Deeper Commentary
"By" can as well be "for"; the author seems clearly to be David, so
it may be that Ethan was the one responsible for publishing it or setting
it to music. This Psalm praises and expounds God's covenant with
David, but then from :38 onwards accuses God of breaking that covenant. It
seems we have here the kind of thing we are used to in electronic
communication; the reply to the accusation includes the original
accusation beneath the text of the reply. The complaint about breaking the
covenant was rooted in a misunderstanding- that the covenant implied an
unbroken line of kings from David onwards, literally reigning on Zion. But
now that line has been broken, and Zion destroyed and ploughed as a field.
The covenant with David promised that David's throne and kingdom would
continue eternally because the resurrected ["set up"] Messiah, Son of God
and Son of David, would reign eternally from Zion, and David would be
resurrected to see this "before [him]", in David's presence. The first
part of the Psalm explains this. And so all the complaint about Divine
fickleness and injustice was in fact based on a misreading of what He had
promised, and interpreting God's words of promise according to the
narrative of what David and others wished or fantasized to be true.
I will sing of the grace of Yahweh forever. With my mouth I will make
known Your faithfulness to all generations-
The point of "forever" and stressing God's eternal
faithfulness is in answer to the complaints which begin in :38. Despite
all seeming injustice and lack of God coming through, the Psalmist still
believes God's grace is eternal. God's grace and faithfulness to the
covenant are paralleled. The fulfilment of the promises is by His grace;
and therefore to question whether His word is true is to question His
grace. "In mercy shall the throne be established" (Is. 16:5). The building
up of David's throne, with Messiah ruling on it, will be eternal. Because
as Paul says, God will then lavish His grace upon us throughout the
eternal ages.
Psa 89:2
The solid existence of all creation is seen as evidence enough that
the love of God, as expressed through the Davidic covenant, would remain
firm likewise. We need only look at the natural creation for evidence that
God is going to keep the promises found in the Bible. The same idea is
found in :37. In answer to the complaints which begin in :38, the
answer is that God is love and keeps His promises, and the natural
creation proves this. The idea is that in Heaven, God's faithfulness to
His covenant with David is total and immutable. It is only to the
observers on earth, whose complaints are from :38, that there appears
anything wrong.
Psa 89:3
It's hard to know whether this is a direct revelation from God, or
whether these words are as it were put in God's mouth by the poetry of the
psalmist. David was clearly the "chosen one... My servant" (Ps. 89:3), but
these very terms are applied to Israel as a whole (Ps. 105:6,43; 106:5)
and to the "servant" of later Isaiah, who refers to both Israel and their
Messiah as their embodiment (Is. 42:1; 45:4). David's path of sin,
repentance and restoration was intended to be that of all God's people, as
he himself recognizes in Ps. 32. But the exiles refused to repent and
therefore their restoration was precluded. They were not therefore treated
as His "chosen one".
Psa 89:4 ‘
This was true, but only if his seed had the characteristics of David.
As noted on :3,
Psa 89:5
Psa 89:6
Here again we seem to have a criticism of idolatry. The idols are
often not baldly stated to be non-existent, but rather Yahweh is so highly
exalted and powerful that effectively they have no real existence.
Likewise the Lord Jesus didn't specifically state that demons don't exist;
rather the supreme power of His miracles showed that effectively they
don't, as they have no real power even if they do exist. Idolatry was an
abiding problem in Israel at David's time, and also at the start of the
exile, as Ezekiel makes clear.
Psa 89:7
The awesome nature of the court of heaven is stressed, into which we
have a glimpse in 1 Kings 22. God has a "council", discussing His plans
with the Angels. This is because although the exiles on earth couldn't see
the progression of God's purpose according to His covenant with David, the
Angels in heaven perceived it and rejoiced. And our perspective is to be
theirs.
Any suspicion that God hasn't come through for us is
effectively a disbelief in His Almightiness. Any lack of 'coming through'
is not because He lacks the power.
