Faithful on Fridays Blog

You can usually tell when someone is talking about what they’ve never experienced, generalizations and vagueness, not so with David. He was a king writing about kingdom living in Psalm 145 from personal experience. When he declared that God is full of grace and mercy, slow to anger, and full of love it came from a grateful heart; he knew God to be true.

As I read and reread this kingly Psalm I was struck by the word all used sixteen times in this third part.

The LORD is good to all,
His mercy is over all,
all His works give thanks,
all His saints bless Him,

and that’s just the beginning (vs. 8-10). It’s clear that King David saw God’s hand in every aspect of his life and kingdom and desired the people to share in his thankfulness. David saw displays of God’s glory and power in the kingdom of Israel and encouraged his people to broadcast them.

New Testament believers, saints, also live in a kingdom; Jesus called it the Kingdom of God. David had a glimpse of this invisible kingdom when he wrote:

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. Psalms 145:13a ESV

Living in the Kingdom of God includes all the benefits in this Psalm. Beginning with verse 13b we find that God is faithful in all His words. Did you get that? All of them, the entire Bible, entirely and totally true. God’s kindness is shown in all His activity. All who are feeling down (vs. 14) He is faithful to raise up, all saints can look to Him and He’ll provide, all His ways are righteous, and all His works are kind (vs. 17). All? Yes, all. It may not seem like He’s working for you, circumstances may seem bleak at the moment, but He’s there, right beside you, working for your good.

However, there’s a stipulation, this offer is valid for all, yes, all who honestly call on Him (vs. 18). Humbling yourself isn’t easy or enjoyable but it’s a requirement to come before God and expect Him to hear and answer you. When we come to God in humility, acknowledging our sin and inability, it’s called ‘fearing Him’ (vs. 19). We’re not scared of the Lord but we are in awe of His power and grace. Grace is that undeserved favor God shows us when He works on our behalf and it’s humbling in itself.

David closes this kingly Psalm by promising that God will preserve all those who love Him and for that truth he praises His holy name. Friends, if you love God you obey Him and seek His will for your life because you trust Him. That’s kingdom living, acting like royalty, and it’s promised to last forever and ever. We only have a small taste of kingdom living now but when He returns it will be a kingdom that never ends. Let that truth get you through a hard day.