Psalms 89

General context

The speaker vows to sing of the Lord's mercies for ever and make his faithfulness known to all generations, and quotes God's oath: I have sworn unto David my servant, thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. A Selah follows. The heavens praise God's wonders; none among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord, who is feared in the assembly of the saints. He rules the raging sea, has broken Rahab in pieces and scattered his enemies; heaven and earth are his, he created north and south, and Tabor and Hermon rejoice in his name. Justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne; blessed is the people that know the joyful sound, and the Holy One of Israel is our king. God then speaks in vision: he has found David his servant and anointed him with holy oil, will beat down his foes, set his hand in the sea, make him his firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth, and keep his covenant for evermore. If David's children forsake his law he will visit them with the rod, but will not break the covenant; David's seed and throne shall endure as the sun and moon. Selah. But the speaker now says God has cast off his anointed, made void the covenant, profaned his crown, broken down his hedges, turned the edge of his sword, cast his throne to the ground and shortened the days of his youth. Selah. He asks how long, how short his time is, what man shall not die, and where the former lovingkindnesses sworn to David are; he asks God to remember the reproach borne by his servants. The psalm closes: Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

Cited passages: Psalms 89:1, Psalms 89:3, Psalms 89:4, Psalms 89:6, Psalms 89:9, Psalms 89:10, Psalms 89:12, Psalms 89:14, Psalms 89:15, Psalms 89:18, Psalms 89:19, Psalms 89:20, Psalms 89:23, Psalms 89:25, Psalms 89:27, Psalms 89:30, Psalms 89:32, Psalms 89:33, Psalms 89:35, Psalms 89:37, Psalms 89:38, Psalms 89:39, Psalms 89:43, Psalms 89:45, Psalms 89:46, Psalms 89:48, Psalms 89:49, Psalms 89:51, Psalms 89:52

Psalms 89 (KJV)

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Historical context

This source prints no superscription; the psalm opens with I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever. Two voices are marked in the text. The speaker sings in verses 1 and 2 and praises God in verses 5 to 18; God's words are quoted in verses 3 and 4 and again from verse 19 to verse 37, introduced by Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one; the speaker resumes at verse 38 with But thou hast cast off. The covenant is stated as sworn to David my servant and concerns his seed and his throne, with a condition about his children and a promise that the covenant will not be broken. The anointed who is cast off in verses 38 to 45 is not named; the text says thine anointed and thy servant, and it does not say which king or what defeat is meant. Rahab in verse 10 is something broken in pieces and set beside scattered enemies, not the woman of Joshua. Tabor and Hermon are named as rejoicing. Four Selah markers stand after verses 4, 37, 45 and 48. The last verse, Blessed be the Lord for evermore, follows the complaint without resolving it.

Cited passages: Psalms 89:19, Psalms 89:38, Psalms 89:3, Psalms 89:34, Psalms 89:39, Psalms 89:10, Psalms 89:12, Psalms 89:48, Psalms 89:52

Literary context

The psalm sets God's oath against the present in matching terms. God promises to build up thy throne, and the speaker says thou hast cast his throne down to the ground. God says the enemy shall not exact upon him, and the speaker says thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries. God promises his horn shall be exalted, and the speaker says his crown is profaned. The words mercy and faithfulness open the poem and are what God swears to keep in verse 33, so verse 49's question, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, turns the psalm's own vocabulary into an accusation. The sun and moon are witnesses to the promise, and later the speaker's short time and every man's death are set against for ever. The questions of verses 46 to 48 shrink the scale from the throne to a single life. The hinge is the single word But at verse 38, and the closing blessing and double Amen stand after the complaint rather than after any answer.

Cited passages: Psalms 89:4, Psalms 89:44, Psalms 89:22, Psalms 89:42, Psalms 89:24, Psalms 89:33, Psalms 89:49, Psalms 89:36, Psalms 89:47, Psalms 89:38

Key moments

1. Mercies sung for ever (Psalms 89:1). The speaker vows to make the Lord's faithfulness known to all generations.
2. Sworn to David (Psalms 89:3). God's covenant to establish David's seed and throne is quoted.
3. Rahab broken in pieces (Psalms 89:10). The Lord's rule over the sea and his enemies is praised.
4. Found David my servant (Psalms 89:20). God speaks in vision of anointing David with holy oil.
5. The rod, but not the covenant (Psalms 89:32). God says disobedient children will be punished but his covenant will stand.
6. But thou hast cast off (Psalms 89:38). The speaker turns to say God has been wroth with his anointed.
7. Where are thy lovingkindnesses? (Psalms 89:49). The speaker asks where the mercies sworn to David have gone.

For reflection

God says his covenant will not be broken, and the speaker says God has made it void. The psalm keeps both sentences and ends with a blessing anyway. What kind of trust is left when a promise and its apparent failure are read in the same breath?

People in this chapter

• David
• Jacob

Also indexed here:

• Ethan
• Zerah