"A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, for ever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up for ever;
in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring for ever,
and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
8 O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all round you?
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12 The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
16 who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favour our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
“I have granted help 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 so that my hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him for ever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his offspring for ever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,
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 remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure for ever,
his throne as long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established for ever,
a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have cast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have breached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbours.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendour to cease
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is!
For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48 What man can live and never see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord for ever!
Amen and Amen.
Psalm 89
In 19-37 the Psalmist now proceeds to underline what God has said, elaborating 3 and 4, and echoing Nathan's prophecy in 2 Samuel 7. The section is in two parts, with 19-27 speaking of the promises given to David, and 28-37 those given to David's de- scendants. It is a very striking passage, but even more impressive is the way in which the thought in 6-18 is echoed in these verses: the greatness of God is communicated to the one whom He chooses and David developed god-likeness of character. God made him and his people invincible in the days of their obedience! Whom He chooses He will protect. One readily thinks of the words of the hymn,
'Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do
If with His love He befriend thee.'
We must pause here, if but for a moment, to underline how true these words also are of David's greater Son. Applied to the Lord Jesus, how wonderful the words of 19 are, 'I have laid help upon one that is mighty'. The whole passage gleams and flashes with light as we think of the fulfilment of these words in the Saviour. In 24 the words 'In my name shall his horn be exalted' parallel those in 17 (which see). Here is the ground of the Psalmist's confidence that there would be a 'lifting up'. In Christ's victory we are victorious! The issue is not in doubt!
In 28-37 the seed of David is in view. And the important thing here is the statement in 30ff. 'If his children...forsake...break...I will visit...nevertheless...'. Chastisement there will be, but not rejection. This is an important consideration in relation to 38-52, and is the key to an understanding of what is said there and to what they were then experienc- ing. God is bound by His oath: His word is trustworthy, and will never be broken. Sin does not alter God's promise - His unchanging nature makes this sure.