Psalms89
King James Version · Public Domain
1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: 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.
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 greatly 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?
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 shall rejoice in thy name.
13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
14 Justice and judgment are the habitation 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 favour our horn shall be exalted.
18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
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 for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
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 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
38 But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.
39 Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.
41 All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.
42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.
44 Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.
46 How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. 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