The Devil has been chasing me all week!

When I was a kid we frequently had “pop-up” testimony services at church. The leader of the service would open the floor to anyone that wanted to share and you would just “pop-up” and testify. Usually, the testimonies were encouraging and uplifting stories of God’s faithfulness and deliverance. There were stories of healing, provision and rescue from sure disaster but every now and then one of the sweet, elderly sisters of the church would stand and tell about the struggles she had faced all week. She would go on for several minutes explaining the many stumbles and hiccups she had encountered in her journey of faith and almost always end it with “the devil has been chasing me all week” which in and of itself wasn’t so bad but then she would add “Praise his holy name!”  Of course, we all knew who the “his” was intended to be but grammatically it refers to the devil. I have to admit that, as a child, I found it pretty funny … and sad. My mom would encourage me to try to understand the unsaid things this sister intended. No matter what the devil had thrown into this lady’s path, God had taken care of her “Praise His Holy name!” I still thought she was funny! What??? I was a kid!!

As I was reading Psalm 89, I could almost hear that dear sister’s voice. According to the notes in my NIV Study Bible, this Psalm is “written by Ethan the Ezrahite as a prayer that mourns the downfall of the Davidic dynasty and pleads for its restoration.” The first thirty-seven verses recount the unfailing love of God for King David and his descendants. Verse 6 says “For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord?” Verses 7 through 18 list the many wonders of God’s “glorious strength”(vs 17). Verses 19 through 37 rehearse the covenant and promises God made with David, “I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him. No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. I have sworn an oath to David and in my holiness I cannot lie: His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun. It will be as eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!” (Vs 33-37 NLT).

Psalm 89:38 MSG “But God, you did walk off and leave us, you lost your temper with the one you anointed.” “The bitter shock of that event (reflected partially in the sudden transition of v. 38) is almost unbearable - that God, the faithful and almighty One, has abandoned his anointed and made him the mockery of the nations, in seeming violation of his firm covenant with David - and it evokes from the psalmist a lament that borders on reproach.” NIV Study Bible notes. 

The rest of the Psalm pours out the broken heartedness of its writer in every verse (verses 38 - 51). Each verse lists another act of broken covenant, another way God has abandoned His fstborn son (vs 27).  Is it any wonder the psalmist closes the psalm with “Lord, where is your unfailing love? You promised it to David with a faithful pledge.” Psalm 89:49 NLT

It sounds a bit like people who blame God for all the bad things in the world, the injustices of life and accuse Him of lying.  “If God is unfailing love, then why…”. There is a long list of things that can be inserted after the why. They are legitimate questions EXCEPT God’s covenant with David (Psalm 89:28 TPT “I will love him forever and always show him kindness. My covenant with him will never be broken.”) has requirements or exceptions; expected behaviors.  God was clear of His expectations of David and his descendants. Psalm 89:30-32 “BUT if his children turn from me and forsake my words, refusing to walk in my truth, renouncing and violating my laws, then I will surely punish them for their sins with my stern discipline until they regret it.” 

Actions have consequences, yes, and we often walk through consequences of our own making. Many of David's descendants chose "to not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as their ancestor David had done" (1 Kings 16:2) and lost the favor of God. When we choose to turn from God and forsake His word and refuse to walk in His truth, we are choosing to walk in agreement with the devil giving him permission to “chase us” with schemes and designs contrary to God’s promises over us. That is why Peter warned us in I Peter 5:8 “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” And Paul says in Ephesians 4:27 “Don’t give the slanderous accuser, the Devil, an opportunity to manipulate you!” The devil hates God and hates us because of God (Luke 21:17).

There is another “but” in Psalm 89:33. I quoted this verse earlier omitting the “but”. This exception or “but” is an assurance that even if we turn and forsake the ways of God, (see vs 32 above) He will never stop loving us. “33 BUT I will never, no never, lift my faithful love from off their lives. My kindness will prevail and I will never disown them.”

The Psalmist ended the psalm rather abruptly “89:52 Praise the Lord forever! Amen and amen!” It almost feels like he’s saying “Ok, I’ll quit whining now.” Sometimes we just need to say what we’re feeling and hope we’ll be given grace to say it.

Maybe that dear saint from my childhood just needed to let us know the things she had endured and made the assumption that we would understand that what she really meant to say was “The devil has been chasing me all week but I’m still here and God is still faithful! Praise His Holy Name!” After all, God made a covenant promise with all of us and said “How could I revoke my covenant of love that I promised _______? For I have given them my word, my holy, irrevocable word. How could I lie to my loving servant _________?”  Psalm 89:34 TPT (I think it’s safe to fill in the blanks with your name!)