Where Is God’s Unfailing Love?

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent, a day to remember how much we need the Lord and his love. Psalm 89 helps us get in touch with our yearning for God.

If you were to read only the first 37 verses of Psalm 89, you’d think it was an exuberant song of praise to God for anointing David as Israel’s glorious and permanent king (through his descendants). Yet, if you were to read only the next 14 verses, you’d consider Psalm 89 to be a sad lament that seems to question God’s faithfulness. As verse 49 reads, “Lord, where is your unfailing love? You promised it to David with a faithful pledge.” But now God’s anger with his “anointed king” has led to divine rejection (89:38). “You have ended his splendor and overturned his throne” (89:44). Though the writer of Psalm 89 surely yearns for God to remember his unfailing love and deliver Israel from devastation, he fills the closing verses of his psalm not with requests for help but with laments and accusations. Then he adds the unexpected final verse: “Praise the LORD forever! Amen and amen!” (89:52).

Psalm 89 helps us to enter more deeply into the spirit of Advent. It reminds us of God’s promises to David, promises that seemed to be forgotten when Israel became subject to foreign rulers. It underscores the pain of God’s people as they experienced domination, suffering, and disgrace. Psalm 89 expresses the sad history and yearning of the Jews who still hoped that God would fulfill his promise to David by sending an anointed king to deliver Israel and reestablish God’s kingdom. Indeed, this king would call the Lord "Father" and would be known as God's "son" (89:26-27).

Though our life settings differ from that of the Jews who first used Psalm 89 to express their longing for God's salvation, many of us can relate to the mix of celebration and lament in Psalm 89. We have been blessed richly by God’s grace in our lives. Yet some of what we had expected turned out poorly. Perhaps your “perfect job” became a nightmare. Or your teenage children rejected their faith and chose to live in a way that weighs heavily on your heart. Or your “secure” retirement income evaporated in the economic crisis. Or a loved one was diagnosed with serious cancer. Or . . . you name it. Like the writer of Psalm 89, we often find ourselves thanking God for his goodness and, at the same time, wondering where his goodness went. We yearn for God’s grace to reappear, so that we might be delivered from our difficulties. This yearning, whether in the hearts of Jews centuries ago, or in our hearts today, captures the core of Advent.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: In what ways have you experienced God’s abundant blessings? How has God not done what you expected? What are your deepest yearnings for God’s help?