Psalms89
New King James Version
1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”
3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David:
4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.’ ” Selah
5 And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
6 For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8 O Lord God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
10 You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long, And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength, And in Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, 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 shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him.
24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25 Also I will set his hand over the sea, And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29 His seed also I will make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they break My statutes And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes.
33 Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David:
36 His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
38 But You have cast off and abhorred, You have been furious with Your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 You have broken down all his hedges; You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass by the way plunder him; He is a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword, And have not sustained him in the battle.
44 You have made his glory cease, And cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth You have shortened; You have covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men?
48 What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? Selah
49 Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, Which You swore to David in Your truth?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants— How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord forevermore! 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