I Chronicles 16:14-18

“He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word He commanded for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

A number of years ago my wife, Joyce and I were attending the Billy Graham School of Evangelism in Santa Barbara, California. Several hundred pastors and wives were in attendance. During the week that we were there, an elderly pastor sat on the front row.

As someone would minister and bless him, he would shout out, My! My! My! It was not long before everyone had fallen in love with his sweet spirit and very obvious love of the Lord. At the close of the last session, he was asked to come to the podium and pronounce the benediction. As he slowly made his way onto the platform, there was something of a spontaneous shout of praise went up from the crowd— MY! MY! MY!

Of all the people in the Bible, David stands above all others in the area of praise. From his youth it seems that he was captivated with the awesome nature of God, and expressed it in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. What a guy! Too often we read words of praise and are caught up in the adulation of the moment, but fail to see the depth of meaning being expressed.

This passage mentions God’s covenant with Abraham. Covenant is a fantastic principle. It is expressed and confirmed in the presence of death. Between two people, it involves an animal which has been killed. Between God and Abraham, it was animals, a heifer, a goat and a ram, along with a dove and young pigeon. Each was cut in half. This covenant was unique in that God alone passed between the pieces. Between God and each of us, it is the body of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who was sacrificed in our behalf.

Men may deny the existence of God, they may ignore or reject God, but God is still supreme. We read in today’s Scripture that God’s judgments are in all the earth. What that tells me, is that man may deny it, but God is the Blessed Controller of All Things!

It is impossible for us to emphasize the reality of God’s covenant. God has never broken a covenant, nor will He ever break His covenant with man. His covenant has both promises and consequences. It seems impossible that rational people would fail to recognize that rejecting God will result in such horrible judgment, that it is impossible to comprehend. But His promises are also true.

What does this say to us? Probably many things, but certainly it teaches that we need not nor can we work out our own salvation. There is absolutely no possible way we can do enough good things or obey enough commands to be righteous in God’s sight. It is His work, and we either accept it or continue on in our rejection of a completed work.

David must have seen through the eyes of faith, that one day, almost 1,000 years in the future, Jesus, the promised Messiah, would be born. This precious Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world would be of his house and lineage.

As we read what David penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is vital that we understand that God’s covenant applies to us. We have been grafted into the branch. His promises of His love and provision are our constant hope and assurance. We are the recipients of God’s greatest blessing. MY! MY! MY!

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.

- - - Pastor Cecil