Psalm Chapter 89 (KJV)

(Unless otherwise cited, the scriptural references in these devotionals are from the King James Version of the Bible found on http://www.Biblegateway.com Psalm 89 – Public Domain edition.)

Context:

Go back to Psalm 88 at look a the difference between the tone of that Psalm and the tone of this Psalm.

Psalm 89 presents two clearly different sections. The tone is different in each section. Verses 1-37 celebrates God’s loyalty to his covenant and his covenantal relationship with his servant David. He promised to fulfill that covenant with David. See 2 Samuel 7:1-17,1 Chronicles 17:1-15 NIV.  Then there is a shift in tone and content to the psalmist accusing God of breaking his covenant of protection over Israel by allowing her enemies to defeat them and make David too ashamed before them. This really provides the reader with life lessons. God never fails to keep His promises. They are not contingent on our behavior, but we cannot live any way we want to and expect Him to support that behavior. He does not promise us eternal life in the flesh.     

God, you are faithful to David and your covenant with him (89:1-37).

1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. ² For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. ³ I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, ⁴ Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

Do you see the sharp contrast between this Psalm and Psalm 88? Well, this is not a surprise to God. He does not want us to have a rubble ball mentality towards Him and our trust in Him. He made a promise to David, and David must take hold of that promise and speak it into his life. See 2 Samuel 2:7 KJV “Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.”

BUT He also knows that we will have that attitude now and then. Speak what you believe to be your truth, based on your trust in him. Praise him for the establishment of His eternal seed, Jesus Christ, and for the role that He plays in your life today and every day. His word declares that he will continue to be merciful to you. Romans 9:15-16 “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then [it is] not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” So, praise him – even in the middle of this pandemic. God has a covenant with us today.  What? Yes!  Look at what he calls us.1 Peter 2:9 “But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”

Because of this special calling on our lives, 2 Thessalonians 2:13  tells us that “…we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”

Our words must express that same sentiment. 

Verses 5-8: God of all wonders – the heavens are praising you.

⁵ And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. ⁶ For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? ⁷ God is great to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.  ⁸ O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? Or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

The psalmist is praising God’s unmatchable greatness. It is so unmatchable that even the heavens worship God.  This is referring to the heavenly beings who reside in the heavens. See Isaiah 6. When Isaiah was called to serve God, he had a vision. He saw heavenly things that were so amazing he could not describe them.

Not only is that psalmist talking about the heavenly realm, but he is also talking about God’s sovereignty over the earth.

Colossians1:16 confirms the extent of His power. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” “And he is before all things, and by him, all things consist.” All of His children must reverence Him. Verse 8 asks the same question that Job asked. “Who is a strong Lord like unto thee?” He is Jehovah. And he alone is so and is the Highest in all the earth (Psalm 83:18). And there is none like Him for His great power and strength, by which He has made the heavens and the earth, and upholds them in their being. And by which He has redeemed His people. Plucked them out of the hands of sin and Satan, and preserves them safely to his kingdom and glory (see Job 40:9).

Verses 9-13

⁹ Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. ¹⁰ Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. ¹¹ The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. ¹² The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon [these are mountains] shall rejoice in thy name. ¹³ Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

The raging seas are representative of evil and chaos. Boy are we living during chaotic times, saints. The sea can surge only so far. Yah’s authority is over everything, including the sea. See Matthew 8:24.  Jesus spoke to the angry sea and told it to “be still” and it obeyed him. Mark 4:39 “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” He will command the winds and waves of our emotional lives to be still, and they have to obey Him! We just have to believe it. The psalmist is also asserting that everything in heaven and earth depends on God for its existence. He is our high tower, our mountain of stability and truth.

Verses 14-18, God is our ruler/vassal.

¹⁴ Justice and judgment are the habitations of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. ¹⁵ Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. ¹⁶ In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. ¹⁷ For thou art, the glory of their strength: and in thy favor our horn shall be exalted. ¹⁸ For the Lord is our defense, and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

God is the sovereignty of God of His chosen people. He governs with fair judgment, righteousness, and justice. He is loyal to His people. Acts 3:14  declared that people . . .”But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;” His people are happiest when they learn to praise him.”  Ephesians 5:8 states, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” We used to walk in darkness but when Jesus- the light of the world came He turned our darkness/mourning into joy and light. We make a “joyful sound unto the Lord when we are Ephesians 5:19 “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;” All believers have the authority to call upon the name of Jesus. When we do that, “our horn [strength] shall be exalted.” Why? The Almighty King of Israel is our defender. He wants us to have a harmonious relationship with Him.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you that we know that you are our provider, or defense, our defender, and the one who loves us. May our lips be continual instruments of praise to you, and only you.

