Prepare
Opening Prayer
Thank God for his Word and ask him to work its truths into our hearts, care for us, and make his Word our light and guide.
Read
Scripture Passage
Psalm 89
Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings
A Contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”
3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have sworn to My servant David:
4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne to all generations.’ ”
Selah
5 And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
6 For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8 O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
10 You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon 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 go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one,
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.
24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25 Also I will set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 Also I will make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29 His seed also I will make to endure forever,
And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
36 His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.”
Selah
38 But You have cast off and abhorred,
You have been furious with Your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 You have broken down all his hedges;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass by the way plunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.
44 You have made his glory cease,
And cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame.
Selah
46 How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is;
For what futility have You created all the children of men?
48 What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?
Selah
49 Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses,
Which You swore to David in Your truth?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ps 89.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
Psalm 89 praises God's covenant faithfulness to David, laments apparent rejection and shame, and points to Jesus as the true Son of David whose everlasting reign fulfills the covenant.
B — Best Verse
A Verse That Summarizes the Passage
Psalm 89:34
Distilled from the devotional exposition; the speaker did not explicitly name a best verse.
my covenant i will not break nor alter the word that has gone out from my lips
No explicit Best Verse segment appears. This verse is distilled because Bryan repeatedly stresses that God has not broken the Davidic covenant but fulfills it eternally in Jesus and the new covenant in his blood.
C — Called or Christ
C — Christ Connection
When life is hard and God's kindness seems hidden, pray his promises, remind heart and emotions that Christ reigns, trust God's fulfilled covenant, and hope in the King's return.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
is 9 30 almost 9 40 at night it has been a busy sunday wonderful communion at worship today and we even got to go to the nursing home and see a few members that we haven't seen since the pandemic started so anyways just a day filled with blessing and worship and getting to uh have hospitality and see brothers and sisters in christ and do some evangelism and such so anyways all that to say we're ending our day together in psalm 89 so why don't we go ahead and i'm going to make sure that everybody else is online with us here so we are at psalm 89 good evening and welcome thank you so much for joining for coffee and devotions as we start our week by ending the sabbath with psalm 89. uh i'm not sure about you i can't drink coffee this late at night so i'm gonna have a little bit of water and we'll pray and we'll get into god's word let's pray father we thank you so much for this day we thank you for your word we thank you for what a rich blessing it is to get to come to your word we pray now that as we're about to go to sleep father that you would work these truths into our hearts that you would care for us and bless us father please let your word be our light and our guide in jesus name amen all right here we go psalm 89 i will sing of the mercies of the lord forever with my mouth will i make known your faithfulness to all generations for i have said mercy shall be built up forever your faithfulness shall establish your faithfulness you shall establish in the very heavens i have made a covenant with my chosen i have sworn to my servant david your seed will i will establish forever and build up your throne to all generations this is talking about jesus this is talking about jesus this is what god is saying did you hear it i will make i have made a covenant with my chosen i have sworn to my servant david your seed i will establish forever and build up your throne to all generations this is what god has promised to david in 2nd samuel chapter 7 and here god is saying it in psalm 89 god has promised a seed who would sit upon the throne forever and his name is jesus christ and the heavens will praise your wonders o lord your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints for who in the heavens can be compared to the lord who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the lord god is great god is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be held in reverence by all those around him oh lord god of who is mighty like you o lord your faithfulness also surrounds you you rule the raging of the seas when its waves rise you still them you have broken rahab in pieces as one who is slain you have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm brothers and sisters our hearts should think of god in this exalted way who is mighty like you o lord it is the lord of hosts almighty who reigns and tells the waves to stop the heavens are yours the earth is yours also the world and all its fullness you have founded them the north and the south you have created them tabor and hermann rejoice in your name you have a mighty arm strong is your hand and high is your right hand righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne mercy and truth go before your face blessed are the people who know the joyful sound they walk o lord in the light of your countenance in your name they rejoice all day long in your righteousness they are exalted for you are the glory of their strength and in your favor our horn is exalted for our shield belongs the lord and our king to the holy one of israel did you hear it is this your heart do you see god this high do you exalt god like this have you made god a puny god or do you think of god as a lord of hosts as the one who rules then you spoke in a vision to your holy one and said i have given help to the one who is mighty i have exalted one chosen from the people i have found my servant david with my holy hill or sorry with my holy oil i have anointed him with whom my hand shall be established also my arm shall strengthen him the enemy shall not outwit him nor the son of wickedness afflict him i will beat down his foes before his fl before his face and plague those who hate him but my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him and in my name his horn shall be exalted also i will set his hand over the sea and his right hand over the rivers he shall cry to me you are my father my god and the rock of my salvation also i will make him my firstborn the highest of the kings of the earth my mercy i will keep for him forever and my covenant shall stand firm with him his seed also i will make to endure forever and his throne as the days of heaven brothers and sisters this is talking about jesus this is a messianic psalm that the nations are going to be given to jesus indeed that is jesus's title in the book of revelation written upon his thigh is the name lord of lord and king of kings this is speaking of our king jesus christ if his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgment so they break my statutes and do not keep my commandments then i will punish their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes nevertheless my loving kindness i will not utterly take from him nor allow my faithfulness to fail my covenant i will not break nor alter the word that has gone out from my lips once i have sworn by my holiness i will not lie to david his seed shall endure forever and his throne as a son before me it shall be established forever like the moon even like the faithful witness in the sky every single morning when you wake up every single time that you see a sunrise or a sunset that's a sign to us that god has not forgotten his covenant mercy his covenant he made with david that one of david's descendants would sit upon his throne forever he's done it in jesus right because we know that after jesus raised from the dead he ascended up into heaven and he sat down at the right hand of god the father and there he rules the nations it is jesus christ now who fulfills these words isn't it interesting that he says my covenant i will not break nor alter the words that has gone out of my lips i was reminded as i was reading this of what jesus says in the lord's supper when he takes that cup and he shows it to his disciples and what does he say this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood right jesus has a new covenant that lasts forever but you have cast off and abhorred you have been furious with your anointed you have renounced the covenant of your servant you have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground you have broken down all his hedges you have brought his stronghold to ruin all who pass by the way plunder him he is a reproach to his neighbors you have exalted the right hand of his adversaries you have made all his enemies rejoice you have also turned back the edges of his sword and have not sustained him in the battle you have made his glory cease and cast his throne down to the ground the days of his youth have shortened you have covered him with shame could you imagine could you imagine two different scenarios here these truths are true and yet as they were there and they saw david's throne diminish as the assyrian army took and wiped out the nation in the north and then as the babylonian army came and they laid wage or they laid waste to jerusalem god have you forgotten your covenant how would they have felt that god really did god really remember his words how must have they felt when david then are when jesus the son of david came and he was being executed would they cry out the days of his youth have shortened you've covered him with shame these honest questions these honest questions that they would have about the messiah how long lord will you hide yourself forever will your wrath burn like fire remember how short my time is from for what futility you have you create sorry for what futility have you created all the children of men what man can live and not see death can he deliver his life from the power of the grave lord where are your former lovingkindnesses which you swore to david in truth remember lord the reproach of your servants how i bear in my bosom the reproach of all my peoples with which your enemies have approached o lord with which they have reproached the footsteps of your anointed blessed be the lord forevermore amen and amen when we're sitting here and life is hard and we question lord where are your former loving kindnesses pray god's promises remind your heart of who the king of kings is remind your soul remind your emotions that our king reigns that he hasn't forgotten his covenant with david but he's fulfilled it and that great day of consummation is going to come when our king will return and make all things right again let's pray father we thank you so much for our king who bore our shame lord we thank you for giving us a true son of david who was cut short in the prime of his life for our sins lord we look forward to the great day when he'll return please give us confidence and hope let us bless your name forever in jesus name amen well may god bless you today maybe give you a great night's sleep and i'll see you tomorrow bye