Psa 89:9
As so often in the Psalms, in times of doubt and depression
concerning why God doesn't come through as we think or hope He should,
thoughts turn to how God has acted mightily in the past, and the Red Sea
deliverance is the favourite of the psalmists; and of how His constant
activity is seen in the natural creation. If He rules the sea, thought by
the ancients to be the home of mysterious powers and Satan-like monsters,
then how much more can He control the movements of the nations,
represented by the seas. The complainers from :38 ff. seem to have
attributed the disaster of Zion's overthrow and the ending of the Davidic
line of kings as being due to God being somehow powerless against the
cosmic forces of evil. But the answer is that Yahweh rules over all any
such supposed powers and has shown this abundantly in His past behaviour.
The God who had historically calmed the seas at creation and at the Red
Sea would just as easily calm the seas before the Son of David (:25). But
the complainers thought that what God had historically done He was bound
to do at any time, on demand, as if God is a cash machine. They assumed
God should act now as He had historically: “Where are your deeds
of steadfast love of old, O Lord?” (:50). But He is not bound by man. His
power is unlimited and He can do this again- through His Son, but when He
wishes and not simply on demand.
Psa 89:10
As noted on :9, the appeal is to the fact that God had destroyed the
might of Egypt ("Rahab") and scattered the tribes of Canaan. Faith
continues that He can do the same again with Babylon. In answer to
the complaints which begin in :38, the Psalmist recalls God's historical
actions and fulfilment of His promises. Even though the deliverance from
Egypt appeared much delayed and long drawn out. Verses 10 and 11 clearly
allude to the victory song over Egypt of Ex. 15. The complainers were
perhaps arguing that Yahweh had indeed rescued Israel from Egypt, so why
could He not do so from Babylon? He would, ultimately, although it was a
redemption largely refused by Judah. And He would do so spiritually in the
establishment of the eternal Kingdom of His Son. But the complainers
didn't care to accept that the temporary triumph of Babylon was because of
their sins, and they failed to focus upon the future establishment of
Yahweh's eternal Kingdom on earth.
Psa 89:11
LXX "North and the west", which would better fit Tabor and Hermon as
the great mountains of the west and north. AV "shall rejoice..." reflects
faith that finally the land and kingdom would be restored, and rejoice
instead of mourning. Reflection on God's extreme power shows that
the fears expressed from :38 that God has failed to 'come through' are not
due to any lack of power His side.
Psa 89:13
God's apparent inaction was never to be interpreted as meaning that
He was too weak to fulfil His purpose. God's power remains permanent and
ultimate, even in the face of our defeats and before death itself. Again,
the logic of this demands that the apparent lack of progress with God's
purpose isn't due to any deficiency on His part; and therefore it means
that we are the reason for that lack of progress.
Psa 89:14
Never should Israel think that because the throne of David was
apparently cast down, so therefore was God's throne. His throne is
eternal, and before His face, always in His awareness, is "grace and
truth", a phrase often used of His promises to Abraham and David. If
God's promises are grace and truth, then it's unthinkable that they should
be broken- otherwise they wouldn't be "truth". Those from :38 who claimed
God's "truth" had been broken were therefore saying God is untruthful. But
He is fundamentally truthful, and so their positions were arrived at due
to misinterpretation of His word and interjecting their own narratives
onto His word. The eternal establishment of the Messianic Son of
David, Son of God, would be by grace and truth. To argue that seeing there
was no human Davidic king was to posit that God's grace and truth were no
longer. But they are. It's just they are not immediately visible before
our eyes.
Psa 89:15
David often asks for forgiveness and restored fellowship with God in
terms of walking again in the light of God's face. As noted above, his
path of repentance and restoration was to be that of the exiles; if they
acclaimed God in repentance, which the exiles generally didn't.
The people who praise God are those who are praising Him for faithfully
fulfilling His word- whereas those who don't perceive this, those speaking
from :38 onwards, are miserable and not at all blessed / happy. Those who
do perceive God's faithfulness "learn to acclaim You". Perceiving His
faithfulness is something that must be learnt and is beyond any surface
level observation of life.
"Learn to acclaim You" is the language of the acclamation at a
coronation. Although there was no visible Davidic king at that point,
blessed were those who still perceived that Yahweh was still their king,
and His throne was to be given to David when His promised Son reigned upon
it. We too acclaim Yahweh as King and ourselves as His Kingdom, although
the literal visible evidence of that isn't there in our current situation.
