"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, mercy shall be built up forever; your faithfulness shall You establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen; I have sworn unto David my servant, Your Seed will I establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations." (Psalm 89:1-4)
Christ is God's Chosen, in whom His soul delights, (Isaiah 42:1) and He is the Seed of David. (Romans 1:3) He is "the Root and the Offspring of David." (Revelation 22:16)
The tabernacle of David, that is fallen down, is to be built up (Amos 9:11) by the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: "Simeon has declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, says the Lord, who does all these things." (Acts 15:14-17)
And the throne of David is to be perpetuated to all generations through the resurrection of Christ: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." (Acts 2:29-31)
But by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead all who believe are begotten unto a lively hope of an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away. (1 Peter 1:3-5) Therefore the covenant with David, unto which God swore, is the covenant that assures us an "inheritance among the saints in light;" (Colossians 1:12) and so we see that it is identical with the covenant with Abraham, to which God swore by himself, and which gives us strong consolation and hope of salvation through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 6:13,20) The Seed of David is the Seed of Abraham, and if we are Christ's we are a part of this Seed, and heirs according to the promise. "And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29)
So we find in the following scripture the direct promise of eternal life to us: "Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His Seed shall endure for ever, and His throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven." (Psalm 89:35-37)
As surely as the sun and moon endure, so surely will God give eternal life to everyone who trusts Him. His faithfulness is written in the heavens. The sun and moon are witnesses to it. "When God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He swore by himself." (Hebrews 6:13)
This was not for Abraham's sake, but for our sake. Abraham did not need the oath for confirmation, because his faith was perfect before the oath was made; but it was given that "We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us. ... God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, interposed himself by an oath." (Hebrews 6:18,17)
Do you realize what is involved in the oath of God? how strong the consolation is? Think of it a moment, and when you have grasped its meaning, you may continue to think of it forever.
He promised salvation to everyone who would accept it in faith; to all who would simply trust Him to save them. Then He pledged himself its surety for the fulfillment of the promise. He interposed himself between us and the possibility of failure, staking His own existence upon the result.
When one pledges anything, it is well known that the thing pledged is lost if the price is not paid, or the vow performed. So in swearing by himself God put himself in the position where He would forfeit His own existence if His promise should fail.
Let us in passing remember that this promise is to all: "Whosoever will, let him come. God has chosen the poor of this world:" (Revelation 22:17) "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to them that love Him?" (James 2:5) "And base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen." (1 Corinthians 1:28)
If God's promise should fail in the case of the poorest or the most insignificant and despised of human beings, that would be a failure just the same as if He should reject the whole world. If one poor soul should come to Him and fail to find forgiveness for a sin confessed, or help in time of need, that would be a failure of God's promise, to which He swore by himself, and therefore that very moment God would cease to exist.
Does someone say that it is irreverent to talk about God's ceasing to exist? It is no more irreverent than it is to talk about His not being able or willing to forgive any sin that is acknowledged, or to provide all the help that any soul needs. Would that all men might see that to doubt God's willingness to forgive is to deny His existence, so that it is the rankest infidelity not to accept pardon, or to doubt that God helps in every time of need.
And now what constant assurance have we before our eyes that God lives, and that therefore His promise is sure? His faithfulness is written in the very heavens. "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, that brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one is lacking." (Isaiah 40:26)
The whole universe depends on God. If He should cease to exist, everything would that instant cease to exist. God made the sun, moon, and stars, "for signs, and for seasons, and days, and years." (Genesis 1:14)
That thing of which they exist as a sign is the faithfulness of God. The sun, moon, and stars are evidences that God still lives, and as surely as He lives, may we come with boldness to the throne of grace, with perfect confidence that we shall "obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) "Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness is unto all generations." (Psalm 119:89-90)--Present Truth, October 27, 1898.