I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever. Psalm 89 A majestic song This psalm is one of the very choicest songs in the night. Midst a stream of troubled thoughts there stands a fair island of rescue and redemption, which supplies standing-room for wonder and worship; while the music of the words, like the murmuring of a river, sounds sweetly in our ears. The writer was bearing bitter reproach, and was almost broken-hearted by the grievous calamities of his nation. Yet his faith was strong in the faithfulness of God, and so he sang of the stability of the Divine covenant when the outlook of circumstances was dark and cheerless. Nor did he ever sing more sweetly than he sang in that night of his sorrow. I. THE ETERNAL BUILDER, AND HIS WONDERFUL WORK (ver. 2). I can see a vast mass of ruins. Heaps upon heaps they lie around me. A stately edifice has tottered to the ground. Some terrible disaster has occurred. There it lies — cornice, pillar, pinnacle, everything of ornament and of utility, broken, scattered, dislocated. The world is strewn with the debris . Journey where you will the desolation is before your eyes. Who has done this? Who has cast down this temple? What hand has ruined this magnificent structure? Manhood, manhood it is which has been destroyed, and sin was the agent that effected the fall. Alas for manhood that it should be thus fallen and destroyed! But what else do I see? I behold the great original Builder coming forth from the ivory palaces to undo this mischief; and He cometh not with implements of destruction, that He may cast down and destroy every vestige, but I see Him advancing with plummet and line, that He may rear, set up, and establish on a sure foundation a noble pile that shall not crumble with time, but endure throughout all ages. He cometh forth with mercy. So "I said" as I saw the vision, "Mercy shall be built up for ever." The psalmist has the idea of God's mercy being manifest in building, because a great breach has to be repaired, and the ruins of mankind are to be restored. As for building, it is a very substantial operation. A building is something which is palpable and tangible to our senses. We may have plans and schemes which are only visionary, but when it comes to building there is something real being done, something more than surveying the ground and drawing the model. And oh, what real work God has done for men! What real work in the gift of His dear Son! The product of His infinite purpose now becomes evident. He is working out His great designs after the counsel of His own will. A building is an orderly thing as well as a fixed thing. There is a scheme and design about it. Mercy shall be built. I see that it shall. This is no load of bricks shot out. It is polished stones builded one upon another. God's grace and goodness toward me have not come to me by chance, or as the blind distribution of a God who cared for all alike, and for none with any special purpose. No, but there has been as much a specialty of purpose to me as if I were the only one He loved, though, praised be His name, He has blessed and is blessing multitudes of others beside me. Now, think upon these words — "built up." It is not merely a long, low wall of mercy that is formed, to make an inclosure or to define a boundary, but it is a magnificent pile of mercy, whose lofty heights shall draw admiring gaze, that is being built up. God puts mercy on the top of mercy, and He gives us one favour that we may be ready to receive another. Once again would I read this verse with very great emphasis, and ask you to notice how it rebukes the proud and the haughty, and how it encourages the meek and lowly in spirit. "I have said mercy shall be built up for ever." In the edification of the saints there is nothing else but mercy. I wish I had an imagination bold and clear, uncramped by all ideas of the masonry of men, free to expand, and still to cry, "Excelsior." Palaces, methinks, are paltry, and castles and cathedrals are only grand in comparison with the little cots that nestle on the plain. Even mountains, high as the Himalaya range or broad as the Andes, though their peaks be so lofty to our reckoning, are mere specks on the surface of the great globe itself, and our earth is small among the celestial orbs, a little sister of the larger planets. Figures fail me quite: my description must take another turn. I try, and try again, to realize the gradual rising of this temple of mercy which shall be built up for ever. Within the bounds of my feeble vision I can discern that it has risen above death, above sin, above fear, above all danger; it has risen above the terrors of the judgment day; it has outsoared the "wreck of matter and the crash of worlds"; it towers above all our thoughts. Our bliss ascends above an angel's enjoyments, and he has pleasures that were never checked by a pang; but he does not know the ineffable delight of free grace and dying love. The building-up will go on throughout eternity. II. AN EVERLASTING SINGER (ver. 1). Here is a good and godly resolution: "I will sing." The singing of the heart is intended, and the singing of the voice is expressed, for he mentions his mouth; and equally true is it that the singing of his pen is implied, since the psalms that he wrote were for others to sing in generations that should follow. "I will sing." We cannot impart anything to the great temple which He is building; yet we can sit down and sing. This singing praise to God is a spiritual passion. The saved soul delights itself in the Lord, and sings on, and on, and on unwearily. "I will sing for ever," saith he. Not, "I will get others to perform, and then I will retire from the service"; but rather, "I will myself sing: my own tongue shall take the solo, whoever may refuse to join in the chorus. I will sing, and with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness." Now, note his subject. "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord." What, not of anything else? Are the mercies of the Lord his exclusive theme? "Arma virumque cano" — "Arms and the man, I sing," says the Latin poet. "Mercies and my God, I sing," says the Hebrew seer. "I will sing of mercies," says the devout Christian. This is the fount of mercy, whereof if a man doth drink he shall sing far better than he that drinketh of the Castalian fount, and on Parnassus begins to tune his harp. This singing of Ethan was intended to be instructive. How large a class did he want to teach? He intended to make known God's mercy to all generations. Modern thought does not adventure beyond the tithe of a century, and it gets tame and tasteless before half that tiny span of sensationalism has given it time to evaporate. But the echoes of truth are not so transient; they endure, and by means of the printing press we can teach generation after generation, leaving books behind us as this good man has bequeathed this psalm, which is teaching us to-night, perhaps more largely than it taught any generation nearer to him. Will you transmit blessed testimonies to your children's children? It should be your desire to do something in the present life that will live after you are gone. We instinctively long for a sort of immortality here. Let us strive to get it, not by carving our names on some stone, or writing our epitaphs upon a pillar, as Absalom did when he had nothing else by which to commemorate himself; but get to work to do something which shall be a testimony to the mercy of God, that others shall see when you are gone. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) The uncovenanted mercies of God Samuel Cox, D.D. Ethan was the author of this psalm. It belongs to the early reign of Rehoboam, and to the invasion of Shishak. As Ethan recalled and weighed the clauses of the covenant, and compared them with the political facts of this distressful year, his mind was tossed into an agitation and distress from which he could find no relief, save in the large adventure and conclusion of faith, that the calamities which had fallen on David's kingdom and seed were, after all, only the loving corrections by which God was chastening them for their transgressions; and that, therefore, so far from breaking, God was fulfilling His covenant with them. Even God's covenants with men are but particular instances of His general ways, of His dealings with humanity at large; so that, in the very fullest sense which the words can be made to bear, it is true that His mercy endures for ever, that His faithfulness extends to all generations. There is a general impression abroad that a radical and vast difference obtains between what are called the covenanted and the un-covenanted mercies of God; that but for certain promises which He has made, and certain engagements into which He has entered, we should have little to hope for from Him. The doctrine of covenants plays, and must play, a large part in every system of theology. But every Divine promise is but a limited expression of a general principle. Every Divine covenant, even if it be made with a few, is nevertheless made for the benefit of the many, and can only be an instance of His ways, an illustration of a mercy as wide as the heavens, and of a faithfulness which extends to all generations of mankind. God can make no promise inconsistent with His character. Any momentary glimpse we can catch of God's attitude towards men reveals His constant and unchanging attitude. To every man who loves and trusts and serves Him He will be all that He was to David... Who can deny the mercy of that high Will which made the law of retribution the law — or rather, one of the laws — of human life? As for the inexorable severity with which this law of retribution is administered, how can we but acknowledge that it needs to be administered with an invariable and constant severity? Take all the facts of human experience, then, and you will feel that there is mercy even in that law of retribution which seems most opposed to the rule of an Infinite Compassion and Love. If you believe in a work of