But that is a 'learnt' position and the Psalmist wishes it for us all. The
complainers hadn't learnt that.
Psa 89:16
This again alludes to how David was forgiven for his sins through the
imputation of God's righteousness. The exiles were to follow his path to
restoration; and like David, rejoice in this imputation of righteousness.
But they refused. Experiencing God's grace (:17) leads to the
possibility of living in constant rejoicing at our high status before God-
regardless of whether we consider He hasn't come through for us right now
as much as we would like (as the complainers from :38 onwards felt).
Psa 89:17
Psa 89:18
This may be commentary upon the fact that the Davidic line had been
temporarily overthrown. God was the ultimate king of Israel, and so there
was no need to think that Israel were left without a king. "Shield" is a
metaphor for "king" (as in Ps. 47:9). Even in exile, Israel were not
without a king who would protect them. AV "The Holy One of Israel
is our king" is the answer to the complainers of :38 ff. lamenting that
there was now no Davidic king on the throne. They were making the mistake
Israel had historically made- to forget Yahweh was their king, and thus
resign themselves from being His Kingdom. For a kingdom is a group of
persons who have a king. He was still their king and shield, even with
Zion ploughed and no Davidic king on the throne. All they could see was what was immediately in
front of their eyes- they had no human king and so they thought they were
now not a kingdom. The answer is that Yahweh was still their king, and His
throne was paralleled with the throne of David in the Davidic covenant.
And that throne and kingdom would be eternal- in the future, when the Son
of David was resurrected and David too was resurrected to see that eternal
throne and kingdom established "before [him]".
Psa 89:19
Dahood renders: “I made a lad king in preference to a
warrior, I exalted a youth above a hero”, with reference to Saul.
Psa 89:20
The initial reference was to the terrible taxation of Saul, which
David avoided through killing Goliath (1 Sam. 17:25). The reminder is that
despite this interpretation or implication of the promises to David, the
"wicked man" Saul did indeed "oppress" him; for these phrases are used
throughout the wilderness Psalms about Saul. But the point was, the
Davidic covenant did come finally true for David, despite periods when
apparently it failed for him. And the exiles were bidden likewise look to
the end of things, rather than demand immediate and constant experience of
God's promises coming true in this life. This is a lesson for all those
tempted to believe the "prosperity Gospel".
Psa 89:23
This again only came true for David in the longer term and not
immediately. Absalom and Saul both died from being 'struck down' but this
was only after they had appeared to be in the ascendancy over David. And
so it was to be true for all in covenant relationship with God.
Psa 89:24
It was in this exaltation of the Messianic horn that the horn of the
people would be exalted (s.w. :17). There existed even in these earlier
days the idea of being "in Christ", the Messiah, and those in Him being
blessed with the experience of His exaltation and glory. But the various
possibilities of a Messiah figure in the period of the restoration all
came to nothing.
Psa 89:25
"The rivers" can be understood as an intensive plural, referring to
the great river, Euphrates. From the sea to the Euphrates was the
territory promised to Abraham. The fulfilment of the Davidic covenant was
to be understood as involving the complete fulfilment of the promises made
to Abraham. This didn't happen in David's time, but this was the promise.
We appear to have here an extension of the promises to David, perhaps
given to the psalmist by direct revelation from God, although the promises
recorded in 2 Sam. 7 are alluded to and expanded.
Psa 89:26
The Lord Jesus appears to allude to this in calling God his Father
and his God (Jn. 20:17); hard proof against the "Jesus = God" theology of
Trinitarians. We note too the need for salvation of David's Messianic
seed; hardly appropriate if that seed were to be God Himself.
Psa 89:27
The fulfilment of the Davidic covenant was to be primarily in a
person, who would rule over all kings and would be God's firstborn; the
first child He ever had. 2 Sam. 7:12-14 implies this would have to be
through a woman in David's line becoming pregnant not from man but from
God Himself, through His Spirit. And this was to have ultimate fulfilment
in the virgin birth (Lk. 1:31-35). But the exiles focused instead upon a
visible restoration of the Davidic throne and kingdom before their eyes at
that time. We too must be Jesus centered more than Kingdom centered.
