Psalm 89 is an appropriate companion to Psalm 88. The question of authorship posed by the heading of Psalm 89 is closely related to that raised by the heading of Psalm 88. Heman the Levitical musician had an associate named Ethan, and Heman of Judah had a brother named Ethan, so the same twofold possibility concerning authorship that was discussed in the opening comments to Psalm 88 applies here. This Ethan could be either the Levitical temple musician or the wise man of Judah, or the two may be one and the same person.
These two psalms are also closely related in theme, since both of them deal with the distress of God’s people. The major difference is that Psalm 89 provides some relief to the deep gloom of Psalm 88. Psalm 89 ends with an unanswered question, but it has a brighter tone than Psalm 88, since its opening praise is more emphatic and more confident than the opening of Psalm 88. Psalm 89 also has a much more detailed exposition of the promises and power of God.
A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
Opening praise
1 I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
In the opening praise, Ethan sets the tone for the whole psalm by firmly declaring his confidence in God’s faithfulness to the covenant promises he has made with Israel. Although Ethan is going to raise some questions about the way God is demonstrating that faithfulness, he asks his questions with the same willingness to learn as Mary, who asked, “How will this be?” (Luke 1:34). He asks with the same longing for reassurance shown by John the Baptist. John sent messengers to question Jesus because it was hard for him and his disciples to believe that Jesus could really be the promised Messiah if he was going to leave John sitting in Herod’s prison (Matthew 11:1-14).
Ethan moves from his general statement of faith to the specific problem that is bothering him. In 2 Samuel 7:4-17 God had promised David that one of David’s heirs would remain on his throne forever. How could this promise be reconciled with the partial loss of David’s kingdom brought about by the secession and the eventual collapse of the northern kingdom of Israel? How could it be harmonized with the complete downfall of the Davidic rule, which occurred when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians? If Jehoiachin, the heir to the throne of Judah, was an exile in Babylon, how could God’s promise that David’s heir would rule forever come true?
(If this psalm was written by the Ethan of David’s day, it was written in prophetic anticipation of the schism of the north and the fall of Judah.)
Ethan’s review of the covenant with David has five main parts, which are indicated by the paragraphs of the following section.
The covenant with David
1. Statement of the covenant
3 You said, “I have made a covenant
with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
4‘I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm
through all generations.’” Selah
2. God’s power, which upholds the covenant
5 The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?
7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.
8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you?
You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
12 You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
13 Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you.
3. The security of God’s people
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
they exult in your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favor you exalt our horn.
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
4. The promise to David
19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
surely my arm will strengthen him.
22 No enemy will subject him to tribute;
no wicked man will oppress him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down his adversaries.
24 My faithful love will be with him,
and through my name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, the Rock my Savior.’
27 I will also appoint him my firstborn,
the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
and my covenant with him will never fail.
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.
5. The terms of the covenant
30 “If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging;
33 but I will not take my love from him,
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered.
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
The first paragraph briefly summarizes the promise: an heir of David will rule on his throne forever.
The second and third paragraphs state two general principles that bolster the psalmist’s faith in the fulfillment of the promise. God has shown his power to fulfill his promise by his rule over all creation. God rules over the angels he created. He rules over the sea, which no man can tame. Rahab is a figurative name for the sea, a monster that only God can control. God rules over the highest mountains. Tabor and Hermon were two of the most majestic mountains the Israelites knew. God’s control of these three creations of his—angels, seas, and mountains—represents his power over all creation. Since he has such power, he can certainly fulfill his promise to David.
The second paragraph demonstrates God’s ability to fulfill his promise; the third paragraph shows his desire to keep his promise. He wants to give glory, strength, and power to his people. He therefore will give them a king who will be a shield protecting them from their enemies.
The fourth paragraph provides a more detailed statement of the promise to David. Its length is probably intended to express the depth of the psalmist’s feeling about the covenant. It has some similarities to Psalm 72, which celebrates the eternal rule of David’s heir.
The fifth paragraph, which states the terms of the covenant, already hints at the answer to the psalmist’s question. Although the promise that David would have an heir who would rule forever was unconditional, there was a condition attached to the enjoyment of that promise by individual heirs of David. Unfaithfulness and disobedience disqualified a king from the privilege of ruling on David’s throne. Ungodly kings like Jehoiachin, who was carried into exile, or like Zedekiah, who died in prison in Babylon, were receiving the punishment their apostasy deserved. The removal of such ungodly kings from the throne was not a breaking of God’s promise, but a fulfilling of a part of it.
But if such kings were removed and the line of David was broken, how could God keep the promise that an heir of David would always reign on his throne?