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Day 90

Psalm 77:8b "Has His promise failed forevermore?"

Day 90 – Psalm 77

“Has His promise failed forevermore?” Psalm 77:8b

A FOURTH PROBLEMATIC QUESTION

Asaph must have known the writings of Moses well. He was, after all, a learned Levite and scholar of the Scriptures. He would be very familiar with the promises of God.

1. Expressions of the Promises of God

a) They were encoded in the Abrahamic Covenant.
i) These promises were repeated (Genesis 12, 15, 22).
ii) God swore an oath to Abraham that He would bless his descendants (Genesis 22:15-18).
b) They were further spelt out in the Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 28).
i) In the form of great blessings.
ii) But also in the form of severe warning of the penalty of breaking the Covenant.

2. Great fear expressed

Asaph was well aware that for any Covenant to work out effectively, both sides must keep to the agreement stated in the Covenant.

“Has His promise failed forevermore?”
Psalm 77:8b

a) Israel had miserably failed to keep the Covenant of God.
b) The question at hand consequently:-
i) Would the sins of Israel result in God withdrawing His promise of blessing?
ii) Would that not mean that effectively God’s promises of blessing would not be fulfilled?
c) The meaning of the phrase “failed forevermore”.
i) It does not mean that God now has no more power to carry out what He has promised.
ii) It also does not mean that God would renege on what He had said (promised).
iii) The problem lay with Israel and its sinfulness.
iv) Would the sinfulness of the nation cause a negation of fulfillment of God’s promises?