Otherwise we too will start to complain that God appears not to be coming
through for us personally in this life. The complainers of :38 ff.
observed that God's people were now beneath all the nations, and not above
them. But this was because they didn't have the firstborn, only begotten
Son of God reigning over them in God's Kingdom. They wanted and indeed
expected the full Kingdom blessings to be experienced in this life. Just
like many today who complain of God not coming through. This language is
applied to the Lord Jesus "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the
dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth" (Rev. 1:5). But it was to
come true in His resurrection and later in the full establishment of His
Kingdom on earth. But the complainers wanted the Kingdom life here and
now, and didn't factor in the "Jesus" issue.
Psa 89:28
The exiles were complaining that the Davidic covenant wasn't being
fulfilled in their experience. But they failed to perceive that it
required the appearance of a Messianic seed for this covenant to be
realized in practice. And those who might have partially fulfilled it in
their time (especially Zerubbabel) had all failed. The fulfilment was to
be "through him" and not simply through the exile being ended.
Psa 89:29
Again the point is made as on :28, that the Davidic covenant didn't
promise immediate blessing for the kingdom of David. It was primarily
focused upon an individual seed of David who would have an eternal throne;
and personal blessing and salvation was only to be found through
association with this seed, becoming "in Him". See on :24.
Psa 89:30
But this plan of salvation through identification with the seed was conditional. Both he personally and those "in him" had the possibility of sinning and thereby nullifying the covenant. And the exiles had done just this. We note that the Lord Jesus had the possibility of sinning [otherwise His temptations were fake]. This again disproves any idea that He was God Himself in person.
Psa 89:31
The covenant was broken (:34 s.w.) because they had broken the laws
which were part of that covenant. The law repeatedly stated that if Israel
didn't keep God's commandments, they would be exiled from their land (Lev.
20:22 s.w.). After centuries of patience with them, this finally happened.
Any complaint at the consequence for sin was therefore unreasonable. It
would be as unreasonable as Adam complaining that he had been exiled east
of Eden.
Psa 89:32
This is the equivalent of "I will chasten
him with the rod of men
This is the equivalent of "And with the stripes of the children of men
The point of all this is to show how our sins were somehow born by
Jesus, to the extent that He suffered for them. But how was this
actually achieved? It is one thing to say it, but we must put meaning into
the words. I suggest it was in that the Lord so identified with us,
His heart so bled for us, that He felt a sinner even though He of
course never sinned. The final cry “My God, why have You forsaken me?”
clearly refers back to all the many passages which speak of God forsaking
the wicked, but never forsaking the righteous. The Lord, it seems to me,
felt a sinner, although He was not one, and thus entered into
this sense of crisis and fear He had sinned. He so identified
with us. In the bearing of His cross, we likewise must identify with
others, with their needs and with the desperation of their human
condition… and this is what will convert them, as the Lord’s identification
with us saved us.
Psa 89:33
I have noted on :31,32 that the promises of 2 Sam. 7 about the
singular seed of David are interpreted as applying to the entire community
of God's people, and therefore the singular in 2 Sam. 7 is changed to the
plural here in Ps. 89. But now there is a reversion to talking about
"him", the singular seed. He personally would always receive God's
faithful covenant grace; and the implication is that God's sinful people
must therefore identify with Him. We now do this by baptism into the Lord
Jesus, but until He came, it was impossible for God's people to make this
connection with the seed.
Psa 89:34
LXX "profane my covenant".
Psa 89:35
To claim that God has broken His side of the covenant is tantamount
to calling God a liar. This is what we are doing if we doubt our ultimate
salvation. Paul seems to have this in mind in his reasoning in Rom. 3:3-7.
The fact some like the exiles didn't want to believe Him doesn't make Him
a liar, because His promises to them weren't experienced by them. That was
their choice, and they as it were put God in the dock and accused Him of
being a liar. And in the revelation of God's final judgment, all who have
done so will be revealed as liars.
Psa 89:36
The emphasis is upon "will". The promises to David
will come
true. His Messianic seed would indeed have an eternal throne and kingdom.