redemption as well as in a law of retribution, there is absolutely no reason why you should not sing, with Ethan, of a mercy which is being built up for ever, and of a faithfulness which is establishing itself in the all-embracing heavens. ( Samuel Cox, D.D. ) For I have said, Mercy shall be built up far ever. Psalm 89:2 The building up of a good government for the world Homilist. I. A good government for the world IS A DESIRABLE THING. Human society would scarcely be possible without a government. II. A good government for the world is DESTINED TO BE ESTABLISHED (ver. 3). The Supreme here pledges in the most solemn way the establishing of a government in the world of which David's is a most imperfect type, viz. the moral reign of Christ. This reign will be the reign of truth and love, and will one day be commensurate with the race. III. A good government for the world will be REARED BY MERCY AND FAITHFULNESS. "Mercy" and "faithfulness" are to be the elements of which it is to be composed. As all the great mountains in nature are built up of certain elements, all grand and beneficent institutions in the world are built of mercy and faithfulness. ( Homilist. ) The house of mercy A. Fletcher, D.D. (to children): — Mercy is here compared to a building. I. THE BUILDER. Strangers when they visit this great metropolis, and see some of its remarkable buildings, such as St. Paul's Cathedral, for instance, very naturally ask, "Who was the builder of this beautiful edifice?" The answer would be, "Sir Christopher Wren." 1. A wise builder. 2. A mighty builder. II. THE NAME OF THE BUILDING. The house of mercy. 1. A very beautiful name. 2. A most just and proper name. Every little child who goes to the door of this House of Mercy, and asks admittance, is instantly received; and, when admitted, that child receives from Him who raised the building the choicest mercies — the mercy of pardon, the mercy of acceptance, the mercy of adoption, the mercy of holiness, and of a title to heaven. III. THE FOUNDATION OF THE BUILDING. Jesus Christ ( 1 Corinthians 3:11 ). IV. THE APARTMENTS OF THE BUILDING. 1. The storeroom, containing precious food. The bread of life, etc. Also medicine for the sick and diseased. The balm of Gilead, etc. 2. The wardrobe, containing the robe of righteousness, the garments of salvation, etc. 3. The armoury ( Ephesians 6:13-17 ). 4. The library, containing books of history; books of doctrine; books of promises; books of threatening (these are all bound in black, and are very dreadful-looking books, though of great importance); books of precepts; books of songs, and oh, what beautiful songs! the songs of David, and other sweet singers of Israel; books of prophecy; and books of experience, such as the Psalms, Lamentations, and Job. V. THE EXCELLENCIES OF THE BUILDING. It is — 1. Ancient. 2. Large. 3. Commodious. 4. Beautiful. 5. High. 6. Durable.If you look at a building in this city which is ten years old you will see that it shows the effects of the elements upon it; it hears traces of the frost and smoke and rain. But there is no change in this beautiful building. It is very commodious. There is every comfort within these walls for every one without exception. It is filled with light. It is warm. There is no cold winter within that noble edifice. VI. THE INHABITANTS OF THE BUILDING. 1. All forgiven. 2. All sons and daughters of the living God. 3. All beautiful — no deformity there. 4. All happy. VII. THE ROAD TO THE BUILDING. Every one who enters is convinced of three things: — 1. That he is a sinner. 2. That he is in danger of hell. 3. That he will never be saved till he enters this Building of Mercy. VIII. THE DOOR OF THE BUILDING. The righteousness of Christ — what He did, became, and suffered. IX. THE SERVANTS EMPLOYED TO INVITE SINNERS TO ENTER THE BUILDING. ( A. Fletcher, D.D. ) Thy faithfulness The establishment of God's faithfulness J. P. Gledstone. God draws us into the conscious knowledge and enjoyment of His faithfulness — I. BY KEEPING THE PROMISES OF HIS GRACE TO US. II. BY ENGAGING US IN SPECIAL WORK. Though we have omnipotence on our side, God will employ the last ounce of our strength. He will not spare us thought, anxiety, trouble, endurance, labour, no, nor even some measure of disappointment — nothing that can conduce to make us workmen that need not be ashamed, and soldiers who can endure hardness. ( J. P. Gledstone. ) God's faithfulness Canon Scott Holland. That is a Christmas psalm chosen for the day, and it is the psalm of dauntless courage, for it is a song that sings always the lovingkindness of the Lord; it goes up out of the darkness of desolation, it sees no cause for cheerfulness ringing it round as it sings. The singer stands, he tells us, in the heart of a great dismay. The cause of God is in ruin and contempt and impotence and misery. And yet, and yet he has but one song, and he must sing it out in defiance of his generation. No dishonour shall defeat it, no darkness shall choke it, no doubt or hesitation, no soreness or anger shall cloud his upward look or hold down the outpouring of his soul. The old words shall sing out from his lips which have never yet failed down all the long years. We would turn to this singer of long ago to ask him how it was that he retained his heroic confidence. What was his secret, in the thick of those old-world troubles, by force of which he still sang on this unswerving chant of victory? Can he pass the secret on to us who need it so sorely? 1. First, he relies absolutely on a word that God has once uttered, on a pledge that God has given to him (vers. 3, 4). God has said it, God has sworn it. That is what he relies on! This looks so simple, but to estimate it aright let us recall that we touch here on that elementary conception of God which differentiated the Jew's religion from all others. The Jew laid hold of God by this primary title, that He was a God who kept His word. A righteous God, so he called Him, and by righteousness he meant a God whose word can be trusted, and a God who never failed His pledge. This is the vital significance of the Jew that he was the first who took God seriously, the first to believe that God meant what He said, that what He spoke He spoke with a real and fixed purpose, and having spoken He held Himself bound by His own pronouncement. 2. Secondly, to justify his own confident assurance, he corroborates his belief in the verbal consistency of God by looking to that other handiwork of His, the vast fabric of ordered Nature. There it moves in its superb persistence, the immovable witness to the unchanging loyalty of God. Everywhere among the sequence of infinite changes God's original creative word holds on changeless and true (vers. 8-11). Surely if a Jew had been allowed to know what we know of all that science tells us of the uniformities of Nature, of the persistence and conservation of force, he would have seen in these disclosures, not as we so stupidly do, the terms of a godless mechanism, but exactly the phrase that would best report his assurance of an imminent God. Everything that told him of the immutable permanence of a natural law beneath and through all change spoke to him directly of God Himself. Uniformity, persistence, conservation, yes, that is what he desires to find with all his soul in the world that God has made. That is the evidence he clings to of a God who keepeth His promise, whose word never faileth, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 3. Thirdly, he finds the like witness yielded by the solid securities of history. "Thou hast subdued Egypt" — God has done it, and if He has done it, surely not in vain, surely not without a fixed and final purpose! A historic act like that is a pledge put down by God: "Hath He begun and shall He not finish?" Here again it is the faithfulness of God to which the appeal is made. "He keepeth His promise for ever," the promise sealed by His deeds; He will prove Himself consistent; if He take one step He will follow it by another; if He gives a decision He will hold to it. That is the significance of the actual deeds done in history. They are stakes laid down which cannot be withdrawn. They lay the honour and the power under obligation, and He cannot afford to retract. And God is honourable; He has a reputation which lie will keep clear at all hazards. And God has made His choice; He has laid down His stakes, He has taken His side, He has ventured His honour, He did it when He brought up Israel out of Egypt. He has done it since throughout the long story of His people whom He had fathered and shepherded, on whom He set His name; He has consummated this by the further steps taken when He went to give Israel a king and chose David for the kingdom. "Thou spakest," our psalm goes on, "Thou spakest sometimes in visions and said, I have found David," etc. All this has been done — it is down in the pages recorded in history which cannot be blotted out. What is done cannot be undone, and what God has done binds God as it binds a man. His will has gone out of it, He will never gainsay. That is the Divine freedom, that He binds Himself by His own deeds and His own words. His truth once more is His troth, His righteousness is the assurance that He will never fail to justify Himself. No, even if the witness of Nature were to fail, yet the witness of God's own acts in history would abide. God is true, God keeps His word. We want nothing further wherewith to meet the year before us. There may be anxieties and the sense of social trouble and a cloudy outlook, but nothing shall rob us of our song. ( Canon Scott Holland. ) Divine faithfulness A learned minister, attending an aged Christian in humble life, when in his last illness, remarked that the passage in Hebrews 13:5 , "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee," was much more emphatic in the original language than in our translation, inasmuch as it contained no fewer than five negatives in proof of the validity of the Divine promise, and not merely two, as it appears in the English version; intending by this