God Speaks
A psalm of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!
Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
2 Your unfailing love will last forever.
Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
3 The Lord said, “I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant.
I have sworn this oath to him:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants as kings forever;
they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’” Interlude
5 All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord;
myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.
6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord?
What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?
7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God.
He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!
Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord?
You are entirely faithful.
9 You rule the oceans.
You subdue their storm-tossed waves.
10 You crushed the great sea monster.
You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
12 You created north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.
13 Powerful is your arm!
Strong is your hand!
Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
They exult in your righteousness.
17 You are their glorious strength.
It pleases you to make us strong.
18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,
and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.
19 Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people.
You said, “I have raised up a warrior.
I have selected him from the common people to be king.
20 I have found my servant David.
I have anointed him with my holy oil.
21 I will steady him with my hand;
with my powerful arm I will make him strong.
22 His enemies will not defeat him,
nor will the wicked overpower him.
23 I will beat down his adversaries before him
and destroy those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him,
and by my authority he will grow in power.
25 I will extend his rule over the sea,
his dominion over the rivers.
26 And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 I will make him my firstborn son,
the mightiest king on earth.
28 I will love him and be kind to him forever;
my covenant with him will never end.
29 I will preserve an heir for him;
his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.
30 But if his descendants forsake my instructions
and fail to obey my regulations,
31 if they do not obey my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 then I will punish their sin with the rod,
and their disobedience with beating.
33 But I will never stop loving him
nor fail to keep my promise to him.
34 No, I will not break my covenant;
I will not take back a single word I said.
35 I have sworn an oath to David,
and in my holiness I cannot lie:
36 His dynasty will go on forever;
his kingdom will endure as the sun.
37 It will be as eternal as the moon,
my faithful witness in the sky!” Interlude
38 But now you have rejected him and cast him off.
You are angry with your anointed king.
39 You have renounced your covenant with him;
you have thrown his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken down the walls protecting him
and ruined every fort defending him.
41 Everyone who comes along has robbed him,
and he has become a joke to his neighbors.
42 You have strengthened his enemies
and made them all rejoice.
43 You have made his sword useless
and refused to help him in battle.
44 You have ended his splendor
and overturned his throne.
45 You have made him old before his time
and publicly disgraced him. Interlude
46 O Lord, how long will this go on?
Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your anger burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is,
how empty and futile this human existence!
48 No one can live forever; all will die.
No one can escape the power of the grave. Interlude
49 Lord, where is your unfailing love?
You promised it to David with a faithful pledge.
50 Consider, Lord, how your servants are disgraced!
I carry in my heart the insults of so many people.
51 Your enemies have mocked me, O Lord;
they mock your anointed king wherever he goes.
52 Praise the Lord forever!
Amen and amen!
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: The context for the first part of Psalm 89 may be found in 2 Samuel 7 where God is responding to David’s plan to build a temple to honor the LORD. In spite of whatever troubles this psalmist was facing, he turned first to singing praise to his great God; he also wanted to make sure others knew Him as well. Instead of David building an earthly temple for God, God promised to build an eternal house (family line) for David. Verses 5-18 focus on the awesome attributes and actions of the LORD God. This is what a person should do when facing difficult trouble or seemingly overwhelming difficulties in life. In verses 19-37 the psalmist (Ethan the Ezrahite) recounts God’s gracious actions, attitudes and promises to his hero, King David. But now in verses 38-45, it seems like God has turned His back on and deserted David. Whether it is King David or the psalmist, the writer does what everyone should do. In verses 46-51, the writer honestly and openly brings his problems to the only one who can ultimately solve them–the LORD. Even before anything changes, the writer cries out, “Praise the LORD [Hallelujah] forever! Amen [Let it be so.] and amen!” That is the essence of faith especially in troubling times.
The writer of this blog highly recommends this resource for a more thorough understanding of this psalm: Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 89
Prayer: O LORD God, Your mercies to me are, indeed, many, and Your faithfulness is forever. May I open my mouth and make sure others know Your mercy and faithfulness as well. I may not be able to build You a temple like David, but I do want to build my life around praising and honoring You. I do sing praise to You, O LORD along with this psalmist. I sing out the awesome attributes and actions of my great God. I do this in the midst of trials, troubles, and torment. You have always been gracious and loving, always keeping Your promises even when I don’t understand. Help me always to be honest with myself, other people, and You, LORD, about my reactions, thoughts, and feelings. I pledge to bring my problems to the only one who can ultimately solve them–You, LORD. I will praise You even before anything changes. Trusting You alone, I cry out with Ethan the psalmist, “Praise the LORD forever! Amen and amen!”
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will (alone or with others) sing praises to the LORD.
- I will (alone or with others) open my mouth to proclaim God’s faithfulness to people in the current and future generations.
- I will recount God’s awesome attributes, His gracious actions in the past (on behalf of myself or others), and His promises for the future whenever I face overwhelming difficulties.
- I will be open and honest (with God, others, and myself) about my feelings and reactions, then praise Him even before anything changes.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.