Him and enables them to live rightly for Him. Considering this truth, John caps off his exhortation to live in light of Christ’s return with an outburst of wonder (3:1), a glorious promise (3:2), and a fixed hope (3:3).

The King James Version translates the first word of chapter 3 not with a weak “see” but a more dramatic “behold.” I think that captures the wonder in John’s words better than “see” or “look.” John is gushing with excitement at the splendor of salvation, “for he calls us his children” (3:1). And just to be perfectly clear that we aren’t merely called something we’re not, John adds, “and such we are.”

As Christ is by nature the Son of God, our union with Him places us in a position of “adoption as [children]” of God (Rom. 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5). This is a great blessing to be reckoned as one with Him and to be ushered—purely by grace—into the family of God. But there is also a more sobering side to this: Just as the world does not know Christ and does not rightly relate to Him, / so the world does not know us as we really are (1 Jn. 3:1). This will inevitably lead to misunderstanding and discord between the believer and the world.

However, this dissonance between the world and the family of believers is only temporary. Everything will change when Christ returns and sets this world straight. John’s outburst of wonder leads to a glorious promise related to the Second Coming. Though we don’t fully understand many of the details about the future life after the return of Christ and our glorious resurrection, we do know this: But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. (3:2). The notion that “we will be like Him” is clarified by Paul’s words in Philippians 3:20–21: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

But what does John mean by the explanatory clause “But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”? How does seeing Jesus “as is” affect what we will become? For those of us who are believers to truly see Jesus in His glorious nature, we ourselves must first undergo a change. We will need to be made capable of perceiving not only the physical realm as it really is, but also the spiritual realm. Then, what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13:12 will be fulfilled: Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[a] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Only a miraculous transformation to a glorious condition will allow us to see Him “as He is.” Paul describes our transformation in this way:

But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. (1 Cor. 15:51–53)

This transformation, in turn, will only deepen and intensify the spiritual union we have with Christ, which itself will lead to greater conformity to Him. One commentator explains:

At His appearing, believers will see Jesus in His true nature because their spiritual as well as physical eyes will be fully open. This vision of Christ will change each one. We will become like Him in terms of what we see in Him and in ourselves. What we will come to recognize fully is that Jesus is morally pure, absolutely righteous. At that moment, we too will become so.

But that’s yet future. Perhaps in the near future, perhaps in the distant future. Maybe the trumpet of God will usher our souls from heaven to be reunited with our glorious bodies, or maybe we’ll still be alive and experience an instant transformation from mortality to immortality. Whatever is in store for us, this resurrection and glorification is still to come.

So, what do we do in the meantime as we wait eagerly for the Second Coming and long for our transformation? John answers this in the next verse: “And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn. 3:3). With this one line, John’s soaring, out-of-this-world theology lands in the center of the personal and the practical. Every Christian who places their confident expectation in Christ’s return, yearning to see Him face-to-face, to be changed from the inside out, and to spend eternity basking in His glory, should experience an internal cleansing in the here and now.

This isn’t a ceremonial cleansing. And it isn’t a mere declaration of cleansing. This is sanctification, in which we are set apart to live in a way that’s pleasing to Him, becoming more and more like Him even in this life. By setting our hearts and minds on His imminent and certain return, a purification occurs that cleanses us from the things that would otherwise drag us down. We’re saved from the power of sin over our lives and empowered to live a life pleasing to Him.

What a series of verses! This section starts with a command to abide in Him (2:28). It includes a word of reassurance (2:28–29), and it reaches a zenith with the wonder of the Father’s saving love by which He adopts us as His children (3:1). At the top of this peak, John reminds us of the promise that, in our future state, we will be like Christ (3:2). And he concludes this section with a note on the purifying purpose of a hope fixed on Christ’s second coming (3:3).

Very seldom do I hear “prophecy experts”—with their detailed charts and confident arguments—spend a lot of time on how the Second Coming should affect the way we live today. They go on and on about what God will be doing then … and they leave us wondering what we’re supposed to be doing now. But not the biblical authors. All inspired Scripture—even prophecy of future events—is given to us All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16–17).

So what should we be doing now as we wait for the return of Christ? Let me answer this “Now what?” question with three principles to keep in mind.

First, we should purify our lives. All of us have sin in our lives. The apostle John has already made this patently clear (1 Jn. 1:8). Even the most seasoned saint has some daily spiritual hygiene to take care of or they’ll start to stink. We should occasionally peruse Paul’s lists of “deeds of the flesh” and “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:19–23) as a way to remind ourselves of some of the blemishes in our character and behavior. Or read repeatedly and deeply through the Proverbs to help expose areas of folly in our lives. Or study intently the life of Christ as a standard of holiness to which none of us measure up. Then we need to go to God to confess our sins, asking Him to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9). In this way, as we await Christ’s return, we will be striving to purify ourselves, just as He is pure (3:3).

Second, we should focus on the future. We humans are so easily weighed down by the gravity of this present age. We forget that this world system is temporary and that at His future return, Christ will usher in an eternal kingdom. Knowing this truth, do we live like it? Do we spend our time and money investing in eternal things that will contribute to the proclamation of the gospel and the growth of the body of Christ? Or are we stockpiling perishable treasures in this life that serve only to distract us from heavenly things? A glance at your bank statement will reveal the answer!

Let me suggest a periodic review of your spending habits and your calendar, taking a close look at where your time and treasures are going. Is there an imbalance between what you spend on things like entertainment and leisure versus things like evangelism and missions—things that will contribute to eternity? Think of specific ways you may need to adjust your budget and your schedule to focus on the future.

Third, we should share Christ while there’s still time. The day will come when we will no longer be able to proclaim the good news of salvation to the lost. If you knew for sure Jesus was coming back tomorrow, whom would you share the gospel with today? It’s not an irrelevant question, because He could return even sooner than that!

Remember that simple faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ is all that’s needed for a lost soul to be ushered into the glorious promises of salvation in Christ. But they need to hear that good news in order to believe it. It’s time to get off the sidelines and get into the game. Lovingly share the truth. They may not listen. They may even mock you. But maybe you’ll be the last voice in a series of...