Psalms 89:1 - Meaning and Application

The psalmist has a very sad complaint to make about the broken condition of David’s family at this time. Yet he begins the psalm with praise, because in every situation we should give thanks. In that way, we honor the Lord even in the fire. We often think that complaining will bring relief when we are in trouble, but praise brings more than relief, it brings joy.

So let our complaints turn into thanksgiving. In these verses we find grounds for praise in the worst times, whether in our own lives or in public life. No matter what else is happening, the everlasting God is good and true (Psalm 89:1). It may be hard to fit present troubles together with God’s goodness and truth, but we must hold to this: God’s mercy never runs out, and his truth cannot be broken. These are fit reasons for joy and praise. “I will sing of the Lord’s mercies forever,” the psalmist says. That is a praise song to God’s honor, a comforting song for himself, and a teaching song for others. We can keep singing of God’s mercies all our lives, and the subject will never be exhausted. We should sing of them while we live, teach others to sing of them after we are gone, and hope to keep singing them in heaven forever. That is what it means to sing of the Lord’s mercies forever. With my mouth and with my pen, the psalmist says, I will make your faithfulness known to all generations. By what I have seen and learned, I will assure future generations that God keeps every word he has spoken, so that they too may learn to trust him (Psalm 78:6).

However dark things may look, the everlasting covenant is firm and sure (Psalm 89:2-4). The psalmist’s faith and hope rest here: things may seem to point to the complete ruin of David’s house, but he has said, with good reason from God’s word, that mercy will be built up forever. As God’s goodness is a reason for our song in Psalm 89:1, so much more is the mercy prepared for us in the covenant. It keeps increasing, like a house under construction, and it will remain our rest forever, like a finished house. It will be built up forever, because the lasting home we hope for in the new Jerusalem belongs to this same building.

If mercy will be built up forever, then the fallen tent of David will be raised from its ruins and rebuilt as it was long ago (Amos 9:11). Mercy will be built up forever because God’s faithfulness is fixed in the heavens. Even if our expectations fail in some particular matters, God’s promises are not canceled. They are established in the very heavens, that is, in his eternal plan. They are above all changes in this lower world, and beyond the reach of hell and earth. The steady heavens are a picture of God’s word. Clouds may gather in the sky from the earth below, but the heavens themselves cannot be moved or changed.

The psalmist then gives a summary of the covenant on which this faith and hope rest: “I have said it,” he says, because God has sworn it, so that the heirs of the promise may be fully sure of God’s unchanging purpose. He brings in God speaking for the comfort of his people: “I have made a covenant, and therefore I will keep it” (Psalm 89:3). The covenant is made with David, the king and father of his house, and with his descendants through him and for his sake. In that way, it points to the covenant of grace, God’s saving promise, made with Christ as the head of the church and with all believers as his spiritual family.

David is called God’s chosen one and his servant. Since God does not change his own choice, he is not unfair to reject one who served him. Two things strengthen the psalmist’s faith in this covenant. First, it was confirmed with an oath: the Lord has sworn, and he will not change his mind. Second, it was meant to last. The blessings were not only promised to David himself, but were passed on to his family. God promised that his descendants would remain, so David would always have a son to sit on the throne (Jeremiah 33:20-21). God also promised that David’s throne would be built up through all generations. This is fulfilled only in Christ, David’s descendant, who lives forever. God has given him the throne of his father David, and there will be no end to the growth of his rule and peace. The psalmist will speak more fully about this covenant later (Psalm 89:19).