PSALM 89

The Mystery of Yahweh’s Covenant Love

YAHWEH’S FAITHFULNESS (vv.1-18)

Yahweh’s covenant with David (vv.1-4)

1 I will sing of the lovingkindness of Yahweh forever;	To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.
2 For I have said, “Lovingkindness will be built up forever;	In the heavens You will establish (2 Sam.7:16, 24, 26; 1 Chron.17:11, 12, 14, 24) Your faithfulness.”
3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen;	I have sworn to David My servant,
4 I will establish your seed forever	And build (2 Sam.7:5, 7, 13, 27; 1 Chron.17:4, 10, 12) up your throne to all generations.” Selah.

The heavenly host praises Yahweh’s faithfulness (vv.5-9)

5 The heavens will praise Your wonders, O Yahweh;	Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies is comparable to Yahweh?	Who among the sons of the mighty is like Yahweh,
7 A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,	And awesome above all those who are around Him?
8 O Yahweh God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty YAH? [1]
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness demonstrated by His parting of the sea (vv.9-13)

9 You rule the swelling of the sea;		When its waves rise, You still them.
10 You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;		You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours,	the earth also is Yours;		The world and all it contains,
You have founded them.
12 The north and		the south,
You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13 You have a strong arm;	Your hand is mighty,		Your right hand is exalted.

God’s redeemed people praise Yahweh’s faithfulness (vv.14-18)

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;	Lovingkindness and truth go before You. [2]
15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound/blast of the trumpet!	O Yahweh, they walk in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all the day,	And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,	And by Your favor our horn is exalted. [3]
18 For our shield belongs to Yahweh,	And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

YAHWEH’S COVENANT WITH DAVID (vv.19-37)

God’s rule through His anointed (vv.19-37)

19 Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones, And said,
“I have given help (˓ēzer) to one who is mighty;		I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 “I have found David My servant;		With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand will be established;		My arm also will strengthen him.
22 “The enemy will not deceive [exact usury from] him,		Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 “But I shall crush his adversaries before him,		And strike those who hate him.
24 “My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,		And in My name his horn will be exalted.
25 “I shall also set his hand on the sea		And his right hand on the rivers.
26 “He will cry to Me,
‘You are my Father,	My God,		and the rock of my salvation.’
27 “I also shall make him My firstborn,		The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,		And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29 “So I will establish his descendants/seed forever		And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons forsake My law		And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they violate My statutes		And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod		And their iniquity with stripes.
33 “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,		Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 “My covenant I will not violate,		Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35 “Once I have sworn by My holiness;		I will not lie to David.
36 “His descendants/seed shall endure forever		And his throne as the sun before Me.
37 “It shall be established [4] forever like the moon,		And the witness in the sky is faithful.”Selah.

YAHWEH HAS SEEMINGLY SPURNED HIS COVENANT WITH DAVID (vv.38-51)

Why has God rejected His chosen anointed? (vv.38-51)

38 But You have cast off and rejected,	You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
39 You have spurned the covenant of Your servant;	You have profaned his crown (nēzer) in the dust.
40 You have broken down all his walls;	You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass along the way plunder him;	He has become a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;	You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You also turn back the edge of his sword	And have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease	And cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have shortened the days of his youth;	You have covered him with shame. Selah.
46 How long, O Yahweh?
Will You hide Yourself forever?	Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember what my span of life is;	For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!
48 What man can live and not see death?	Can he deliver his soul from the power/hand of Sheol? Selah.
49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, [5] O Lord,	Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness? [6]
50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants;	How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O Yahweh,	With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

CONCLUSION TO BOOK 3 OF THE PSALTER

52 Blessed be Yahweh forever! Amen and Amen. [7]

[1] This contracted form of Yahweh occurs 50x in the Hebrew Scriptures, 43 of which are in the Psalms. Psalm 68:4,18 is the first time in the Psalter that YAH occurs. Psalm 89:8 is the fourth occurrence of YAH in the Psalter. The contracted form of Yahweh here brings us back to the Exodus. The first time Yah occurs is the song Moses after Israel crossed the Red Sea.

Exodus 15:1-2 (NASB95)
1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, and said, “I will sing to Yahweh, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
2 “YAH is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him.

[2] Lovingkindness and truth are coupled in Genesis 24:27,49; 47:29; Exodus 34:6; Joshua 2:14; 2 Samuel 2:6; 15:20; Psalm 25:10; 61:7; 85:10; 86:15; 89:14; 115:1; Proverbs 3:3; 14:22; 16:6; 20:28.

[3] “The raised horn may derive its idiomatic meaning of success and social status from confident stags and bulls holding their heads high, or from victorious soldiers blowing horns” (Andy L. Warren-Rothlin, “Body Idioms and the Psalms” in Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches; edited by David Firth and Philip Johnston, p.210).

[4] In 2^nd Samuel 7, the word “establish” is found 5x. This is the same number of times “establish” is found in Psalm 89.

2 Samuel 7:12,13,16
12 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

2 Samuel 7:24,26
24 “For You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God. 26 that Your name may be magnified forever, by saying, ‘The LORD of hosts is God over Israel’; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You.

[5] This is the seventh and final occurrence of “lovingkindness” in Psalm 89.

[6] The verb “faithfulness” occurs 6x in Psalm 89 and the noun 1x (v.37).

[7] Virtually the same formulation occurs in Paul’s reference to Jesus in Romans 9:5, “from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” (see Paul Jewett, Romans: A Commentary, 568)