remark to convey to him that, in consequence of the number of negatives, the promise was expressed with much greater force in the original language than in the English. The man's reply was very simple and striking: "I have no doubt, sir, that you are quite right, but I can assure you that if God had only spoken once I should have believed Him just the same." I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David My servant. Psalm 89:8 The covenant of redemption D. Moore, M.A. The psalmist is anticipating the time when the families of mankind should be raised from a condition of spiritual ruin, when the covenant should be given back to them, whereby they should be brought back to a state of reconciliation and friendship with God. This rising fabric which the psalmist here contemplated, therefore, instead of being an edifice of temporal prosperity, appears before us as a great spiritual temple, of which the plan is laid in the eternal ages, and of which the building up and the completion is to be effected by the eternal Son of God. I. THE ORIGIN OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. It was devised and set on foot by God Himself. It was not to propitiate the Father that Christ came into the world. It was that God so loved the world that He sent His Son into the world. Here, therefore, is our security. It is the Judge Himself signing the prisoner's release. It is the infinite Creditor Himself forgiving us all our debt. It is the King whose laws we had broken, against whose throne we had conspired, and whose sceptre we had cast aside; He it is who out of love and mercy to us, and in the councils of infinite wisdom, originated that convenant whereby we may be restored to His friendship and reconciliation. II. WITH WHOM THIS COVENANT WAS MADE. "My chosen," — the eternal Son of God. Both actively and passively Christ manages the whole business of our salvation. It is therefore — 1. Everlasting. 2. Perfect. 3. Sure. III. FOR WHOSE BENEFIT THIS COVENANT WAS INTENDED, ( 1 Timothy 2:4 ; John 3:16 ; 1 John 2:2 .) ( D. Moore, M.A. ) And, the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O Lord. Psalm 89:5 The wondrousness of God Homilist. I. His wonderfulness is THE INSPIRATION OF UNIVERSAL WORSHIP. Awe, reverence, amazement, enter into the highest worship, but these could not exist if the object were fully comprehended. II. His wonderfulness is SEEN IN HIS FAITHFULNESS. How wonderful that He has remained unaltered and unalterable amidst all the changes of nature, all the revolutions of millenniums! Faithful ever, to Himself and His word, no swerving from His promises, no deviations from His plans. III. His wonderfulness is manifest in HIS ABSOLUTE INCOMPARABLENESS. ( Isaiah 40:18 ; Deuteronomy 33:29 ; Psalm 53:10; Psalms 71:19.) ( Homilist. ) For who In the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Psalm 89:6 The greatness of God T. Jones. The true God, Sovereign of heaven and earth, is incomparably great — I. IN HIS BEING AND EXISTENCE. 1. Eternal. 2. Perfect. 3. Independent. 4. Unchangeable. There are no tenses with God — past, present, and to come; but one eternal Now. II. IN HIS ATTRIBUTES AND PERFECTIONS. 1. Holiness. 2. Wisdom and knowledge. 3. Power. 4. Justice. 5. Patience. 6. Love and goodness. III. IN HIS WORKS. 1. Creation. 2. Providence. 3. Redemption and human salvation.Concluding inferences. 1. Is God so great? — what a horrid nature sin is of, and rebellion against such a God I — yes, horrid the sin and folly that attempts to oppose God! 2. If God be so great, what love, reverence, worship, and obedience we owe to Him! 3. Is God so great? — what must be His condescension to notice such creatures as we are! 4. If God be so great, what must it be to be under His wrath for ever! 5. If God he so great, what will it be to enjoy His love, favour, and presence for ever. ( T. Jones. ) God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints. Psalm 89:7 A model social gathering Homilist. Men meet in vast multitudes for pleasure, for counsel, and for worship. The text indicates a social gathering of the highest type. I. THE CHARACTERS UNITED IN THIS GATHERING. The word "saint" means a sanctified or godly person. II. THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN THIS GATHERING. God is in this "assembly." All the members "are about Him." 1. There is more of God seen in these assemblies than can be seen elsewhere on earth. There is more of God seen in the thoughts, emotions, and aspirations of the holy soul than the brilliant firmament can reveal. 2. There is more of God felt in these assemblies than can be felt elsewhere on earth. III. THE HEAVENLY SPIRIT PERVADING THIS GATHERING. God is great — great in kindness there, and they have reverent gratitude; He is great in glory there, and they have reverent adoration. ( Homilist. ) On the fear of God John Love, D.D. I. THE REASONS WHICH RENDER A GREAT FEAR OF GOD, IN RELIGIOUS SERVICES, NECESSARY AND BECOMING. 1. The mysteriousness and un-searchableness of God, and of all those things which employ our mind in worship. 2. The infinite fulness of peculiar glory, which resides in the Divine Being. 3. His Majesty, as the Creator, Law-giver, and Judge of mankind. 4. The sublime majesty which appears in the character and procedure of God in the work of redemption.(1) Its first projection in the sovereign counsels of God.(2) The terrible events that have come to pass in subserviency to this work, and, as it were, to make room for its glory.(3) How shall we think or speak of that unspeakable majesty, which beams forth from the Son of God, when we contemplate Him as descending into our low nature, and accomplishing the mysterious purchase of salvation!(4) The awful majesty which attends the Spirit's work in applying redemption to the souls of the elect. II. THE QUALITY OF THIS HOLY FEAR. 1. Our fear of God, in solemn approaches to Him, is not worthy to be called "great" fear until it begins almost to overwhelm the strength both of soul and body. 2. Those who fear God greatly are brought to a pressing sense of their need of shelter and support by a fresh and powerful application of Christ to their souls. 3. This great fear makes the soul exceedingly deliberate, cautious, and diligent in preparation for the more solemn seasons of communion with God. 4. This fear gives such an impulse to the soul as makes it break through all reluctance in the exercises of self-denial and the mortification of sin. 5. Where God is greatly feared there will be much regard to His sacred institutions, even in their minutest circumstances. 6. There will also be much coolness and indifference as to those outward circumstances in religious duties which engage the chief attention of carnal minds. 7. This great fear of God raises the soul above the cowardly fear of man, or of outward sufferings in the cause of Christ. 8. The greatness of this fear of God is manifested by an undaunted adherence to the people of God in the most hazardous times. 9. This great fear keeps a man at an awful distance from the pollutions of the world. Unhallowed pleasure, unjust gains, profane witticisms, are no better, in such a man's eyes, than a cup of sweetened poison. 10. The great degree of this holy fear is manifested by the vehement transports of joy, gratitude, and triumph which accompany a refreshing sense of the love of Christ.Application: — 1. To those who are concerned and troubled in spirit, for their being destitute of the true fear of God.(1) Beware of stifling your convictions, or suffering them to be blown out by others.(2) Beware of resting in convictions, or of thinking yourselves safe, merely because you see the misery of your state.(3) Use your utmost endeavour to put yourselves in the hands of Christ, unreservedly, that He may powerfully draw you to Himself, and bring you to the true fear of God.(4) Do not conclude that your state is good till you find in yourselves a holy light, and a holy propensity of soul, leading you out to desire and to delight in the fear of God for its own sake ( Nehemiah 1:11 ). 2. To those who know experimentally what it is to fear God and to fear Him greatly.(1) Glorify the distinguishing mercy of God. You might have been hardened, as others are.(2) Beware of resting in your attainments and frames. These are precious effects of grace; but they are not your righteousness before God.(3) Beware of losing what you have attained. "Hold fast that which thou hast," etc.(4) Press forward, after a higher perfection in the service of God. They who think themselves perfect are not, yet sincere.(5) Strive for the conversion of others. Seek earnestly that the power and majesty of God may be more gloriously visible in His sanctuary and in the lives of professed Christians. ( John Love, D.D. ) Reverence P. McPhail. Reverence is defined as that spiritual susceptibility of our nature by which we touch and realize the sacred in life. Comparing reverence with awe, there is the element of fear in both. Fear enters into reverence, and fear enters into awe. But there is this important difference: the fear in reverence is born of love. The child that reveres its father fears because it loves. But reverence has in it, respect as well as fear. A lad respects his mother, but you cannot respect a mountain or the sun. You can admire these. So that in awe there is admiration, while in reverence there is respect; and respect can only be moral in its nature and personal in its object. Now, what are those objects which alone can inspire true reverence, objects in which the age has too truly lost faith, and in the going of faith there has been the going of reverence? 1. There is the highest of all objects — God. But what has been the teaching of the age? The answer is "Material Science." The age has produced vivisection (in the interests, of course, of science), and not, only physical but literary vivisection, and this has made for irreverence. The most sacred things in life are cut up on the dissecting-tables of our literature, such as marriage, chastity, woman, truth, the Sabbath. The result of all this is that the age has lost real faith in God — I mean such a faith as Oliver Cromwell had. Much of the faith which remains is half-hearted, unreal, and semi-atheistic or semi-agnostic. 