Psalms89
New Living Translation
1 I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
2 Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
3 The Lord said, “I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants as kings forever; they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’” Interlude
5 All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.
6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?
7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord? You are entirely faithful.
9 You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves.
10 You crushed the great sea monster. You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
12 You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.
13 Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness.
17 You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong.
18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.
19 Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people. You said, “I have raised up a warrior. I have selected him from the common people to be king.
20 I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil.
21 I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm I will make him strong.
22 His enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him.
23 I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will grow in power.
25 I will extend his rule over the sea, his dominion over the rivers.
26 And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 I will make him my firstborn son, the mightiest king on earth.
28 I will love him and be kind to him forever; my covenant with him will never end.
29 I will preserve an heir for him; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.
30 But if his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations,
31 if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
32 then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their disobedience with beating.
33 But I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him.
34 No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said.
35 I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie:
36 His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun.
37 It will be as eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!” Interlude
38 But now you have rejected him and cast him off. You are angry with your anointed king.
39 You have renounced your covenant with him; you have thrown his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken down the walls protecting him and ruined every fort defending him.
41 Everyone who comes along has robbed him, and he has become a joke to his neighbors.
42 You have strengthened his enemies and made them all rejoice.
43 You have made his sword useless and refused to help him in battle.
44 You have ended his splendor and overturned his throne.
45 You have made him old before his time and publicly disgraced him. Interlude
46 O Lord, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence!
48 No one can live forever; all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave. Interlude
49 Lord, where is your unfailing love? You promised it to David with a faithful pledge.
50 Consider, Lord, how your servants are disgraced! I carry in my heart the insults of so many people.
51 Your enemies have mocked me, O Lord; they mock your anointed king wherever he goes.
52 Praise 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