Psalms89
New American Standard
1 I will sing of the graciousness of the Lord forever; To all generations I will make Your faithfulness known with my mouth.
2 For I have said, “Graciousness will be built up forever; In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”
3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to My servant David,
4 I will establish your descendants forever And build up your throne to all generations.” Selah
5 The heavens will praise Your wonders, Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,
7 A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, And awesome above all those who are around Him?
8 Lord God of armies, who is like You, mighty Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the surging of the sea; When its waves rise, You calm them.
10 You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains, You have established them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13 You have a strong arm; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before You.
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! Lord, they walk in the light of Your face.
16 In Your name they rejoice all the day, And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength, And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones, And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him.
22 The enemy will not deceive him, Nor will the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 But I will crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and My favor will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will also place his hand on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers.
26 He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 I will also make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will maintain My favor for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29 So I will establish his descendants forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons abandon My Law And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they violate My statutes And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their wrongdoing with the rod, And their guilt with afflictions.
33 But I will not withhold My favor from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 I will not violate My covenant, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.
36 His descendants shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me.
37 It shall be established forever like the moon, And a witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah
38 But You have rejected and refused, You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
39 You have repudiated the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken down all his walls; You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass along the way plunder him; He has become a disgrace to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You also turn back the edge of his sword, And have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have put an end to his splendor And cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have shortened the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember what my lifespan is; For what futility You have created all the sons of mankind!
48 What man can live and not see death? Can he save his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
49 Where are Your former acts of favor, Lord, Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50 Remember, Lord, the taunt against Your servants; How I carry in my heart the taunts of all the many peoples,
51 With which Your enemies have taunted, Lord, With which they have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.
Study
Psalms 89Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Psalms 89. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: God's mercy and truth, and his covenant. (1–4). The glory and perfection of God. (5–14). The happiness of those in communion with him. (15–18). God's covenant with David, as a type of Christ. (19–37). A calamitous state lamented, Prayer for redress. (38–52).
vv1-4
Though our expectations may be disappointed, yet God's promises are established in the heavens, in his eternal counsels; they are out of the reach of opposers in hell and earth. And faith in the boundless mercy and everlasting truth of God, may bring comfort even in the deepest trials.
vv5-14
The more God's works are known, the more they are admired. And to praise the Lord, is to acknowledge him to be such a one that there is none like him. Surely then we should feel and express reverence when we worship God. But how little of this appears in our congregations, and how much cause have we to humble ourselves on this account! That almighty power which smote Egypt, will scatter the enemies of the church, while all who trust in God's mercy will rejoice in his name; for mercy and truth direct all he does. His counsels from eternity, and their consequences to eternity, are all justice and judgment.
vv15-18
Happy are those who so know the joyful sound of the gospel as to obey it; who experience its power upon their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives. Though believers are nothing in themselves, yet having all in Christ Jesus, they may rejoice in his name. May the Lord enable us to do so. The joy of the Lord is the strength of his people; whereas unbelief dispirits ourselves and discourages others. Though it steals upon us under a semblance of humility, yet it is the very essence of pride. Christ is the Holy One of Israel; and in him was that peculiar people more blessed than in any other blessing.
Key Words
מַשְׂכִּיל: instructive, i.e. a didactic poem
אֵיתָן: Ethan, the name of four Israelites
אֶזְרָחִי: an Ezrachite or descendant of Zerach
שִׁיר: to sing
חֵסֵד: kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subject.) beauty
עוֹלָם: properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always
פֶּה: the mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech); specifically edge, portion or side; adverbially (with preposition) according to
יָדַע: to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
אֱמוּנָה: literally firmness; figuratively security; morally fidelity
דּוֹר: properly, a revolution of time, i.e. an age or generation; also a dwelling
Cross References
Psalms 89The foundational covenant promise to David's seed and throne, directly quoted and celebrated here.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Connects the 'sure mercies of David' directly to God's everlasting, unbreakable covenant.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
God's historical selection and finding of David, His chosen servant, to be anointed.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel psalm recalling God's oath and sworn covenant to David concerning his kingly line.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
The classic praise of God's incomparable glory: 'Who is like unto thee, O Lord?'
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Christ as the supreme realization of the 'firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.'
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Identical imagery of broken-down hedges and exposed vine, representing the humiliation of Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The requirement of reverence and godly fear in the presence of the holy God.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies 'Rahab' as Egypt, whom God's arm cut and wounded in the Exodus.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The eternal throne of God characterized by righteousness and justice as its foundation.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The enduring sun and moon used as cosmic symbols of the perpetuity of David's kingdom.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
God's covenant with day and night compared to the absolute certainty of His covenant with David.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Scoffers mocking the footsteps of the anointed, asking 'Where is the promise of his coming?'
Supported by Matthew Henry
Declares Jesus Christ to be the seed of David according to the flesh, fulfilling the oath.
Supported by JFB
The concluding doxology 'Amen, and Amen' closing Book 3 of the Psalter, parallel to Book 1.
Supported by Matthew Poole