10/21

Psalms 89:30-33

³⁰"If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, ³¹if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, ³²I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; ³³but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.

In this psalm about God's promises to David we see in a shadow God's promises to the "Son of David", Christ Jesus. We are His offspring, His seed, in Biblical terms (Isaiah 53:12). In type then, we see God's attitude toward us when we sin. We are still sons, but God is neither indulgent nor ruthless. He will not let us go on without dealing with our sin, but He does not deal with it in a way that would crush us or cause His heart to turn from us.

That flogging often goes ignored by us at first. We chalk it up to circumstances, refusing to examine our hearts. When it comes to our own heart, we can be our worst deceiver and the most gullible of fools. We seem to find a justification for anything we wish to indulge in. Meanwhile the heart of our Father aches, knowing He is going to have to afflict us in a more serious way to get us to open our eyes.

When that happens, we cry out and ask, "Where is the God of love we once knew?" His love is still with you, but it is being expressed in faithfulness to turn you from the sin you refuse to admit is clouding your heart and judgment. Through it all, He weeps with you, hurts with you, as any loving father would when dealing severely with his own children. Thank God for His faithful love, even when it comes in the form of painful discipline. His love will not allow you to go on deceiving yourself.

Thank Him for His loving discipline that keeps you from self-destruction.