God Will Keep Us Alive Eternally
Psalm 27v5-6
25th October 2024
In verses 1-3 of this Psalm, David proclaimed his trust that the Lord would keep him safe, even though he was living as a refugee, hiding from the forces of King Saul who wanted him dead. In verse 4, he spoke about wanting to live in God's house, to gaze on God's beauty and to enquire of Him there. Now David says:
Psalm 27v5-6
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
It's a matter of historical fact that being in the physical, Old Testament Tabernacle or Temple did not make people physically safe. The sanctuary at Shiloh was destroyed. The priests at Nob were massacred. In 586 BC the Babylonians "killed the [Judean] young men in the sanctuary" and set fire to the temple (2 Chronicles 36). The Jews rebuilt the temple but in 70 AD it was destroyed by the Romans with great loss of life. So, as with verse 4, there is some poetic licence here. No building keeps us safe. This shows us, I think, that David understood that death is not the end. He was thinking about the heavenly Tabernacle, and a different kind of safety. As Jesus told Martha the sister of Lazarus:
John 11v55
"… He who believes in me will live, even though dies."
As Jesus also said:
John 6v39-40
"... this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he
has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him
shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."
Our security is in God and the New Covenant. We who have been born again know that the sacrificial blood of Christ pays for all our sins, and God has chosen us and adopted us as his children for ever. We will always be His. As the Westminster Catechism tells us:
Question 79: May not true believers, by reason of their imperfections, and
the many temptations and sins they are overtaken with, fall away from the state of
grace?
Answer: True believers, by reason of the unchangeable love of God, and his decree
and covenant to give them perseverance, their inseparable union with Christ, his
continual intercession for them, and the Spirit and seed of God abiding in them,
can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but are kept by
the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Be comforted and reassured by these words. We who trust in the blood of Jesus will live for eternity. God will keep us safe, even though we will die. We will put aside our mortal bodies and enter paradise. And at the day of judgement, we will receive new, spiritual bodies (1 Corinthians 15v42-44). Then we'll enter the new heaven, and our enemies will depart into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, (Matthew 25v41). Truly, [our] head[s] will be exalted above the enemies who surround [us] on that day. For ever and ever, at his sacred tent [we] will sacrifice with shouts of joy; [we] will sing and make music to the Lord for ever.
Together with David, we can be confident that God will keep us safe, and we can be confident that we will live in God's house for ever. For all eternity, we will share in His victory, through His grace and protection. Hallelujah!