Verses 19-29: You chose me to be your king and the king of your people Israel.

¹⁹ Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. ²⁰ I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: ²¹ With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. ²² The enemy shall not exact upon him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him. ²³ And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. ²⁴ But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. ²⁵ I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. ²⁶ He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. ²⁷ Also, I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. ²⁸ My mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. ²⁹ His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

Now the psalmist talks about God’s choice for king. He was not an adult. He was not known as a mighty warrior. He was not from a family of mighty warriors. Yet, God chose him to be king over His people. The psalmist makes sit clear that God also promised some specific things when He made David King over Israel through “his holy one-Nathan the prophet.” David was anointed king with Holy Oil. Acts 13:22 Yah made David strong. Psalm 80:17  (KJV) ¹⁷ Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. David, like, Jesus had divine protection. John 10:17-18 “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.” “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” Jesus was never under the control of Satan. You and I are NEVER going to be under the control of the devil and his mignons. No one can touch us without God’s permission. So, what about our children? They have God’s protection over them too. Read all of 2 Samuel 7:8-10 – and the entire chapter to see the hand of God’s protection over Davids’s life. Here is the thing. Either we trust Yah to do that, or we don’t. There really is no in-between with God. There is no. I am going to trust you, God, but I have to make sure that my family is safe.

David’s relationship with God was a father-son relationship. Our relationship with Yah is also a father-child relationship. God remains faithful to his people today, John1:14 ^“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” His only and only son became our living sacrifice. David’s seed received the promise that God made to David in 1 Sam. 2:10| Jesus is that exalted horn. David prayed to Yah, and he/David was established on the everlasting Rock. Jesus was the Rock of my salvation. He is the king of king 1 Timothy 6:15 “Which in his times he shall show, [who is] the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;” 

The covenant promise between God and David, that David’s kingdom will live on forever, was confirmed in Christ and the establishment of His kingdom that will last forever. See Deut. 11:21; Isa. 9:6-9. But what happens when the children of David and or the children of men, after Christ arose and went up to His Father, sins habitually?

Verses 30-37

³⁰ If his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments; ³¹ If they break my statutes and keep not my commandments; ³² Then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes? ³³ Nevertheless, my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.³⁴ My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. ³⁵ Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. ³⁶ 

The psalmist lays the foundation for what will happen in the next section of this Psalm.  He reminds the people that divine protection is conditional. So there are consequences for refusing to follow God. This section of the Psalm describes the nature of the natural children of David. They did not keep the law of God. They did break His statutes and His commandments.  Once God has said something, it becomes fact, and He will not change it. So, how then can God fulfill the covenant agreement? 

His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. ³⁷ It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

He cannot fulfill it in David’s seed as part of David’s physical genealogy, but In Jesus Christ, He can. Jesus is known as the son of David. See Acts 2:29-36. This is talking about Yah’s church and kingdom. It was talking about when the dark night of satan’s reign was ended by the rising of the Son of Righteousness, and by the continued bright shining of the Gospel ministry. It has continued throughout the centuries. Such as in the times of Constantine, when the church was clothed with the sun. Also, during the period of the Reformation, when Christ appeared with a rainbow on his head, and his face was as the sun (Rev. 12:1). It will especially be the case of the church in the latter day, when the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun sevenfold, as the light of seven days. And when the new Jerusalem, city, the church, will stand in no need of the sun nor of the moon.

And also in the New Jerusalem when the saints will shine like the sun in the kingdom of God (see Isa. 30:26 and Rev 21). The seed of David, spoken of here, is Jesus Christ and His followers. The throne is Jesus’ throne. He is even now seated at the right hand of the Father. But I am looking forward to the day when He will return.

My musings or thoughts for today.

Reference

Longman, Tremper, III. Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, InterVarsity Press, 2014. Google Books.