The Father’s Enduring Faithfulness For The Church | Psalm 100:5

For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:5

Faithfulness is a term that has been all but lost in our vernacular. From the seemingly never-ending line of politicians who make empty promises to the plethora of men and women who make vain vows of faithfulness during wedding ceremonies, faithfulness is a quality that seems to have been relegated to fairy tales. However, the Christian knows that faithfulness is not confined to legends and lore—it is a fundamental attribute of how God relates to the church.

Throughout Psalm 100, the psalmist calls God’s people to joyfully worship him in thanksgiving and praise. Why does he call all of the inhabitants of the earth to “make a joyful noise to the Lord?”; why does he call the people to this exuberant worship? The answer is found in verse 5—“the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” The character of God is the reason for such vibrant rejoicing—he is the good and loving God who is faithful to all generations.

Throughout Scripture we learn that God is not only a covenant maker, but more importantly, he is a covenant keeper. His covenant with Noah—kept. His covenant with Abraham—upheld. His covenant with Moses—maintained. God has demonstrated his fidelity throughout the Old Testament so that we might know with certainty that he is the faithful covenant keeper. The faithful God of Scripture is the same God we worship today.

Through the prophet Jeremiah God revealed a new covenant to his people (Jer 32:40). It would be a covenant of grace written on their hearts and bursting forth with the God’s goodness. And we, Church, are the recipients of God’s goodness in this new covenant of grace through Christ’s work on the cross. By his grace, all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ will be saved. He will quicken dead hearts, declare us righteous in his sight, and remember our sin against us no more. He will shower his goodness on us and be ever present among us. Why would he make this covenant with us? Purely because of his unmerited grace.

Moses writes in Deuteronomy 7:6-9,

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.

God did not choose us based upon our merit, appearance, net worth, or influence. He chose us out of his grace because he loves us and is keeping the covenant he made with Abraham to make his descendants more numerous than the stars in the skies. Church, may we be encouraged with the fact that God keeps his covenant with those who love him and keep his commandments.

If then, we understand that God is faithful to keep his covenant to the church, what exactly does he do as his part of the covenant? First, God is faithful to bring our salvation to completion (Phil 1:6). The work he started, he will be faithful to complete. When we come to Christ in faith, we are declared righteous in the sight of God. However, that declaration of righteousness is merely the beginning of growth in holiness. From that point on we are daily conformed into the likeness of Christ. He will lead us through many toils and snares, losing none (Jn 6:37-39) because he is faithful to uphold his covenant of grace. May we then, church, by his grace “hold fast to our confession of hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (Heb 10:23).”

Not only is God faithful to carry out the salvation of the church, he is also faithful to keep the promises he has spoken to us in his Word. Therefore, let us cling to our Father’s promises such as to never leave nor forsake us (Deut 31:6, Heb 13:5), to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9), to provide a way out in the midst of temptations (1 Cor 10:13), to show steadfast love to those who keep his commandments (Deut 7:9), to allow nothing nor no one to separate us from his love (Rom 8:37-39), to give eternal life to all who believe in Jesus Christ (Jn 3:16, 1 Jn 5:11-12), and to be with us wherever we go (Josh 1:9). We know that God is absolutely truthful in all that he says and promises to do. Therefore, we can trust him to keep his promises. He is faithful.

This, then, is the God whom we are invited to praise with a joyful noise—the one who is faithful to keep his covenant of grace with his church, to bring our salvation to completion, and to remain true to his word for all eternity. There is no end to his faithfulness; it is enduring, eternal, unending, and never ceasing because he is the everlasting God. Church, we can and must cling to this truth—God is faithful. We may not know what the future holds, but we can be certain that the one who holds time in his hands is faithful to all generations. Come, make a joyful noise; enter his gates with thanksgiving and praise; bless his name; for God is enduringly faithful to his church!