Psalm 89
This Psalm is bright in praises for the countless mercies
of our God, especially for faithfulness to His covenants. Prayer is added.
May we with joyful hearts adopt this tone!
1-2. "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, Mercy shall be built up forever; You shall establish Your
faithfulness in the very heavens."
Mercy is a theme for everlasting praise. Faithfulness
cannot be adequately commended. Mercy and truth go hand in hand to
consummate salvation. Mercy and truth shall ever be the song of the
redeemed. May they be our song now!
3-4. "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have
sworn to David my servant. Your seed will I establish forever, and build up
your throne to all generations."
We have here the glad announcement that a covenant is
established by God with Jesus, the Son of David. This covenant secures the
perpetuity of the chosen seed. It stands forever.
5-6. "And the heavens shall praise Your wonders, O
Lord; Your faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in
the heaven can be compared to the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can
be likened unto the Lord?"
Due praise awaits the Lord for these His wonders. It
shall commence on earth. It shall be lengthened throughout the days of
heaven. These wonders are great beyond all thought. They spring from the
unchanging heart of Him, who is the great I AM.
7-10. "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of
the saints, and to be held in reverence of all those who are about Him. O
Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like You? or to Your faithfulness
round about You? You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves arise, You
still them. You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; You have
scattered Your enemies with Your strong arm."
Should not filial fear, and holy reverence encircle the
throne of God? Mark His might. Is the earth full of commotion? If He speaks,
stillness reigns. If He displays His power, His enemies vanish, as smoke
before the wind.
11-14. "The heavens are Yours, the earth, also is
Yours; as for the world and its fullness, You have founded them. The north
and the south You have created them; Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in Your
name. You have a mighty arm; strong is Your hand, and high is Your right
hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of Your throne; mercy and
truth shall go before Your face."
Survey the universe. It is the work of His hands. From
north to south creation recognizes Him as sovereign Lord. Thus great is His
power. Great, also, are all His attributes. Justice and judgment are His
abode. Mercy and truth precede His steps.
15-18. "Blessed are the people who know the joyful
sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance. In Your
name shall they rejoice all the day and in Your righteousness shall they be
exalted. For You are the glory of their strength; and in Your favor our horn
shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is
our King."
Blessed indeed are they whose ears receive the gospel's
joyful sound. Their walk is bright, for God shines on them. In His Name and
in His righteousness they are exalted. He is the glory of their strength. In
Him security surrounds them.
19-23. "Then You spoke in vision to your Holy One, and
said, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen
out of the people. I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I
anointed him. With whom My hand shall be established; My arm also shall
strengthen him. The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of
wickedness afflict him. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and
plague those who hate him."
Here Jesus is most gloriously revealed. He is called of
God to be our uttermost salvation. He is anointed as our Prophet, Priest,
and King. No enemy shall prevail against Him. May we receive Him in all His
offices, and powers, and work, and thus be seated on the pinnacle of safety.
24-29. "But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with
him; and in My Name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in
the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry to Me, You are my
Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my
firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him
forevermore, and My covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I
make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven."
It is the delight of faith to contemplate Jesus thus
exalted by Jehovah's power to the throne of salvation. The Father proclaims
Him, 'You are My Son, this day have I begotten You.' His voice responds,
'You are My Father, My God, and the Rock of My salvation.' The promise goes
forth, 'I will make His seed to endure forever.' Eternal glory shall be the
sure property of all who believe in Him. Shall we not laud Him with all the
faculties that we possess; and trust Him at every moment of our time!
30-37. "If his children forsake My law, and walk not
in My judgments; If they break My statutes, and keep not My commandments;
Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with
stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him,
nor permit My faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter
the thing that has gone out of My lips. Once have I sworn by My holiness,
that I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne
as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a
faithful witness in heaven."
It is sadly foreseen, that His children will ofttimes be
transgressors, and stray from gospel-paths. God will mark their iniquities,
and due chastisement shall recall them to His ways. But still their
rejection shall not be final. Lovingkindness will not expire. The covenant
shall abide secure. Jehovah's oath shall not be broken. Not one of Christ's
seed shall perish. His throne shall never totter. It shall abide, as the
moon in the firmament. It shall appear as the rainbow, the pledge that no
deluge shall return.
38-45. "But You have cast off and abhorred, You have
been angry with Your anointed. You have made void the covenant of Your
servant; You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. You have
broken down all his hedges; You have brought his strongholds to ruin. All
those who pass by the way plunder him; he is a reproach to his neighbors.
You have set up the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his
enemies to rejoice. You have also turned the edge of his sword, and have not
made him to stand in the battle. You have made his glory to cease, and cast
his throne down to the ground. The days of his youth have You shortened; You
have covered him with shame."
The scene is here changed. To all appearance David's
kingdom is brought very low. His enemies are allowed to triumph. His days
are shortened, and shame covers the land. All things indicate desertion.
Such is the case in the spiritual kingdom. But though sins may bring dark
days, the sun still rules in heaven. The covenant may not screen from
temporal distress, but it secures eternal life.
46-52. "How long, Lord? will You hide Yourself
forever? shall Your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is; why
have You made all men in vain? What man is he who lives, and shall not see
death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Lord, where are
Your former loving kindnesses, which You swore to David in Your truth?
Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants; how I bear in my bosom the
reproach of all the mighty people; With which Your enemies have reproached,
O Lord; with which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
Blessed be the Lord forevermore. Amen, and Amen."
Faith has undying root in the believer's heart. Cast
down, it is not cast off. It can still send forth the voice of prayer. It
can still call God to look down graciously. It can implore that sufferings
may be pitied, and cruelty rebuked. Deliverance thus sought will be given.
The mercies of the covenant stand as a rock, and the rejoicing spirit will
soon shout, 'Blessed be the Lord forevermore! Amen and Amen.'