Prepared for Psalms Group, February 7, 2021
Psalm 89 is a royal psalm based on the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:8-16). Psalm 89:1-37 is a hymn of praise for YHWH’s covenant love and faithfulness; Psalm 89:38-52 is a community lament for YHWH’s apparent failure to keep these promises. Notice the word used in the plural in 89:1 and 89:49 to describe these promises:
We have been learning about the structure of the book of Psalms from Toni little by little over the past year. These two psalms are the “bookends” of Book 3. Many scholars believe that this portion of the psalter was compiled during the Exile. This would explain the following:
It contains many problem psalms, in which, both at individual and at national levels, the psalmists are wrestling with difficulties of theodicy.
Geoffrey Grogan, Prayer, Praise and Prophecy: A Theology of the Psalms, p. 209
theodicy : defense of God’s goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil
merriam-webster.com
In other words, the main question seems to be, “What is going on here?!?”
Will You Reject Us Forever?
I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the LORD
This is a royal psalm based on the Davidic covenant; Hymn, 1-37; Lament, 38-51
These are psalms in which the Davidic king is the central figure. The king’s authority comes from God, and his task is to rule as God’s representative in the kingdom on earth. Since he is God’s representative on earth, the enemies of God oppose him. These psalms find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ when “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” (The Apostles’ Creed, BCP, p. 96)
Examples: Psalms 2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 101, 110, 144
Hymns extol the glory and greatness of God as it is revealed in nature and history, and particularly in Israels’s history. Hymns praise God in general terms for his power and faithfulness as creator of the cosmos, ruler of history, and creator/redeemer of Israel to bring blessing to all the world. Israel’s hymns stress God’s active involvement in the life story of Israel. Hymns typically demonstrate motives for worshipping and praising God. A clear example is Psalm 117, the shortest psalm, just two verses:
1 O praise the Lord, all you nations; *
praise him, all you peoples.
2 For (= Hebrew ki) great is his loving-kindness towards us, *
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord.
Hymns were used for exuberant worship in the temple and the synagogue. The people of God before the Incarnation invite us to celebrate and praise with them in hope of the kingdom of God and his Messiah. Hymns, like all psalms, show Christians how to praise God who has acted in creation, in revelation, and in redemption, and who is acting decisively in establishing his kingdom on earth. They do not ask anything; they simply rejoice in God’s presence.
Examples: Psalms 8, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 100, 103, 104, 145-150, and others
More than 1/3 of the Psalms fall into the category of complaints to God in situations of limitation or threat. These laments were a form of prayer and praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about people and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation or understanding. Israel’s laments out of distress were a way of praising God even when he seemed absent. The faith of the psalmists is founded on the good news that God intervenes in desperate situations to help those who are distressed. The psalmists share a deep confidence that God is compassionate, concerned, hearing his people and involved with them; God is faithful and trustworthy. A lament is an outcry to God from a responsive heart. Laments came from individuals or from the community.
Examples: Psalms 3-5, 22, 27:7-14, 42, 51, 69, 90, 130, 137 and many others
Heb. 11:32-40
Note that the verse numbering in the New Coverdale version below differs from the ESV.
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89
Misericordias Domini
1 My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord; *
with my mouth will I ever be proclaiming your faithfulness, from one generation to another.
2 For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up for ever; *
your faithfulness shall be established in the heavens.”
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen one; *
I have sworn to David my servant:
4 “Your seed will I establish for ever, *
and set up your throne from one generation to another.”
5 O Lord, the heavens will praise your wondrous works *
and your faithfulness in the assembly of the saints.
6 For who in the clouds can be compared unto the Lord? *
And who among the gods is like unto the Lord?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the council of the saints, *
and to be held in reverence by all those who are round about him.
8 O Lord God of hosts, who is like you? *
Your faithfulness, most mighty Lord, is round about you.
9 You rule the raging of the sea; *
you still the waves when they arise.
10 You have subdued Rahab of the deep, and destroyed her; *
you have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; *
you laid the foundation of the world, and all that is in it.
12 You have made the north and the south; *
Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in your Name.
13 You have a mighty arm; *
strong is your hand, and high is your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; *
mercy and truth shall go before your face.
15 Blessed are the people, O Lord, who rejoice in you; *
they shall walk in the light of your countenance.
16 Their delight shall be in your Name all the day long, *
and in your righteousness shall they make their boast.
17 For you are the glory of their strength, *
and by your favor you shall lift up our might.
18 For the Lord is our defense; *
the Holy One of Israel is our King.
19 You spoke in a vision to your saints, and said, *
“I have set the crown upon one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant; *
with my holy oil have I anointed him.
21 My hand shall hold him fast, *
and my arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not be able to do him violence; *
the son of wickedness shall not hurt him.
23 I will smite his foes before his face *
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him, *
and in my Name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will give him dominion over the sea, *
and with his right hand shall he rule the rivers.
26 He shall say to me, “You are my Father, *
my God, and the rock of my salvation.”
27 And I will make him my firstborn, *
higher than the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will I keep for him for ever, *
and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed will I make to endure for ever *
and his throne as the days of heaven.
30 But if his children forsake my law, *
and do not walk in my judgments,
31 If they break my statutes and do not keep my commandments,*
I will punish their offenses with the rod, and their sin with scourges.
32 Nevertheless, my loving-kindness I will not utterly take from him, *
nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
33 My covenant I will not break, *
nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips.
34 I have sworn once by my holiness *
that I will not fail David.
35 His seed shall endure for ever *
and his throne as the sun before me.
36 It shall endure for evermore as the moon, *
and as the faithful witness in the heavens.
37 But you have rejected and forsaken your Anointed; *
you are full of wrath against him.
38 You have broken the covenant with your servant; *
you have defiled his crown and cast it to the ground.
39 You have overthrown all his walls *
and broken down his strongholds.
40 All those who go by plunder him, *
and he has become a reproach to his neighbors.
41 You have exalted the right hand of his enemies, *
and made all his adversaries rejoice.
42 You have turned back the edge of his sword *
and have not given him victory in the battle.
43 You have taken away his glory *
and cast his throne down to the ground.
44 The days of his youth you have shortened *
and covered him with dishonor.
45 Lord, how long will you utterly hide yourself? *
How long shall your wrath burn like fire?
46 O remember how short my time is; *
why have you made all people for nought?
47 What man is there who lives and shall not see death, *
and shall deliver his soul from the power of the Grave?
48 Lord, where are your loving-kindnesses of old, *
which you swore to David in your faithfulness?
49 Remember, Lord, how your servants are reproached, *
and how I bear in my bosom the rebukes of many people;
50 Remember how your enemies have reproached you, O Lord, *
how they have called after your Anointed King with cries of scorn.
51 Praised be the Lord for evermore. *
Amen and Amen.