Psalm 89

Psalm 89 is the final psalm of Book III of the Psalms (Psalms 73–89), and its superscription reads "Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite." The immediately preceding Psalm 88 is a somber lament by Heman, also an Ezrahite; Psalm 89, by contrast, opens in praise and moves into lament over the fall of the royal dynasty.

Structure

• Verses 1–4 The psalmist resolves to sing forever of the LORD's mercies and faithfulness and introduces the covenant made with David.
• Verses 5–18 In the assembly of heaven none can be compared to the LORD. He rules the sea, breaks Rahab in pieces, and created the north and the south. Blessed are the people who walk in the light of His countenance.
• Verses 19–29 God found David and anointed him. He promises to make him His firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth, and to make his throne as the days of heaven.
• Verses 30–37 If David's descendants forsake God's law, He will chasten them with the rod and with stripes. Yet He will not break His covenant, and David's throne will be established like the sun and the moon.
• Verses 38–45 Yet the Lord has cast off His anointed. His crown has been cast to the ground, the hedges of his city have been broken down, and his enemies rejoice.
• Verses 46–51 The psalmist asks how long God will hide Himself and pleads with Him to remember how short human life is. He asks where God's former lovingkindnesses, sworn to David, have gone.
• Verse 52 The doxology "Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen" concludes Book III.

Key Verses

• Psalm 89:1 "I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever…": This verse introduces the theme of the entire psalm, God's mercy and faithfulness.
• Psalm 89:34 "My covenant will I not break…": This is the promise that even if David's descendants sin, the covenant itself will not be revoked. It is frequently cited as grounds for interpreting the covenant as unconditional.
• Psalm 89:49 "Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?": This lament directly confronts the gap between promise and reality.

People and Places

• Ethan: The author named in the superscription. Some identify him with "Ethan the Ezrahite," mentioned as a wise man in 1 Kings 4:31.
• David: The king whom the LORD anointed and to whom He promised an everlasting throne.
• Rahab: In verse 10 the name serves as a symbol of the chaos of the sea or of Egypt. This Rahab is distinct from Rahab of Jericho.
• Tabor and Hermon: Mountains in northern Israel. In verse 12 they represent the land rejoicing in its Creator.

Points for Reflection

• "Mercies" in verse 1 translates the Hebrew hesed, denoting steadfast love grounded in covenant. In Korean Bibles this word is rendered with a term spelled identically to the title Son of Man applied to Jesus, but the two are different words.
• Verses 19–37 are regarded as a poetic restatement of Nathan's oracle in 2 Samuel 7, that is, the Davidic covenant.
• The text does not specify which event verses 38–45 refer to. A widely known view holds that they describe the end of the Davidic dynasty at the time of the Babylonian invasion, but this is not certain.
• The New Testament reads this psalm in connection with Christ. "I have found David the son of Jesse" in Acts 13:22 echoes verse 20. "The faithful witness" and "the prince of the kings of the earth" in Revelation 1:5 recall verses 37 and 27. Accordingly, many church traditions read this psalm as ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Messiah.