Psalms · psalm 89 of 150
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Psalm 89 is a Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite that sings of God's faithfulness and the covenant he swore to David, that his offspring and his throne would endure forever. Then, in pain, it describes how God seems to have rejected his anointed, defiled his crown and broken down his walls, and asks how long. It ends with a blessing of the Lord that closes Book III of the Psalter.
The title calls it a Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite, a wise man mentioned along with Heman in 1 Kings 4:31. It is the last psalm of Book III and one of the longest in the Psalter, with fifty-two verses. It leans on God's promise to David in 2 Samuel 7, which guaranteed an eternal throne. The situation it describes seems to be a deep blow against the Davidic dynasty, perhaps the fall of Jerusalem or an earlier disaster. The text does not specify which.
The psalm begins with a purpose: I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever and make known his faithfulness to all generations. God made a covenant with his chosen one and swore to David his servant that he would establish his offspring forever and build his throne for all generations.
Verses 5 to 18 celebrate God's greatness. The heavens praise his wonders, and none in the skies can be compared to him. He rules the raging of the sea and crushed Rahab; the heavens and the earth are his, and Tabor and Hermon joyously praise his name. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne, and blessed are the people who know the festal shout.
Verses 19 to 37 recall the covenant: God found David his servant, anointed him with holy oil and will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. If his children forsake his law, he will discipline them, but he will not remove his steadfast love or violate his covenant. Once for all he swore by his holiness that he will not lie to David: his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne like the sun and the moon.
Verses 38 to 52 turn to lament: God seems to have rejected his anointed, defiled his crown, broken down his walls and exalted his enemies. The poet asks how long, where the former steadfast love sworn to David has gone, and asks God to remember the reproach of his servants. A doxology closes the book: blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The psalmist decides to sing forever of the steadfast love of the Lord and to make known his faithfulness from generation to generation. Even in a deep crisis, he begins by remembering who God is.
God made a covenant with his chosen one and swore to David that he would establish his offspring and his throne forever. It echoes 2 Samuel 7, the promise that undergirds the whole story of the psalm.
God promises that, though he will discipline David's sons for their sin, he will not remove his steadfast love or violate his covenant. His faithfulness does not depend on the dynasty's perfection.
The psalmist asks where the former steadfast love is, which God swore to David by his faithfulness. The question does not deny God: it is asked precisely of him, appealing to his own promise.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever and make known his faithfulness. — Psalm 89:1
Answer: To establish his offspring forever and build his throne for all generations. — Psalm 89:3-4
Answer: The raging of the sea; when its waves rise, he stills them. — Psalm 89:9
Answer: My Father, my God and the Rock of my salvation. — Psalm 89:26
Answer: He will not remove his steadfast love or violate his covenant. — Psalm 89:33-34
Answer: Where is the former steadfast love that God swore to David. — Psalm 89:49
Psalm 89 teaches us to pray when what God promised seems not to be fulfilled. The psalmist does not abandon the promise: he recites it, remembers it before God and asks where it is. In a small group you can encourage people to bring to God, honestly, the promises they do not see fulfilled, without ceasing to praise him.
For Christians, the psalm points to Jesus, the son of David whose throne is eternal, according to Luke 1:32-33. The question with which the psalm ends finds an answer in the resurrection. That does not remove the pain of waiting, but it offers a firm foundation: the God who promised David an eternal king kept his word in Christ and will fulfill all that remains.
Psalm 89 closes Book III with the blessing: blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen. Book IV of the Psalter begins with Psalm 90, the prayer of Moses, which contemplates the brevity of life against the eternity of God.
The psalm takes God's promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:8-16 and restates it in poetic form: an offspring and a throne that endure, and a father who disciplines but does not withdraw his love. The lament arises because historical reality seems to contradict that promise, and the psalm sets that tension before God without resolving it.
Christians see in the promised son of David Jesus, who according to the New Testament reigns forever. But the psalm is not quoted explicitly for this, and its lament remains a valid prayer for anyone passing through a time when God's promises seem far away.
He appears in 1 Kings 4:31 as one of the famous wise men of his time, along with Heman. The title presents him as the author of this Maskil. Nothing more is known of his life.