2. From the Divine Being — the highest possible object — we come to the revelation of this Infinite Being contained in the Holy Scriptures. The only fitting reverence, according to the notion of too many people, is to put the Holy Book on a shelf by itself, and never to commit the sacrilege of opening its pages with unholy hands; and when the dust gathers thick on its covers, not to commit the sacrilege of removing the dust with so secular a thing as a duster. That is the way too many people show their reverence for this holy Book. Besides, in this generation there has grown up a great Biblical literature — i. e ., a literature on the Bible, books of exposition and commentary and theology on the different books of the Bible, and the result is that even the student of the Bible is face to face with a great temptation — a temptation peculiar to our times — viz, of reading those books on the Bible, and neglecting to read the Bible itself. Furthermore, we no longer believe — to put, the matter extremely — that this Book dropped from the sky, as the Koran is said to have done. The spirit of the age has convinced us that it is the production of earth. Man, under Divine inspiration, was the penman; man as prophet, priest, psalmist, apostle; man in many places, at many times; man with his powers lifted to the highest — but, still man, exhibiting everywhere the human hand; man, real man, and not a mere machine. We have the treasure in an earthen vessel. Our day has brought out into bold relief the sarthenness or the earthiness of the vessel, that there is danger in us forgetting the treasure, or in making the treasure to be earthen too. 3. After the object of the Bible we come to the object of man. Man ought to inspire reverence in man. But our age is essentially democratic, and while we heartily believe in democracy, this spirit, nevertheless, has been making for irreverence. Democracy preaches the doctrine of the rights of man on the broad basis of manhood, irrespective of his place in society. And in transferring the emphasis from mere place, birth, station, belongings, rank to character, sterling worth, brains, service, wisdom, it has tended to destroy reverence based on the former things, and to create a reverence based on the latter things. But while the democratic spirit has been tending thus, teaching us that brain and heart, life and character, spirit and service

Benson Commentary Psalm 89:1 Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 89:1-2 . I will sing of the mercies of the Lord — He speaks this by way of preface, lest the following complaints of present miseries should argue ingratitude for former mercies. I will make known thy faithfulness — Assuring posterity, from my own observation and experience, that thou art true to every word that thou hast spoken, and that whatsoever hath befallen us, it proceeded not from thy unfaithfulness. For I have said — That is, within myself. I have been assured in my own mind; Mercy shall be built up for ever — As thou hast laid a sure foundation of mercy to David’s family, by that everlasting covenant which thou hast made with it; so I concluded that thou wouldest carry on the same project of mercy toward it; that thou wouldest build it up, and not destroy it. Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens — That is, in thy eternal counsels, which are above the changes of this lower region, and out of the reach of the opposition of earth and hell. Or, as the Hebrew may be rendered, with the very heavens; that is, as firmly and durably as the heavens themselves, as with the sun, in the Hebrew text, Psalm 72:5 , is by most interpreters rendered, As long as the sun endureth, as it is in our translation. And so this phrase, in this last branch of the verse, answers to for ever in the former. Psalm 89:2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. Psalm 89:3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Psalm 89:3-5 . I have made a covenant with my chosen — With David, whom I have chosen to the kingdom. Thy seed will I establish for ever, &c. — I will perpetuate the kingdom to thy posterity; which was promised upon condition, and was literally accomplished in Christ, who was of the seed of David. And the heavens shall praise thy wonders — That is, the inhabitants of heaven, the holy angels, who clearly discern and constantly adore thy mercy and faithfulness; when men upon earth are filled with doubts and perplexities about it. Thy faithfulness also — Understand, shall be praised; (which supplements are usual in Scripture;) in the congregation of the saints — Either, 1st, Of thy saints on earth in their public assemblies; who always acknowledge and celebrate thy truth, though they cannot always discern the footsteps of it: or, rather, 2d, Of the angels in heaven, of whom he speaks in the foregoing clause; and who are often called saints, or holy ones. Psalm 89:4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. Psalm 89:5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. Psalm 89:6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? Psalm 89:6-7 . Who among the sons of the mighty — That is, of the most mighty princes upon earth: or among the highest angels; who well may and needs must admire and adore thee, because thou art incomparably and infinitely more excellent than they. God is greatly to be feared — With a fear of reverence; for dread and terror have no place in those blessed mansions, and holy spirits. In the assembly of the saints — The whole society of angels, called saints, or holy ones, again, as in Psalm 89:5 . And to be had in reverence of all about him — The angels, who are always in his presence, and encompass his throne. Psalm 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. Psalm 89:8 O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Psalm 89:8-10 . Who is a strong Lord like unto thee? — Who is equal to thee in power, or, as it follows, in faithfulness. Or to thy faithfulness round about thee — Hebrew, and thy faithfulness is round about thee, encompassing and adorning thee like a girdle. It appears in all thy paths and actions, in thy words and works. Thou rulest the raging of the sea — Giving commands, and setting bounds to its waves when they are most impetuous and unruly. Thou hast broken Rahab — Egypt, as Psalm 87:4 . As one that is slain — Thou didst wound them not slightly, but unto death. Psalm 89:9 Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Psalm 89:10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. Psalm 89:11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. Psalm 89:11-12 . The earth also is thine, and the fulness thereof — All the creatures wherewith it is replenished, as Psalm 24:1 ; Psalm 50:12 . Thou hast founded them — They are all thy creatures, and of consequence are wholly subject to thy power and pleasure; and therefore all the monarchs and kingdoms of the earth cannot hinder thee from making good thy promise to the house and kingdom of David. The north and the south thou hast created them — That is, the northern and southern parts of the world, yea, even the remotest ends thereof, though not yet known to us, were made and are ruled by thee. Tabor and Hermon — Two eminent mountains in the land of Canaan; Tabor in the west, and within Jordan, Hermon on the east, and without Jordan. By which he may intend either, 1st, The western and eastern parts of the world, and so all the four parts of it are contained in this verse. Or, 2d, Only the several parts of the land of Canaan, both within Jordan and without it. And the mountains may be named rather than the valleys, because, when their fertility is expressed, the fertility of the valleys is more strongly supposed. Shall rejoice — Shall be fruitful and prosperous, and so give their inhabitants cause to rejoice; in thy name — In or by thy favour, and the fruits thereof. Psalm 89:12 The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. Psalm 89:13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Psalm 89:13-14 . Thou hast a mighty arm, &c. — Thy power, extending itself throughout the whole, always effects, in every place, whatsoever thou designest, and that with an irresistible force; whether it be to punish evil- doers, or to preserve and exalt them that do well. Justice and judgment — That is, just judgment, or justice in judging; are the habitation of thy throne, or the basis, or foundation, as the word ???? mechon, is used, Ezra 2:68 ; Ezra 3:3 ; Psalm 97:2 ; Psalm 104:5 . They are the ground- work of all thy proceedings, and the stability of thy throne and government. For God could not be the Ruler and Judge of the world if he did not in all things act according to the most perfect righteousness, which indeed is the result of his most holy and righteous nature, Genesis 18:25 . Mercy and truth shall go before thy face — As thy harbingers and companions whithersoever thou goest. Thou art neither unjust, nor unmerciful, nor unfaithful in any of thy dealings with thy creatures: none shall be able to say thou doest them any wrong; for thou dost not rule the world merely by thy absolute power; but placest thy principal glory in justice and equity, mercy and fidelity; from which thou never swervest. Psalm 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Psalm 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. Psalm 89:15 . Blessed are the people, &c. — Next to the praises of Jehovah, is declared the happiness of those who have him for their God, who are his worshippers and servants, living under his righteous and merciful government; that know — That hear, from time to time, acknowledge and obey; the joyful sound — “The sound of the trumpet, by which the festivals of the Jewish Church were proclaimed, and the people were called together to the offices of devotion;” that is, who have God’s word and ordinances