We Belong to God – Psalm 89

A text – Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

89:1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
89:2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
89:3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
89:4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.'” Selah
89:15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;
89:16 they exult in your name all day long, and extol your righteousness.
89:17 For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted.
89:18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.

A reflection:

Psalm 89 is in truth a very long psalm, filled with passages like these in today’s reading, reminding us that as long as we remember who and whose we are and who has established our hope, we will be happy and protected and blessed. It also has long passages that say when we don’t remember those things and we obey our own desires and drifting attention, things will not go well. God is eternal and will keep God’s promises to bless those who follow our Lord and Savior and to not bless those who have forgotten God until they finally come to their senses.

For Psalm 89 to make sense today, we need to acknowledge that God is really the creator of the universe and also us. But, even among faithful churchgoers today, how many people believe we are creatures, as opposed to being creators ourselves? God is our Creator, has made promises to the Creatures of this world, and has kept those promises over thousands of years. God, the ruler of the universe, is our God. We belong to this amazing God, body and soul. How often do we forget that fact?

The children of Israel were as prone to forgetting who and whose they were as we are. So they developed rites for waking and sleeping and eating and greeting that put God first and their human interactions second. They did verse 1 of this psalm – they sang of God’s love and proclaimed God’s faithfulness, no matter who else was around to hear. When they did those things daily, they were able to put God first in their hearts and minds and actions. And they were able to remember more easily who and whose they were.

I think I need those rites before sleeping and right after waking, when eating and greeting. I need to remind myself that my life, my eternal life, is forever in the hands of the God who created me and who loves me, and no matter what happens, if I know whose I am, I need not fear.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for reminding us in so many ways that we are your creatures and you are our creator. You have made us to accomplish things for your kingdom, and with time and your help, we can do them, to your glory. Help us to remember to thank you in many ways each day.  Amen.