God keeps His Promises! In Psalm 89, the psalmist sings of the promise of an enduring successor, an everlasting throne, an eternal kingdom. He praises God because He will send us the Lord of lords and the King of kings. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One! Let’s dig in…
Psalm 89
A psalm (or maskil/song) 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 (pause and reflect)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. Interlude46 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 (Sheol). Interlude49 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!
Psalm 89 NLT
Amen and amen!
Pastor Sandy Adams elaborates…
The immediate seed and fulfillment of God’s promises was Solomon, but the ultimate fulfillment was a future son of David named Jesus.
Those who know God best – revere Him most. This is why the angels are His most ardent admirers.
When Jesus calmed the Sea of Galilee He did what only God could do. It was proof of His deity.
David was anointed three times: by Samuel at Bethlehem – in Hebron as king over Judah – and ultimately as king over both Israel and Judah. Jesus is also anointed three times: as king over our hearts, as king over the Church, and as King of kings – King of all the earth. “Messiah” means “Anointed One.” The next verses speak of the coming Jewish Messiah…
No one in the Old Testament ever referred to Yahweh as “Father.” It was considered by the Jews as blasphemous. To call someone father was to imply you had the same nature.
Yet this was Jesus’ favorite title for God. At 12 (years old), He was in the Temple “about His Father’s business.” Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father…” And when the Holy Spirit indwells our hearts He cries out from within, “Abba, Father…” The Spirit places us on intimate terms with God.
The Firstborn Son
Recall “firstborn” was not a reference to birth order, but prominence. The firstborn might not be the first to be born, but he had the birthright. In Colossians 1:15 Jesus is labeled “the firstborn over all creation.”
God’s covenant with David is not dependent on the obedience of his descendents. God will never double-cross us or violate His promises.
But this promise was tested. David’s successors were evil and judged by God. King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon and Israel’s throne lacked a Davidic successor. God cursed King Jeconiah and his royal line. Jeremiah 22:30 pronounced a curse on Jehoiachin ‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless. He is a failure, for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David to rule over Judah.’ (NLT)
This puzzled the rabbis. How will the seed of David rule when the lineage of Jehoiachin, the royal descendent of David was cursed?
The psalmist also mourns this predicament…
…all in contrast to God’s promises of faithfulness.
The royal line passed through Jehoiachin – but his descendents were cursed. How did God intend to keep the covenant? The genealogies of Jesus provide the answer. Joseph was heir to the royal line, thus as Joseph’s heir, Jesus had a rightful claim to the throne. But though Jesus was Joseph’s heir, He was not Joseph’s son. He was born of the Spirit.
Thus, He bypassed the curse on Jehoiachin’s family. Of course, Messiah had to be a blood relative of David. This is why Mary was his mom. She was a relative of David, but not Jehoiachin Thus, Jesus was the royal heir through Joseph – but the natural heir through Mary – and in doing so fulfilled the promises of God to David.
Pastor Sandy Adams
Another Look at the Lord…
Where is the Gospel?
Ethan thought the death of his king was proof of God’s faithlessness, but it was actually a picture of God’s faithfulness and the extent he will go to save his people. Ethan’s king was not the only son of David to be rejected. David’s son, Jesus, was also subdued by his enemies in response to the disobedience of his people. He was arrested and handed over to be beaten, humiliated, and executed (John 19:16). But God was not breaking his promises, but securing a way to keep them forever.
What Ethan did not understand was that the death of David’s son was necessary. If God was going to keep his promises forever, his people’s disobedience needed to be dealt with permanently (Hebrews 10:1-18). This is why Jesus died. Like a good king he took responsibility for his people’s sins so that those sins would never again count against them and God’s eternal promises could finally come true. Ethan thought his king’s death was proof of God’s faithlessness, but we know that Jesus’ death is actually a picture of God’s costly faithfulness and the extent to which he will go to save us (Ephesians 5:25).
We know God will be faithful to us because God raised Jesus from the dead. Ethan hoped that David’s dynasty would rule forever, and Jesus, David’s son, now sits at God’s right hand eternally (Ephesians 1:20). Everything that God promised is coming true—and Jesus’ death and resurrection prove it to us.
Spoken Gospel
An Ancient Promise Came True
Consider this, this psalm was written circa 979 BC, yet it talks about the king with no heirs who reigned at the time of exile, circa 597 BC. Yet, he talks about a king who is to be born out of the line of David some 600 years later!
We, living in the 21st century, have the benefit of 20-20 historical vision. We can look at the hand of the Lord, God at work over the centuries. Believe it or not, God is still in control. Nothing gets by Him! Most assuredly, God keeps His promises! Jesus made a new covenant with His believers — those who know the Lord as their personal Savior.
Do You Know the Lord?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