among them, and are favoured with his presence, and with the tokens of his mercy and grace, in and by these means; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance — Being blessed with the light of truth, and being enabled to walk therein, they shall live under the comfortable influences of thy love and favour. Remember, reader, “these blessings are now become our own; the evangelical trumpet hath sounded through the once heathen world; the Sun of righteousness hath risen upon all nations. Let us attend to the joyful sound; let us walk in the glorious light.” — Horne. Psalm 89:16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. Psalm 89:16-18 . In thy name shall they rejoice all the day — That is, in the knowledge and remembrance of thy name, or of thy infinite power and goodness, revealed and imparted to them; and in thy righteousness — Whereby thou art both inclined, and, in some sort, engaged to hear the prayers of thy people, and to save them from all their enemies; or, in and by thy mercy, for righteousness frequently means mercy; or in and through the obedience unto death of him who is the Lord our righteousness, and is made of God unto us righteousness, and through the righteousness of faith in him, Romans 4:3 ; Romans 4:22-24 , shall they be exalted — To the dignity of thy sons and daughters here, and to the heavenly inheritance hereafter. For thou art the glory of their strength — All that strength in which they do, or may glory, is from thee as the gift of thy grace: and to thee alone belongs the glory of all their victories over their enemies, and of all their achievements. In thy favour our horn shall be exalted — The efforts of our power shall be crowned with victory and success. For the Lord is our defence — Here the psalmist assigns the reason of his confidence, that their horn should be exalted. And the Holy One of Israel is our King — Having therefore so powerful a deliverance and protector, we have no reason to despair of our restitution to our former felicity. Hebrew, ????? ????? , to Jehovah belongs our shield, or, as the margin reads it, our shield is of the Lord, our King is the Holy One of Israel. Our relation to God, as his worshippers and subjects, is the ground of our confidence for deliverance and protection. If God be our ruler, he will be our defender, and who is he then that can harm us? Psalm 89:17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. Psalm 89:18 For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. Psalm 89:19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. Psalm 89:19-22 . Then — That is, of old; thou spakest in vision — Which then was the usual way by which God spake to the prophets; to thy Holy One — To thy holy prophets, the singular number being put for the plural; especially to Samuel and Nathan; for part of the following message was delivered to the former: and part to the latter; I have laid help upon one that is mighty — I have provided help and relief for my people through a person of singular courage and wisdom, whom I have properly qualified for so great an undertaking. I have exalted one chosen out of the people — One whom I have singled out as the fittest of all others for the kingly office. I have found David my servant — In saying I have found, God speaks after the manner of men, to intimate the great scarcity of such persons and the difficulty of finding them; with my holy oil I have anointed him — Both with material oil, ( 1 Samuel 16:13 ; 2 Samuel 5:3 ,) and with the gifts and graces of my Holy Spirit, which are often signified by oil or unction, as Psalm 45:7 , compared with Isaiah 61:1 ; 1 John 2:20 ; 1 John 2:27 . With whom my hand shall be established — That is, constantly abide to protect and assist him. The enemy shall not exact upon him — Not conquer him to make him tributary. Hebrew, ?? ????? , lo jashi, shall not deceive, or circumvent him, as this word is often rendered; nor the son of wickedness afflict him — Namely, so as to overthrow or destroy him. Psalm 89:20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: Psalm 89:21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. Psalm 89:22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. Psalm 89:23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. Psalm 89:24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. Psalm 89:24-26 . My faithfulness and mercy shall be with him — Faithfulness in making good all my promises to him; and mercy in doing more for him than I promised, and in pardoning his sins, for which I might justly make him to know my breach of promise. And in my name — That is, by my favour and help; shall his horn be exalted — He shall have both power and victory. I will set his hand also in the sea — That is, I will extend his dominion, and establish his power over the countries westward, as far as the Mediterranean sea. And his right hand in the rivers — Namely, eastward, as far as the Euphrates and Tigris, and the various branches of these rivers. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father — He shall find me to be a true and a kind father to him, and shall familiarly and confidently make his addresses to me as such, for all necessary supplies and assistances, which parents willingly afford to their children. Psalm 89:25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. Psalm 89:26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Psalm 89:27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. Psalm 89:27 . I will make him my firstborn — As he calls me father, so I will make him my son, yea, my firstborn; the firstborn had divers privileges above other sons. This and the following passage, in some sort, agree to David, but are much more fully and properly accomplished in Christ, and seem to be ascribed to David here chiefly as he was a type of Christ, and that the mind of the reader might be led through him to Christ. Higher than the kings of the earth — If this be, in some sense, applicable to David, because he had a greater power and dominion than any of the neighbouring kings, or because he excelled all other kings of the earth in privileges, as he also probably did in honour and renown, obtained by his military achievements, and by that wisdom and justice by which he governed his dominions; and especially because he was a king chosen and advanced by the immediate appointment of God himself; was set over God’s peculiar and beloved people, and was intrusted with the care and patronage of the true religion and the worship of God in the world; if, on these accounts, it might be said that David was higher than the kings of the earth, how much more may it be affirmed of him who is King of kings, and Lord of lords, and God blessed for ever? Psalm 89:28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. Psalm 89:28-34 . My mercy — Declared and promised to him and his seed, as it here follows; will I keep for him for evermore — Nothing shall alter my kind intentions, but I will mercifully fulfil all my promises to him; and my covenant shall stand fast, &c. — Of which see notes on 2 Samuel 7:12-13 . His seed will I make to endure for ever — That is, to sit upon the throne for ever, as the next words explain it. This was accomplished only in Christ, the eternal king of the church and of the world, who was of David’s seed according to the flesh. And his throne as the days of heaven — As long as the world shall have a being, or for ever, as was now said. It shall be as unchangeable and durable as the heavens themselves, which are of an incorruptible nature. If his children forsake my law — Of this and the following verses, to Psalm 89:34 , see the notes on 2 Samuel 7:14-16 . Psalm 89:29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. Psalm 89:30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; Psalm 89:31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Psalm 89:32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Psalm 89:33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. Psalm 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Psalm 89:35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. Psalm 89:35 . Once have I sworn by my holiness, &c. — Here he assigns some reasons why he would not break his covenant with David, though he should have just cause so to do, and though he had, upon such just cause, broken his covenant made with others; 1st, Because this covenant was confirmed by his oath, which added, not only more solemnity, but more stability and certainty to it, according to the apostle’s reasoning, Hebrews 6:13-18 , whereby he shows that God added an oath to his promise made to Abraham, to make and prove it to be immutable; and Hebrews 7:20 , &c., where he proves the priesthood of Melchisedek to be unchangeable, because it was confirmed by an oath. And although judgments, simply threatened, have not always been executed, but sometimes prevented; yet those comminations, which were confirmed by oath, were thereby rendered and declared to be irrevocable, as we see Numbers 14:28-30 ; Jeremiah 44:26 . 2d, Because God sware by his holiness; in or by which he is but seldom said to speak or swear, and when he is, it constantly adds more weight and confirmation to what is declared, as Psalm 60:6 ; Psalm 108:7 ; Amos 4:2 . Psalm 89:36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. Psalm 89:36-37 . His throne as the sun before me — In respect of perpetual duration, as appears, both from the foregoing and following words. It shall be established as the moon — As the moon, though subject to eclipses, and frequent and manifold changes, yet doth constantly and perpetually remain in heaven, as a witness of my covenant of the night, as it is called Jeremiah 33:20 , so shall the house and kingdom of David continue for ever. And as a faithful witness in heaven — By which may be meant either, 1st, The moon last mentioned, which was to be a faithful witness to this promise of God so long as it continued in the heavens; or the rainbow, which, though in itself it be unstable and transient, and doth but seldom appear, yet in Scripture is mentioned as God’s faithful and perpetual witness, being called a token of God’s everlasting covenant, between him and every living creature for perpetual generations, Genesis 9:12-16 . Psalm 89:37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. Psalm 89:38 But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. Psalm 89:38-45 . But thou hast cast off — Having hitherto declared the certainty of God’s promises, he now proceeds to show the unsuitableness of the present dispensations of God’s providence thereunto, and humbly expostulates with God about it. Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed — That person and family that thou hast invested with the kingdom. Thou hast made void, &c. — Which seems contrary to thy word given, Psalm 89:34 . Thou hast profaned his crown — By exposing that sacred person, and family, and kingdom to contempt, and giving his sceptre and power into the hands of the uncircumcised. Thou hast broken down all his hedges — All the means of his protection and safety. He is a reproach to his neighbours — An object of their scorn and reproach. Is this the anointed of the Lord? Is this the everlasting family and kingdom? Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries — Thou hast given them courage, and power, and success. Thou hast turned the edge of his sword — So that he can neither offend his enemies nor defend himself. And hast not made him to stand — But to flee and fall before his enemies; for more is understood than what is expressed. The days of his youth hast thou shortened — The youthful and flourishing estate of David’s kingdom was very short, and reached not beyond his next successors, and it had been languishing, by degrees, till this time, when it seemed to be dead and buried. Psalm 89:39 Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. Psalm 89:40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin. Psalm 89:41 All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours. Psalm 89:42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. Psalm 89:43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle. Psalm 89:44 Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. Psalm 89:45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah. Psalm 89:46 How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire? Psalm 89:47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? Psalm 89:47 . Remember how short my time is — That is, our time, the time of our king and kingdom, in whose name the psalmist put up this petition, and about whom he was much more solicitous than about himself, as is evident, both from the following verses and from the whole body of the Psalm. The sense seems to be this: Our king and all his people, and I among the rest, are short-lived and perishing creatures, who of ourselves, and according to the course of nature, must shortly die, and therefore there is no need that thou shouldest add further afflictions to sweep us away before the time. Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? — Wherefore hast thou made us and our king, and consequently all other men, (whose condition is in nothing better than ours,) in vain, or to so little purpose? Didst thou raise up us and him, establish us for thy people, settle the crown upon David and his seed by a solemn covenant, erect a magnificent and glorious temple, and vouchsafe so many and great promises and privileges, and all this but for a few years; that our crown and glory should be taken from us within a little time after it was put upon our heads? It is not strange that such considerations as these should fill the psalmist’s mind with amazement and sad perplexing thoughts. Nor doth he accuse or upbraid God here with, but only useth it as an argument to move him to repair and restore their decayed state, that they might live to praise, serve, and glorify him. Psalm 89:48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. Psalm 89:48-50 . What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? — All men, at their best estate, are mortal and miserable; kings and people must unavoidably die by the condition of their natures. Lord, where are thy former loving-kindnesses? — Hast thou forgotten or repented of all that mercy and kindness which thou hast promised and sworn, and sometimes performed, unto David, and his family and kingdom? Remember, Lord, how I do bear — That is, we, thy servants, as he now said, our king and his people, of whom he speaks as of one person; the reproach of all the mighty people — Of the great potentates and princes of the world, who now reproached the house of David with their vain and confident boasting of the everlastingness of their kingdom, which was now in a desperate and lost condition. Or, all the reproaches of many people. Psalm 89:49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth? Psalm 89:50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; Psalm 89:51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed. Psalm 89:51 . Wherewith thine enemies have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed — Or, of the Messiah. By whom he seems to understand, either, 1st, The kings of Judah, the singular number being put for the plural; and by their footsteps may be meant either their ways or actions, and the sad consequences thereof, or the memorials of their ancient splendour. Or, 2d, The Messiah himself, whose coming the Jews continually expected, for a long time together before he came, and supported themselves with the expectation of him under all their calamities. All which being well known to many of the heathen, they reproached the Jews with the vanity of this belief and expectation. And by the footsteps of the Messiah he may understand his coming. Psalm 89:52 Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen. Psalm 89:52 . Blessed be the Lord for evermore — Let thine enemies reproach thee, and thy promises concerning the sending of the Messiah, and the deliverance of thy people; I do, and will, heartily bless and praise thee for them, and encourage myself with them, not doubting but thou wilt take away all our reproaches, and in thine own due time send Him who is the consolation and expectation of Israel, and the desire of all nations. Thus, “whatever at any time may be our distress, either as a community, or as individuals, still we are to believe, still to hope, still to bless, and praise Jehovah, whose word is true, whose works are faithful, whose chastisements are mercies, and all whose promises are, in Christ Jesus, yea and amen, for evermore.” — Horne. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Psalm 89:1 Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 89:1-52 THE foundation of this psalm is the promise in 2 Samuel 7:1-29 which guaranteed the perpetuity of the Davidic kingdom. Many of the characteristic phrases of the prophecy recur here- e.g., the promises that the children of wickedness shall not afflict, and that the transgressions of David’s descendants should be followed by chastisement only, not by rejection. The contents of Nathan’s oracle are first given in brief in Psalm 89:3-4 -" like a text," as Hupfeld says-and again in detail and with poetic embellishments in Psalm 89:19-37 . But these glorious promises are set in sharpest contrast with a doleful present, which seems to contradict them. They not only embitter it, but they bewilder faith, and the psalmist’s lament is made almost a reproach of God, whose faithfulness seems imperilled by the disasters which had fallen on the monarchy and on Israel. The complaint and petitions of the latter part are the true burden of the psalm, to which the celebration of Divine attributes in Psalm 89:1-18 , and the expansion of the fundamental promise in Psalm 89:19-37 , are meant to lead up. The attributes specified are those of Faithfulness ( Psalm 89:1 , Psalm 89:2 , Psalm 89:5 , Psalm 89:8 , Psalm 89:14 ) and of Power, which render the fulfilment of God’s promises certain. By such contemplations the psalmist would fortify himself against the whispers of doubt, which were beginning to make themselves heard in his mind, and would find in the character of God both assurance that His promise shall not fail, and a powerful plea for his prayer that it may not fail. The whole tone of the psalm suggests that it was written when the kingdom was toppling to ruin, or perhaps even after its fall. Delitzsch improbably supposes that the young king, whom loss and shame make an old man ( Psalm 89:45 ), is Rehoboam, and that the disasters which gave occasion to the psalm were those inflicted by the Egyptian king Shishak. Others see in that youthful prince Jehoiachin, who reigned for three months, and was then deposed by Nebuchadnezzar, and whom Jeremiah has bewailed. { Jeremiah 22:24-29 } But all such conjectures are precarious. The structure of the psalm can scarcely be called strophical. There are three well-marked turns in the flow of thought, -first, the hymn to the Divine attributes ( Psalm 89:1-18 ); second, the expansion of the promise, which is the basis of the monarchy ( Psalm 89:19-37 ); and, finally, the lament and prayer, in view of present afflictions, that God would be true to His attributes and promises ( Psalm 89:38-51 ). For the most part the verses are grouped in pairs, which are occasionally lengthened into triplets. The psalmist begins with announcing the theme of his song-the Lovingkindness and Faithfulness of God. Surrounded by disasters, which seem in violent contradiction to God’s promise to David, he falls back on thoughts of the Mercy which gave it and the Faithfulness which will surely accomplish it. The resolve to celebrate these in such circumstances argues a faith victorious over doubts, and putting forth energetic efforts to maintain itself. This bird can sing in midwinter. True, the song has other notes than joyous ones, but they, too, extol God’s Lovingkindness and Faithfulness, even while they seem to question them. Self-command, which insists on a man’s averting his thoughts from a gloomy outward