The fact that was not being immediately fulfilled in the experience of the
exiles at their time didn't mean that God was a liar (:35) or incapable of
doing what He has said. Rather the problem was with the exiles, in that
they didn't want to believe that at some point, fulfilment would come. A
demand that God's promises must come fully true for us in this
life is really a lack of faith in His future Kingdom. Faith in the things
of the Kingdom and the name of the Lord Jesus is faith in a future reality
as well as a present one. If all the focus is upon our immediate blessing,
then like the exiles we will have a crisis of faith.
Psa 89:37
The solid existence of all creation is seen as evidence enough that
the love of God, as expressed through the Davidic covenant, would remain
firm likewise. We need only look at the natural creation for evidence that
God is going to keep the promises found in the Bible. The same idea is
found in :2.
Psa 89:38
This may originally have begun with David in depression feeling that
although he had been anointed king, his persecution by Saul and later by
Absalom indicated that God had changed His plans. These thoughts of David
are now developed by the exiles and exaggerated and expanded to refer to
the breaking up of Zion.
Psa 89:39
Psa 89:40
The vineyard of Israel was indeed broken down by God and its
protective wall removed by Him (Is. 5). But this was because they had
refused to bring forth fruit to Him, and had themselves introduced the
Gentiles into that vineyard, worshipping their idols in His temple. The
complaint against God focuses upon the consequences of sin, rather than
recognition of sin and repentance.
Psa 89:41
The same word for "rob" is used to the exiles in warning them that
even the restored Jerusalem is to fall and the houses robbed (Zech. 14:2).
God's purpose with David's seed was no guarantee that in this life, that
seed would not suffer. The exiles were refusing to understand that what
they were complaining about was merely the consequence of their sins, and
not due to God's unfaithfulness. These same exiles had been reminded that
they had committed fornication with all those who "pass by the way" (s.w.
Ez. 16:15,25). It was as if they had hardened their hearts against all
these prophetic messages. And Malachi accuses them of
robbing God.
He has become a reproach to his neighbours-
This Psalm may have originated in David's complaint that he had
become a reproach to his neighbours and family after his sin with
Bathsheba (s.w. Ps. 22:
Psa 89:42
This seems an intentional repost to the statement in :13 that God's
own right hand is exalted (s.w.). The exiles refused to see that God's
hand can be exalted even in His apparent silence; and went further to
imply God was being somehow vindictive and unreasonable. This is the
classic mistake made by all who stumble at the problem of evil.
Psa 89:43
This however was exactly what was promised as a consequence of
breaking the covenant. Israel had signed up to that, and God had been
patient in bringing those consequences for centuries. And when it came,
finally, they accuse Him of hating them. Again, all stumbling over the
problem of evil results is rooted in a denial of the consequences of human
sin [whether it be our own or the sin of others]. And as a result, God
ends up being falsely accused.
Psa 89:44
This again fails to factor in the reality that God can fulfil His
promises at a later date, even through resurrection from the dead.
Abraham
died in full faith that the promises to him would be fulfilled at the
resurrection, although he didn't receive them in this life (Heb.
11:13,39,40). But the exiles didn't have this faith; they considered God
was only any good if they had it all now. And they went further to almost
mock God when they didn't get what they expected, with no account of their
own sins and the consequence of sin. They also failed to consider that
David's throne was the throne of Yahweh; and He remained enthroned as king
in heaven, with the earth [s.w. "ground"] as His footstool (Is. 66:1).
Psa 89:45
LXX "the days of his throne". This reflected a total lack of faith
and willful lack of understanding of the fact that the promises of an
eternal throne depended upon the revelation of the individual Messianic
seed of David. He had not come at that point, but the exiles still
demanded the blessings promised to Him.
The complainer may have the sons of Zedekiah and especially
Jehoiachin in mind, who was only 18 (2 Kings 24:8), or according to 2
Chron. 36:9, only 8 years old, when he came to the throne, and he reigned
only three months and ten days. The prime of his life was spent in exile,
apparently in actual confinement in which he was literally ‘clothed with
dishonour’ (2 Kings 25:29). Likewise the complaint in :51 that the
footsteps of the anointed were mocked could allude to Jehoiachin as he was
led through the streets of Babylon in the conqueror’s triumph.
Psa 89:46
The answer was that God had hidden His face from His people because
they had hidden their faces from Him. They were as Cain, exiled from Eden
[the promised land] to the east, hidden from God's face (Gen. 4:14). This
was the specific curse for breaking the covenant (Dt. 31:17).
