UNSTEADFAST HEARTS

“For their HEART was NOT STEADFAST with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant” – Psalm 78:37

We would better appreciate the import of the Steadfast Heart by examining the error of UNSTEADFAST HEARTS: “For their HEART was NOT STEADFAST with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant” (Psa.78:37). Psalm 78 is a wisdom psalm, written to instruct God’s people; and one of the contemplative poems written to direct the meditations of faithful hearts. The theme is the goodness and kindness of God to His stubborn and rebellious people. This psalm is next only to Psalm 119 in length. It is the first and longest of the Historical psalms (the others are 105, 106, and 135). It narrates a series of cycles of Israel’s unfaithfulness, unbelief, sin, and rebellion. Its lesson is that history must not repeat itself. The people must never again be unbelieving or unfaithful.

The writer, Asaph, was a singer, cymbalist, chorister, and minister of sacred music during the reign of King David (1 Chr.15:17-19; 16:5-7). The psalm provides a panoramic view of God’s dealings with Israel from her deliverance from Egypt’s Zoan to God’s choice of Zion as the place for His sanctuary during the reign of King David! But this isn’t history for the sake of records; it’s history with a lesson (Rom.15:4; 1Cor.10:11-13). It serves to remind succeeding generations to set their hope in God and not forget His works. In spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness, God showed Himself to be faithful by giving His people a leader in David, under whose reign they would realize the hopes that Israel’s Rock and Redeemer had for them – hopes of righteous living and rest from enemies (v.35).

This is a psalm of looking back so as to look forward. It describes how God’s dealings with Israel show His faithfulness in contrast to the forgetfulness and rebellion of the people. The need to remember God’s Mercy and Faithfulness runs throughout this Psalm. The natural man is prone to forget, which leads to doubt, unbelief and rebellion. The psalmist shows God’s faithfulness to His people despite their unfaithfulness. He also shows that their repeated rebellion was due in large part to their inability to remember. They not only failed to remember for themselves, but they failed to adequately teach the next generation. Each generation has a responsibility to teach the next about what God has done and said – His works and words: “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts” (Psa.145:4). The faithful God will keep His promises to His people in spite of their unfaithfulness.

Today’s passage can be structured as follows: Forgetfulness and unfaithfulness of God’s people (vv.9-11); God’s faithfulness to His people (vv.12-16); forgetfulness led to doubt and rebellion against the ‘Most High’ (vv.17-20); God’s anger, Mercy, and Judgement (vv. 21-31); and God’s forgiveness despite insincere repentance (vv.32-39). Despite all the blessings and strong corrections, they still sinned; they failed to learn from God’s goodness or from His wrath. Therefore their days were consumed in futility and their years in fear (v.33): Futility, because the generation of unbelieving people that came out of Egypt could not enter the Promised Land, but were consumed in the wilderness (Num.14:22-24); fear in terms of their unwillingness to take the land by faith (Num.14:1-4).

The unsteadfast heart is fickle, wavering, unfaithful, and disloyal. It was tragically illustrated when “the children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law, and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them” (vv.9-11). This is insight as to why the Israelites stumbled in fulfilling their obligations. This is not God’s Will for the Believer in Christ. If we are going to remain faithful to God, especially in difficult times, it’s essential that we remember who God is and all that He has done on our behalf. We must be faithful to remember and not forget God’s covenant. We must be committed to knowing His words and works, especially His work of salvation in Christ Jesus.