present to gaze on God’s loving purpose and unalterable veracity, is no small part of practical religion. The psalmist will sing, because he said that these two attributes were ever in operation, and lasting as the heavens. "Lovingkindness shall be built up forever," its various manifestations being conceived as each being a stone in the stately building which is in continual course of progress through all ages, and can never be completed, since fresh stones will continually be laid as long as God lives and pours forth His blessings. Much less can it ever fall into ruin, as impatient sense would persuade the psalmist that it is doing in his day. The parallel declaration as to God’s Faithfulness takes the heavens as the type of duration and immobility, and conceives that attribute to be eternal and fixed, as they are. These convictions could not burn in the psalmist’s heart without forcing him to speak. Lover, poet, and devout man, in their several ways, feel the same necessity of utterance. Not every Christian can "sing," but all can and should speak. They will, if their faith is strong. The Divine promise, on which the Davidic throne rests, is summed up in the abruptly introduced pair of verses ( Psalm 89:3-4 ). That promise is the second theme of the psalm; and just as, in some great musical composition, the overture sounds for the first time phrases which are to be recurrent and elaborated in the sequel, so, in the four first verses of the psalm, its ruling thoughts are briefly put. Psalm 89:1-2 , stand first, but are second in time to Psalm 89:3-4 . God’s oracle preceded the singer’s praise. The language of these two verses echoes the original passage in 2 Samuel 7:1-29 , as in "David My servant, establish, forever, build, " the last three of which expressions were used in Psalm 89:2 , with a view to their recurrence in Psalm 89:4 . The music keeps before the mind the perpetual duration of David’s throne. In Psalm 89:6-18 the psalmist sets forth the Power and Faithfulness of God, which insure the fulfilment of His promises. He is the incomparably great and terrible God, who subdues the mightiest forces of nature and tames the proudest nations ( Psalm 89:9-10 ), who is Maker and Lord of the world ( Psalm 89:11-12 ), who rules with power, but also with righteousness, faithfulness, and grace ( Psalm 89:13-14 ), and who, therefore, makes His people blessed and safe ( Psalm 89:15-18 ). Since God is such a God, His promise cannot remain unfulfilled. Power and willingness to execute it to the last tittle are witnessed by heaven and earth, by history and experience. Dark as the present may be, it would, therefore, be folly to doubt for a moment. The psalmist begins his contemplations of the glory of the Divine nature with figuring the very heavens as vocal with His praise. Not only the object but the givers of that praise are noteworthy. The heavens are personified, as in Psalm 19:1-14 ; and from their silent depths comes music. There is One higher, mightier, older, more unperturbed, pure, and enduring than they, whom they extol by their lustre which they owe to Him. They praise God’s "wonder" (which here means, not so much His marvellous acts, as the wonderfulness of His Being, His incomparable greatness and power), and His Faithfulness, the two guarantees of the fulfilment of His promises. Nor are the visible heavens His only praisers. The holy ones, sons of the mighty- i.e ., the angels-bow before Him who is high above their holiness and might, and own Him for God alone. With Psalm 89:9 the hymn descends to earth, and magnifies God’s Power and Faithfulness as manifested there. The sea is, as always, the emblem of rebellious tumult. Its insolence is calmed by Him. And the proudest of the nations, such as Rahab ("Pride," a current name for Egypt), had cause to own His power, when He brought the waves of the sea over her hosts, thus in one act exemplifying His sovereign sway over both nature and nations. He is Maker, and therefore Lord, of heaven and earth. In all quarters of the world His creative hand is manifest, and His praise sounds. Tabor and Hermon may stand, as the parallelism requires, for west and east, though some suppose that they are simply named as conspicuous summits. They "shout for joy at Thy Name," an expression like that used in Psalm 89:16 , in reference to Israel. The poet thinks of the softly swelling Tabor with its verdure, and of the lofty Hermon with its snows, as sharing in that gladness, and praising Him to whom they owe their beauty and majesty. Creation vibrates with the same emotions which thrill the poet. The sum of all the preceding is gathered up in Psalm 89:13 , which magnifies the might of God’s arm. But more blessed still for the psalmist, in the midst of national gloom, is the other thought of the moral character of God’s rule. His throne is broad based upon the sure foundation of righteousness and justice. The pair of attributes always closely connected-namely, Lovingkindness and Troth or Faithfulness-are here, as frequently, personified. They "go to meet Thy face"-that is, in order to present themselves before Him. "The two genii of the history of redemption { Psalm 43:3 } stand before His countenance, like attendant maidens, waiting the slightest indication of His will" (Delitzsch). Since God is such a God, His Israel is blessed, whatever its present plight. So the psalmist closes the first part of his song, with rapturous celebration of the favoured nation’s prerogatives. "The festal shout" or "the trumpet blast" is probably the music at the festivals ( Numbers 23:21 ; Numbers 31:6 ), and "those who know" it means "those who are familiar with the worship of this great God." The elements of their blessedness are then unfolded. "They walk in the light of Thy face." Their outward life is passed in continual happy consciousness of the Divine presence, which becomes to them a source of gladness and guidance. "In Thy Name do they exult all the day." God’s self-manifestation, and the knowledge of Him which arises therefrom, become the occasion of a calm, perpetual joy, which is secure from change, because its roots go deeper than the region where change works. "In Thy righteousness shall they be exalted." Through God’s strict adherence to His covenant, not by any power of their own, shall they be lifted above foes and fears. "The glory of their strength art Thou." In themselves they are weak, but Thou, not any arm of flesh, art their strength, and by possession of Thee they are not only clothed with might, but resplendent with beauty. Human power is often unlovely; God-given strength is, like armour inlaid with gold ornament as well as defence. "In Thy favour our horn shall be exalted." The psalmist identifies himself at last with the people, whose blessedness he has so glowingly celebrated. He could keep up the appearance of distinction no longer. "They" gives place to "we" unconsciously, as his heart swells with the joy which he paints. Depressed as he and his people are for the moment, he is sure that there is lifting up. The emblem of the lifted horn is common, as expressive of victory. The psalmist is confident of Israel’s triumph, because he is certain that the nation, as represented by and, as it were, concentrated in its king, belongs to God, who will not lose what is His. The rendering of Psalm 89:18 in the A.V. cannot be sustained. "Our shield" in the first clause is parallel with "our king" in the second, and the meaning of both clauses is that the king of Israel is God’s, and therefore secure. That ownership rests on the promise to David, and on it in turn is rested the psalmist’s confidence that Israel and its king are possessed of a charmed life, and shall be exalted, however now abject and despondent. The second part ( Psalm 89:19-37 ) draws out in detail, and at some points with heightened colouring, the fundamental prophecy by Nathan. It falls into two parts, of which the former ( Psalm 89:19-27 ) refers more especially to the promises given to David, and the second ( Psalm 89:28-37 ) to those relating to his descendants. In Psalm 89:19 "vision" is quoted from 2 Samuel 7:17 ; "then" points back to the period of giving the promise; "Thy favoured one" is possibly Nathan, but more probably David. The Masoretic reading, however, which is followed by many ancient versions, has the plural "favoured ones." which Delitzsch takes to mean Samuel and Nathan. "Help" means the help which, through the king, comes to his people, and especially, as appears from the use of the word "hero," aid in battle. But since the selection of David for the throne is the subject in hand, the emendation which reads for "help" crown recommends itself as probable. David’s prowess, his humble origin, and his devotion to God’s service are brought into view in Psalm 89:19-20 , as explaining and magnifying the Divine choice. His dignity is all from God. Consequently, as the next pair of verses goes on to say, God’s protecting hand will ever be with him, since He cannot set a man in any position and fall to supply the gifts needed for it. Whom He chooses He will protect. Sheltered behind that strong hand, the king will be safe from all assaults. The word rendered "steal upon" in Psalm 89:22 is doubtful, and by some is taken to mean to exact, as a creditor does, but that gives a flat and incongruous turn to the promise. For Psalm 89:22 b compare 2 Samuel 7:10 . Victory over all enemies is next promised in Psalm 89:23-25 , and is traced to the perpetual presence with the king of God’s Faithfulness and Lovingkindness, the two attributes of which so much has been sung in the former part. The manifestation of God’s character ( i.e. , His Name) will secure the exaltation of David’s horn- i.e. , the victorious exercise of his God-given strength. Therefore a wide extension of his kingdom is promised in Psalm 89:25 , from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates and its canals, on which God will lay the king’s hand- i.e ., will put them in his possession. The next pair of verses ( Psalm 89:26-27 ) deals with