Embrace the Word for Monday, July 13, 2026
FOR AN AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE
Psalm 89 declares great hope concerning the certainty of the Davidic covenant (See 2 Samuel 7). The dark despair expressed in Psalm 88 is countered by the bright hope provided in Psalm 89. The superscription simply points to the author of the Psalm: “A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.” While Psalm 88 was by Heman the Ezrahite, Psalm 89 is from Ethan the Ezrahite. It seems reasonable to assume that whoever Heman actually was, determines who Ethan was. As mentioned at the outset of Psalm 88, men by the names of Heman and Ethan could have been descendants of Levi or descendants of Judah. Psalm 89 brings Book 3 of the Psalter to a close. As Book 2 came to a close, Psalm 72 prayed for the realization of the promises that the LORD made to David concerning the line of Davidic kings. Now as Book 3 comes to an end, Psalm 89 brings clarity to how the LORD will resolve His promise to continue the Davidic line of kings in light of the sin of the house of David. While the moods displayed in Psalm 89 and Psalm 88 are very different from each other, the two Psalms are closely linked to each other and share several terms in common. Each Psalm speaks of “death” (throughout 88; 89:47-48), mentions “Sheol” (88:3; 89:48), God’s “remembering” (88:5; 89:47,50), God’s “wrath” (88:7,16: 89:38,46), and a number of the attributes associated with God’s covenant, such as “steadfast love” and “faithfulness” (88:10-12; throughout 89). Psalm 89 begins with great confidence in the covenant that God made with David (89:1-37), and ends with a grave crisis that leads to prayer (89:38-52).
Psalm 89 opens with a headline that introduces the entire Psalm: “I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah” (89:1-4). The focus of Psalm 89 is the terms and details of the covenant that the LORD made with David. All of the key terms used in 2 Samuel 7 concerning the Davidic covenant are used in these opening verses of Psalm 89. Ethan speaks in the first two verses and highlights that the steadfast love and faithfulness of the LORD will build up and establish the line of David. Then in the second two verses Ethan declares what the LORD has said concerning the covenant that He has made with David. By stating his words and then the LORD’s words, Ethan is emphatically presenting the Davidic covenant as still being intact—forever and for all generations.
As Ethan continues, he first turns to describe the praiseworthy power and character of the LORD: “Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you?” (89:5-8). There is no one and nothing that can be compared with the LORD. The LORD is supreme over every other power. His incomparable might and ever-attendant faithfulness is displayed in and through His acts: “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. The north and the south, you have created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name” (89:9-12). Ethan doubles back around and extols the LORD’s power and character: “You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you” (89:13-14). Then Ethan points outs what it is like to belong to this mighty and faithful God: “Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted” (89:15-16). Those whom the LORD saves and brings into relationship with Him are happy, for they live in his presence. How can His people not be happy in light of what the LORD is to them: “For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted. For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel” (89:16-17). The LORD is the strength and shield of His people!
Ethan transitions from acknowledging the praiseworthiness of the LORD in light of His power and character, to describing the unending and unwavering promise that the LORD made to exalt David: “Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: “I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, so that my hand shall be established with him; my arm also shall strengthen him” (89:19-21). It is the LORD Himself who chose David and who set him apart as king. David would serve with the authority from God’s own “hand” and out of the strength of God’s own “arm.” And with such authority and strength, David would be victorious: “The enemy shall not outwit him; the wicked shall not humble him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him. My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers” (89:22-25). In keeping with both Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7, king David and the Davidic kings would have a special Father-son relationship with the LORD: “He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens” (89:26-29). The Davidic line would be the LORD’s “firstborn, the highest kings of the earth.” This special bond and resultant status is “forever” and will “stand firm” as the throne of David will be “as the days of heaven,” that is, eternal.
While the LORD has established an eternal covenant with David that will extend through to his offspring, Ethan addresses the matter of rebellion on the part of the Davidic line: “If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules, if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes” (89:30-32). Some of the “children” or better yet, “sons” from the Davidic line will sin against the LORD as they “forsake,” “not walk,” “violate,” and “not keep.” Such sin would prompt the LORD to chasten them—even severely—but it would not result in a removal of the LORD’s promises: “but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah” (89:33-37). The LORD foresaw the unfaithfulness that would run through the Davidic “sons” (See 2 Samuel 7:14-15), but that would not alter the outcome purposed through the LORD’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Theses words are particularly pertinent as Book 3 comes to a close, for the devastation of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the deportation to Babylon all reflected the LORD’s chastisement, but also clarified that the LORD’s promises are not nullified: “his offspring shall endure forever.” The LORD did “not lie to David.”
After explaining the LORD’s commitment to the promises He made to David, Ethan immediately takes a surprising portrayal of the current sad state of affairs. The chastisement that the Davidic line and nation experienced appeared as though the surety of God’s promises were void: “Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed. You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust. You have breached all his walls; you have laid his strongholds in ruins. All who pass by plunder him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. You have also turned back the edge of his sword, and you have not made him stand in battle. You have made his splendor to cease and cast his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with shame. Selah” (89:38-45). The LORD said, “I will not violate my covenant” (89:34), but Ethan expresses what it felt like to be chastened, “You have renounced the covenant” (89:39). Ethan expresses the common conflict between what God has said, and what it feels like. These verses are full of confusion and even complaint; however, the LORD was doing what He said, nothing had changed in the LORD’s mind, even though at that moment, His promised chastisement was an experience they were unprepared to handle.
The confusion that Ethan is expressing forms pleas to the LORD that are framed in anguishing questions, but also some glimmers of hope: “How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man! What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations, with which your enemies mock, O LORD, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed” (89:46-51). Ethan’s questions, which are cries of despair, are coupled with petitions oriented by reliance upon the LORD as he pleads with the LORD to remember. While the LORD’s steadfast love and faithfulness has seemingly vanished; nevertheless, Ethan essentially keeps appealing to the One who is full of steadfast love and faithfulness. Ethan’s faith, while wavering, is still faith. It demonstrates his confidence in the LORD through the way he ends Psalm 89 and Book 3 of the Psalter with a praise to the LORD: “Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen” (89:52). Despite what he sees and experiences, Ethan believes that the LORD will keep His promises. He is greatly troubled, but also emphatically convinced that the LORD is unfailingly faithful.
As we reflect on Psalm 89, we can consider the frequent use of this Psalm in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. While Psalm 89 is not the most used Psalm in the New Testament concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, it is prominently featured. This should come as no surprise for a Psalm that pertains to underscoring the permanence of the Davidic line culminating in Christ, the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. Considering just one area in the New Testament that is deeply connected to Psalm 89, we can note how Luke highlights events in Mary’s life that reflect this Psalm. As Luke records the instructions from Gabriel to Mary, notice how themes of Psalm 89 are stated: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (See Luke 1:32-33). “The Son of the Most High,” “the throne of his father David,” and “of His kingdom there will be no end,” are all realities prominently featured in Psalm 89. As Mary singingly responds, she demonstrates a strong understanding of truths revealed in Psalm 89. In the birth of her son, she declares, “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts” (See Luke 1:51). Mary’s verse echos: “You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm” (89:10). More could be said, but the simple point is that the ultimate fulfillment of Psalm 89 with its highlight of enduring permanence of the LORD’s covenant to David, is seen in the One who is the final offspring of David: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (See Romans 1:1-4). It is Jesus, the son of David, the Son of God, who shapes our messages and who is the focus of our faith. It is because of Jesus, we say “Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen” (89:52).
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Monday, July 13, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Wednesday, July 15, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 90.