Psalm
89 proclaims the faithfulness of God! The inspired writer of this Psalm was probably
in captivity in Babylon with the people of Israel. As he reflected on the present
condition of Israel he began to think about the character of God and His past faithfulness
of God to the nation (vv. 1-18). Often, we as God’s children find ourselves in
captivity to our flesh, the world and the devil, and we wonder if there is any hope
of being delivered out of the mess we have made of our lives. That’s when we
should also take time to read Psalm 89 and be reminded that we have a faithful
God that always keeps His promises.
The
writer not only thought about how God is faithful in His character, but that God
Is faithful to His covenant and we should trust Him. From verse 19 to verse 37,
it is the Lord who speaks, and He reminds us of what He did for David. The
question in the mind of the writer was probably, "If you did so much for
David, why then did you break your covenant and reject us?"
“You
spoke in a vision…”
(v. 19). What was the vision and to whom was it given? If we go back and read 1
Samuel 13:13-15 and 16:1-13, we find that God gave Samuel the message that
David would succeed Saul on the throne of Israel, and He gave Nathan the
prophet the message that David would not build the temple but would have a
"throne forever" and a "house" (family) built by the Lord
(2 Sam. 7:1-17). The Lord may have led the writer to rehearse this important
information because the generations living after the exile needed to know it.
Israel had a tremendously important ministry to fulfill in bringing the Messiah
into the world, and He would come through the family of David.
In
a sovereign act of grace, the Lord elected David to be king of Israel (vv.
19-20). Their first king, Saul of Benjamin, was never supposed to establish a
dynasty because he was not from the royal tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10). David
had proved himself before the Lord even before he stepped out on the stage of
history and killed Goliath (1 Sam. 17:32-37). He had been faithful over a few
things, and now the Lord would promote him to greater things (see Matt. 25:21).
The
Lord who elected David also equipped him to fight battles, lead the army, and
build the kingdom (vv. 21-23). Even as a youth, he was known for his military
prowess. The Lord exalted David, because David was a humble man who would not
promote himself (vv. 24-27). Indeed, God helped David to expand the borders of
the kingdom so that it reached from the Mediterranean Sea on the west to the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers on the east (see Ex. 23:31).
It
was David's close relationship with the Lord and his desire to exalt the Lord
alone that made him a success (v. 26). David was the eighth son in Jesse's
family (1 Sam. 16:13), but God made him His firstborn, the honored son that
received the greatest inheritance. David's greater Son, Jesus Christ, was also
called "the firstborn" (Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:15, 18; Heb. 1:6; Rev.
1:5). If David was "the highest of the kings of the earth" (v.
27), then he was "King of kings" like our Savior (see Rev. 17:14 and
19:16).
Finally,
the Lord established David and promised him a throne and a dynasty forever (vv.
4, 36-37) (2 Sam. 7:13, 16, 24-26, 29). This is a promise fulfilled in Jesus
Christ.
My
friend, you can trust the Lord to keep His promises to us today!
God
bless!