the inward side of the relations of God and the king. On David’s part there will be child-like love, with all the lowliness of trust and obedience which lies in the recognition of God’s fatherhood, and on God’s part there will be the acknowledgment of the relation, and the adoption of the king as His "firstborn," and therefore, in a special sense, beloved and exalted. Israel is called by the same name in other places, in reference to its special prerogative amongst the nations. The national dignity is concentrated in the king, who stands to other monarchs as Israel to other nations, and is to them "Most High," the august Divine title, which here may possibly mean that David is to the rulers of the earth an image of God. The reciprocal relation of Father and Son is not here conceived in its full inwardness and depth as Christianity knows it, for it has reference to office rather than to the person sustaining the office, but it is approximating thereto. There is an echo of the fundamental passage in Psalm 89:26 . {Compare 2 Samuel 7:14 } From Psalm 89:28 onwards the psalmist turns to expand the promises to David’s line. His words are mainly a poetical paraphrase of 2 Samuel 7:14 . Transgression shall indeed be visited with chastisement, which the fatherly relation requires, as the original passage indicates by the juxtaposition of the promise "I will be his Father," and the declaration "I will chasten him." But it will be chastisement only, and not rejection. The unchangeableness of God’s loving purpose is very strongly and beautifully put in Psalm 89:33 , in which the twin attributes of Lovingkindness and Faithfulness are again blended as the ground of sinful men’s hope. The word rendered above "break off" occasions a difficulty, both in regard to its form and its appropriateness in this connection. The clause is a quotation from 2 Samuel 7:15 , and the emendation which substitutes for break off the more natural word used there namely, withdraw-is to be preferred. In Psalm 89:33 b the paradoxical expression of being false to My faithfulness suggests the contradiction inherent in the very thought that He can break His plighted word. The same idea is again put in striking form in Psalm 89:34 : "I will not profane My covenant," even though degenerate sons of David "profane" God’s statute. His word, once spoken, is inviolable. He is bound by His oath. He has given His holiness as the pledge of His word, and, till that holiness wanes, those utterances which He has sealed with it cannot be recalled. The certainty that sin does not alter God’s promise is not traced here to His placableness, but to His immutable nature, and to the obligations under which He is laid by His own word and acts. That unchangeableness is a rock foundation, on which sinful men may build their certitude. It is much to know that they cannot sin away God’s mercy nor exhaust His gentle long suffering. It is even more to know that His holiness guarantees that they cannot sin away His promises, nor by any breach of His commandments provoke Him to break His covenant. The allusions to the ancient promise are completed in Psalm 89:36-37 , with the thought of the perpetual continuance of the Davidic line and kingdom, expressed by the familiar comparison of its duration to that of the sun and moon. Psalm 89:37 b is best understood as above. Some take the faithful witness to be the moon; others the rainbow, and render, as in the A.V. and R.V., "and as the faithful witness." But the designation of the moon as a witness is unexampled and almost unintelligible. It is better to take the clause as independent, and to suppose that Jehovah is His own witness, and that the psalmist here speaks in his own person, the quotation of the promises being ended. Cheyne encloses the clause in a parenthesis and compares Revelation 3:14 . The third part begins with Psalm 89:38 , and consists of two portions, in the first of which the psalmist complains with extraordinary boldness of remonstrance, and describes the contrast between these lofty promises and the sad reality ( Psalm 89:38-45 ), and, in the second prays for the removal of the contradiction of God’s promise by Israel’s affliction, and bases this petition on the double ground of the shortness of life, and the dishonour done to His own Name thereby. The expostulation very nearly crosses the boundary of reverent remonstrance, when it charges God with having Himself "abhorred" or, according to another rendering, "made void" His covenant, and cast the king’s crown to the ground. The devastation of the kingdom is described, in Psalm 89:40-41 , in language borrowed from Psalm 80:12 . The pronouns grammatically refer to the king, but the ideas of the land and the monarch are blended. The next pair of verses ( Psalm 89:42-43 ) ventures still further in remonstrance, by charging God with taking the side of Israel’s enemies and actively intervening to procure its defeat. The last verse pair of this part ( Psalm 89:44-45 ) speaks more exclusively of the king, or perhaps of the monarchy. The language, especially in Psalm 89:45 a, seems most naturally understood of an individual. Delitzsch takes such to be its application, and supposes it to describe the king as having been prematurely aged by calamity; while Hupfeld, with Hengstenberg and others, prefer to regard the expression as lamenting that the early days of the monarchy’s vigour had so soon been succeeded by decrepitude like that of age. That family, which had been promised perpetual duration and dominion, has lost its lustre, and is like a dying lamp. That throne has fallen to the ground, which God had promised should stand forever. Senile weakness has stricken the monarchy and disaster, which makes it an object of contempt, wraps it like a garment, instead of the royal robe. A long, sad wail of the music fixes the picture on the mind of the hearer. Then follows prayer, which shows how consistent with true reverence and humble dependence is the outspoken vigour of the preceding remonstrance. The boldest thoughts about the apparent contradiction of God’s words and deeds are not too bold, if spoken straight to Him, and not muttered against Him, and if they lead the speaker to prayer for the removal of the anomaly. In Psalm 89:46 there is a quotation from Psalm 79:5 . The question "How long" is the more imploring because life is so short. There is but a little while during which it is possible for God to manifest Himself as full of Lovingkindness and Faithfulness. The psalmist lets his feelings of longing to see for himself the manifestation of these attributes peep forth for a moment, in that pathetic sudden emergence of "I" instead of "we" or "men," in Psalm 89:47 a. His language is somewhat obscure, but the sense is clear. Literally; the words read "Remember-I, what a transitoriness." The meaning is plain enough, when it is observed that, as Perowne rightly says, "I" is placed first for the sake of emphasis. It is a tender thought that God may be moved to show forth His Lovingkindness by remembrance of the brief period within which a man’s opportunity of beholding it is restricted, and by the consideration that so soon he will have to look on a grimmer sight, and "see death." The music again comes in with a melancholy cadence, emphasising the sadness which enwraps man’s short life, if no gleams of God’s lovingkindness fall on its fleeting days. The last three verses ( Psalm 89:49-51 ) urge yet another plea-that of the dishonour accruing to God from the continuance of Israel’s disasters. A second "Remember" presents that plea, which is preceded by the wistful question "Where are Thy former lovingkindnesses?" The psalmist looks back on the glories of early days, and the retrospect is bitter and bewildering. That these were sworn to David in God’s faithfulness staggers him, but he makes the fact a plea with God. Then in Psalm 89:50-51 , he urges the insults and reproaches which enemies hurled against him and against "Thy servants," and therefore against God. Psalm 89:50 b is obscure. To "bear in the bosom" usually implies tender care, but here can only mean sympathetic participation. The psalmist again lets his own personality appear for a moment, while he identifies himself as a member of the nation with "Thy servants" and "Thine anointed." The last words of the clause are so obscure that there must apparently have been textual corruption. If the existing text is retained, the object of the verb I bear must be supplied from a, -and this clause will run, "I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples." But the collocation of all and many is harsh, and the position of many is anomalous. An ingenious conjecture, adopted by Cheyne from Bottcher and Bickell, and accepted, by Baethgen, reads for "all, many peoples, the shame of the peoples, which gives a good meaning, and may be received as at all events probable, and expressing the intent of the psalmist. Insolent conquerors and their armies triumph over the fallen Israel, and "reproach the footsteps" of the dethroned king or royal line- i.e ., they pursue him with their taunts, wherever he goes. These reproaches cut deep into the singer’s heart; but they glance off from the earthly objects and strike the majesty of Heaven. God’s people cannot be flouted without His honour being touched. Therefore the prayer goes up, that the Lord would remember these jeers which mocked Him as well as His afflicted people, and would arise to action on behalf of His own Name. His Lovingkindness and Faithfulness, which the psalmist has magnified, and on which he rests his hopes, are darkened in the eyes of men and even of His own nation by the calamities, which give point to the rude gibes of the enemy. Therefore the closing petitions beseech God to think on these reproaches, and to bring into act once more His Lovingkindness, and to vindicate His Faithfulness, which He had sealed to David by His oath. Psalm 89:52 is no part of the original psalm, but is the closing doxology of Book III. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.