Excerpt from: “Christmas Expectations and Preparations: An Advent Devotional” by Diane Hunter, pg. 70-74, 2020.
Psalm 89:1-4, 19-29
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to my servant David:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever,
and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:
“I have set the crown on one who is mighty,
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21 my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him,
the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’
27 I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.
29 I will establish his line forever,
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.
Meditation
Hindsight is 20/20. An event seems so much clearer after a period of time has passed; a period of time long enough to notice responses that might have changed the outcome. Sometimes we learn from these coulda, woulda, shoulda ponderings; sometimes we don’t. Either way, our hindsight is always clearer than our foresight.
As we prepare for the advent of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we also reminisce about the expectation of who the “faithful one” (vs. 19) will be. This portion of Psalm 89 starts with praise to God for God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (vss. 1-4), and reminds God of the covenant made with David (vss. 19-26) that promised a forever king over Israel. Israel really wanted a king to come and return the nation to the glory days when David reigned. The king they were expecting would indeed be from the lineage of David, would become the forever king, and would call God “Father.” What they did not expect is the “faithful one” would be born in humble circumstances and laid in a manger; they did not expect that their forever king would die and rise again from the dead; they did not expect that David’s reign would be from the right hand of God; they did not expect that the Davidic king would reign over all of humanity (not just Israel). God’s promise to David is so much bigger than the psalmist’s expectations just as our expectations during Advent are bigger than Christmas trees and cookies.
Prayer Prompt: Dear Lord, may my expectations glorify you. Amen.