Today’s section of Psalm 119, verses 137-144, focuses on the righteousness of God and the rightness of His Word. Five times we read the words “righteous” or “right” (cf., verses 137, 138, 142, and 144). Because God is the sovereign God – the Creator and Owner over all things – He gets to decide what is right. He never consulted with you or with me about it, and in fact, He allows us nothing to say about it. This is His universe, and whether we like it or not, we must fit into it according to His rules. Always, our concept of what is right must be measured against His revelation of what is right, and if our concept differs even slightly from His, then we are simply wrong. To be right, we must fully align our thoughts with His. Here, the Psalmist writes that God is always right and that His law (i.e., His Word) is always true. God’s promises “have been thoroughly tested and they are fully trustworthy” (138-140). He will never be proven wrong. Generations before us have certified the reality and veracity of these truths so we can rely on them. They are wholly worthy of our trust. Like a bridge which has been tested and certified by engineers, God’s Word will support us faithfully and safely across on our life’s journey. The bridge will hold. Interestingly, the Psalmist refers to enemies who have worn out his “zeal because they ignore God’s Word” (verse 139). We must be aware how the inaction of unbelievers around us can discourage and even negatively affect our desire to serve the Lord.
In Joel 1-2:17, we read about a severe, historical locust plague and the Day of the LORD. The only thing we know about Joel is that he was “the son of Pethuel” (verse 1). The locust plague pointed prophetically toward God’s coming destruction in the final judgment designated as the future “Day of the LORD” (cf., 2:1). Like the locust plague then, the future judgment speaks of sin’s destructive effects and God’s devastation upon it. Joel implies that nothing like this plague has ever “happened in your days or the days of your forefathers … tell it to your children and to theirs …” (verses 2-3). In the original language, Joel describes four different and increasingly devastating kinds of locusts – multipliers (i.e., “the swarm”); gnawers (“the great locusts”); lickers (“the young locusts”); and devourers (“the other locusts,” all in verse 4). These locusts typify an invading army which “destroys” everything in its path (verses 6-12). In chapter 2:1-17, about the judgment on “the Day of the LORD," Joel says that "no day was ever so awful, nor will it ever be in ages to come” (verse 2). He calls the people to repent – “Rend your heart and not your garments – return to the LORD your God” (verse 13). The bridge will hold.
In Hebrews 3, the writer cautions us today to guard ourselves against the sin of unbelief. Yesterday, we saw that his warning was against drifting away which naturally leads us to take the next step – unbelief. The root of unbelief is doubt, but to counteract our doubts and subsequent unbelief, God has certified that the bridge will hold. Here in the book of Hebrews, we will see that He has provided us with generations of witnesses – “a great cloud” (cf., Hebrews 12:1) who all testify to the existential truth of God’s Word and His promises which will never fail. Like the bridge, God's Word will hold – true forever.
I love the theme, "The Bridge Will Hold." In our day-to-day walk with God one easily forgets His faithfulness during the journey. We must declare, "Great is Thy Faithfulness."