The Covenant with David: Psalm 89
The Covenant with David – Psalm 89
“I will always preserve
my faithful love for him,
and my covenant with him will endure.”
~Psalm 89:28
Read: Psalm 89
We left the last post asking, How can God’s promises to David possibly be fulfilled? Israel was disobedient to God. The kings failed to be faithful. The people chose idolatry and rebelliousness. Despite every effort of the prophets, they could not call the people back to repentance. As a result, Israel’s monarchy eventually failed. The country was swiftly divided just two generations after David. The northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians after an increasingly sinful line of kings (not from the line of David). The southern kingdom of Judah (which followed David’s line) took longer since they had a few godly kings mixed in with the ungodly kings, but they, too, eventually fell to the Babylonians. The nation of Israel then faced decades of exile because of their disobedience in breaking their covenant with God.
And like a father with his son, God disciplined His firstborn son, Israel (Ex. 4:22). Deuteronomy 28 outlines pretty clearly what Israel would experience if they became unfaithful to God–disaster, devastation, and destruction to alliterate just a few of the items.
This brings us to Psalm 89. This psalm was written by a man named Ethan the Ezrahite, who was known for his wisdom (1 Kings 4:31). Let me give you a quick outline of this psalm.
1-2: Proclaims God’s faithfulness
3-4: Reminds us of God’s covenant with David
5-18: Praising God’s strength and faithfulness
19-37: Reminds us of God’s promises to David and all that they entail
38-45: Recounts the seemingly broken promises of God
46-51: Asking God where His faithfulness is
52: Conclusion to the entire book 3 of the Psalms, separate from the rest of Psalm 89
The entire first half of the psalm recounts God’s faithfulness, goodness, and promises to David. The second half takes a darker turn when it recounts the problems that have befallen Israel. The author of the psalm then ends it by questioning God and whether He is still faithful.
The Psalms are nothing if not honest. They truly cover the gamut of human emotion from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. This psalm encompasses that very extreme.
The promises that God made in His covenant with David were extraordinary–a great name, protection from oppression, and a forever throne. These promises were to be as enduring as the sun and moon, forever faithful witnesses in the sky (Ps. 89:37). The speaker does acknowledge that God would call them to account should they dishonor God’s law and become rebellious (89:30-32). But the author also reminds us (and perhaps God as well) that God swore he would “not violate [His] covenant or change what [His] lips have said” (89:34).
This leads into roughly the second half of the psalm (starting in verse 38). The author bemoans the state of Israel and says, “You [God] have repudiated the covenant with your servant; you have completely dishonored his crown” (Ps. 89:39). These are serious charges that the speaker levels against God. When he says that God has “repudiated the covenant,” he is saying that God has abandoned the covenant with David. God has publicly rejected him and made void the promises. Then, when the speaker says that God has “dishonored the crown,” he is saying that God has profaned or defiled or even polluted the crown. In an honor-shame focused culture like Israel’s, these are serious offenses. The speaker is calling into question God’s faithfulness.
However, there may be some things here that the speaker was not taking into account, such as God’s holiness, justice and righteousness, and faithfulness.
I have not counted exactly how many times it happens, but in the book of Leviticus, the word holy is used in conjunction with God over 20 times. The book of Isaiah far surpasses even that amount. God’s holiness is a part of His very essence as God. It is His moral perfection, purity, and absolute sacred nature. There is quite literally no one else like Him. His holiness demands our reverence. Thus, for Israel to spurn God, pursue other gods, and profane His law and sanctuary, God is well within His right as their (and our) sovereign Creator to execute discipline. Israel was to be holy as God was. They were to be His nation of holy priests who were charged with faithfully representing Him to the world (Ex. 19:6), and they failed.
God’s justice and righteousness characterize His entire kingdom. Even Ethan the psalmist writes, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne…” (Ps. 89:14a). These two qualities also define God’s law with Israel. They were to love God and love their neighbors; essentially, they were to observe social justice and moral purity. Their sincere faithfulness to God and the law would spill over into how they treated others, especially those who were in need (widows, orphans, and slaves were typically in this category). As God’s mouthpiece, the prophet Hosea writes, “For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (6:6). God’s people were to reflect Him to the nations. Thus, they were to be a people who were just and righteous, imaging God’s faithful love to others because they first loved Him. But they failed.
Finally, the psalmist calls into question God’s very faithfulness. He writes, “Lord, where are the former acts of your faithful love that you swore to David in your faithfulness?” (Ps. 89:49). In 2 Samuel 7, the author records, “‘Your house and kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever’” (7:16, NKJV). I want you to notice how the NKJV words this verse. It repeats the word established twice. However, in Hebrew, these are two different words. The first “established” is the Hebrew word 'āman. The second “established is the Hebrew word kûn. The word kûn is relatively straightforward. It means to establish or prepare something, to set it up. It also indicates that whatever is being made is intentional and lasting. It was the Hebrew word 'āman that really revealed something interesting. In the other translations, 'āman was translated as “endure” or “continue,” which is exactly what it means. But its connotation brings out a deeper meaning. It signifies that God is completely reliable and faithful. We can have complete and utter confidence that when God says something, it will come to pass. His “divine promises are guaranteed realities” because God’s love and faithfulness are the essence of who He is. To be unfaithful in the face of God’s faithfulness is to deny reality itself (BibleHub). And what does Israel do? They fail to be faithful.
The psalmist has done nothing more and nothing less than what people have done since time immemorial–cried out in despair and disbelief in the midst of utter heartbreak. And really, who could blame him? From his perspective, the world had gone to hell in a handbasket. I can think of plenty of times when I have wondered where God was in a particular situation.
We are allowed to doubt. We are allowed to ask questions. But I would caution you about staying in that place. The doubt and the questions need to drive you to God. He can handle all you throw at Him. It can take time to move past the fear and doubt and anger. I can think of a time in my life that took years to move past, but I did, and I did it by walking with God, even when I was angry with Him.
Because if there is one thing that we can be completely confident in, it is God’s faithfulness. He is as sure as day and night, as seasons that change, as the sun and moon in the sky. These are the human terms that we use to measure His constancy, but He is infinitely more faithful and reliable than even those things.
We will see in the next post what the psalmist couldn’t even imagine at this moment; we will see God keep His promises. But He will keep them in ways that the psalmist could never have imagined. This, too, is something for us to remember. God keeps His word, but He often does so in ways we could have never dreamed.
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Author’s Note:
Please realize that the resource list is a work in progress, and not all the sources listed are ones that I necessarily used or heavily considered in the development of this series. A variety of schools of thought may be represented. I am not intentionally promoting one theological system over another. I also recognize that there are multiple approaches to studying covenants, and I am not here to promote one over another. My goal is to present a basic understanding of the various covenants and how they progressively reveal God's overarching plan of salvation for humanity.
