“I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my
mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said,
The
theme of Psalm 89 is the faithfulness of God! This is the last Psalm in the
Third Book of Psalms as you will see in a note at the end of this chapter in
your Bible. This Psalm is entitled "A (Maschil) Contemplation of Ethan the
Ezrahite." It is the twelfth of thirteen Maschil or Psalms especially
written for instruction. Ethan the Ezrahite was one of the wise men of the
east, so renowned for wisdom that Solomon's sagacity is compared with his (1
Kings 4:31).
Most
commentators seem to feel, however, that the psalm relates to the exile when
the Davidic covenant seemed to be torn to shreds by a God whose patience was
exhausted by the wickedness of the later kings of David's line. If this is so,
some unknown author might have picked up a previous hymn by Ethan, adapted it
to the times, perhaps added to it, and republished it under Ethan's name.
The
tone of the psalm suggests that the final breakup of the monarchy was fresh in
the mind of the author. So probably, with an early manuscript in front of him,
this unknown author or editor elaborated on a previous poem by Ethan, adapting
it to the uncertainties of the hour. Some have suggested that the psalm during
the time that David’s seed, King Jehoiachin was in exile in Babylon. For
thirty-six years he languished in prison, but after the death of Nebuchadnezzar
he was released and kindly treated by Evil-Merodach, the next Babylonian king.
It
was of this godless man, Jehoiachin, that the prophet Jeremiah wrote:
"Write ye this man childless"; that is, childless as far as the
throne was concerned. The royal dynasty of David through Solomon came to an
abrupt end in this man. No further son of David's line through Solomon and
through Jehoiachin would be allowed to sit upon the throne of David.
What,
then, becomes of God's covenant that promised David a throne forever (vv. 3,
28, 34, 39, and see 2 Sam. 7)? Does Jehovah no longer keep His promises? The
faithfulness of the Lord is the major theme of this Psalm, which is mentioned
in verses 1, 2, 5, 8, 14, 24, 33, and 49. Of course, God's great promises to
David have their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Matthew
1; Luke 1:26-38, 68-79). The psalm gives us four assurances about the
faithfulness of the Lord.
First,
in verses 1-18, we are assured that God is faithful in His character and we
should praise Him! The psalm opens on a joyful note of worship with praise to
God from the psalmist (vv. 1-4), in heaven (vv. 5-8), and on earth (vv. 9-13),
and especially from the people of Israel (vv. 14-18), who rejoice in the Lord
all day long (v. 16). The psalmist sings (v. 1), the angels praise (v. 5), and
even the mountains sing for joy (v. 12). He praised the faithfulness of God's
character (vv. 1-2) and His covenant (vv. 3-4), about which he has much to say
(vv. 3, 28,34, 39).
Because
the psalmist wanted to instruct and encourage the coming generations (see
78:1-8), he wrote down his praise and his prayer. God had sworn to David that
his dynasty and throne would continue forever (vv. 28-29, 35-36, 49; 2 Sam.
7:13), but future generations of Jews would live without any king, let alone a
king from David's line. He wanted them to know that God's mercy
(lovingkindness) was being built up (v. 2) even though the city and temple had
been torn down and the crown and throne of David had been cast down (vv. 39,
44). God was still on His throne (v. 14), and David's line ("seed")
was secured forever in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (vv. 4, 29, 36-37; see Heb.
1:8; 5:6; 7:28; 10:12; 13:8, 21; Rev. 11:15).
The
"sure mercies (v. 1) of the LORD" will never fail (Isa. 55:3; Acts
13:34). God had not forsaken His servant David (vv. 3, 20, 39; 2 Sam. 7:5, 8,
20, 21, 25-29). And our faithful God will never forsake us!
God
bless!