God's wrath was indeed like fire, but that fire had a purpose. It was to purify the dross from God's people. But they didn't respond: “in vain did the smelter smelt - the dross is not separated out” (Jer. 6:29). Likewise Jer. 2:29,30: “in vain I have beaten your sons; they would not accept correction”. But the complainers only saw the suffering and refused to accept that human sin was the essential problem. We note the parallel: "How long will You hide... how long will Your wrath burn?". The complaint considers God hiding unless He stops being angry about sin and basically dishes up all the good stuff. Anything less than that warrants criticism of Him. This is man at his most petulant, spoilt, autistic and unreasonable.
This may well have been based upon an original prayer of David,
lamenting the brevity of his life as in Ps. 39:5 (s.w.). But the exiles
are reasoning as if this life is all we have; and therefore to not see the
restoration in their lifetime was tragic. And they considered God somehow
cruel to not bring about the restored kingdom in their lifetimes. Because
life is short, they therefore expected Him to act very quickly; or else,
they accused Him of creating people for "vanity". This is the kind of
unreasonable talk which comes from all who stumble over the problem of
evil. David's perspective was that it is "men of the world" who have
"their portion [s.w. "short"] in this life" (Ps. 17:14). The exiles were
totally devoid of the hope of resurrection and final fulfilment then. This
lack of faith in the things of the future Kingdom of God, sometimes
encouraged by theological misunderstandings, is often at the root of
stumblings over the problem of evil. If the perception is that man only
has this life, then the problems of evil within that life will indeed
weigh heavy, as life then appears a mere lottery, with some people getting
a better deal than others.
Psa 89:48
This continues the false argument of :47; that because life is short
and there is only hope for this life and no further, therefore God should
hurry up and restore their kingdom.
It is in the context of God promising David eternity that he questions: "Shall He (God) deliver his soul from the grave? What man is he that liveth and shall not see death?" (AV). He goes so far as to feel that God's "former graces (a word often used about the promises), which You swore to David" had been at best suspended (Ps. 89:49 AV).
The reasoning of :47,48 is that death and the brevity of human life is unfair. God should act because life is brief and He is somehow forgetting the brevity of human life. But this arises from a total failure to perceive that the promises to David are about resurrection, and the fulfilment of His covenant is set in the future not now. And God has not forgotten the nature of how we are. The Son of David would be "set up" or resurrected, as Acts 2:30 interprets this, at a point after David has "slept with [his] fathers". And yet David would see all this "before you", in his presence, again implying David's resurrection. But instead, the complainers were focusing upon a fulfilment right now in this life, of an unbroken line of kings. There was no appreciation that the wages of sin is death, and that the eternity promised to David was all on account of making identity with His greater "son" who would live and reign eternally.
The complainer is answering how own question really. No man can resurrect himself. But resurrection is at the heart of the Davidic covenant which the complainers wrongly claim has been broken. The complainer likewise answers his own question by asking "What / which man" lives for ever? What man can save himself from the grave? Not one apart from the Son of David, the resurrected Lord Jesus, who never sinned, and so death had no power over Him. And those who are in Him and choose to accept the Davidic covenant, as Is. 55:3-5 invites.
Psa 89:50
This is the language of earlier Psalms concerning how David so took
to heart the words of his enemies at the time of Saul and Absalom's
rebellion. But his feelings are now reapplied by the exiles to the taunts
of the "peoples", the Gentiles, such as those recorded in Ps. 137:1-3.
Psa 89:51
These things had application to
the Lord Jesus, the "Christ", the "anointed one", who bore Israel's
judgment. Every step of the way along the
Via Dolorosa, Yahweh's enemies reproached every stumbling footstep of His
anointed, just as they did every step of Judah as they were marched into
captivity.
Psa 89:52
As noted on :1, despite all the doubts and struggles of the psalmist, the
Psalm concludes with praise to God. This is a great challenge to us, no
matter what struggles we have with God. We are to all the same love and
praise Him. This is where the problem of evil, the difficulty of
understanding the apparently harder side of God, is designed to elicit
humility and tenacity of love for Him.
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