Psalm 89 – The King has Gone

This psalm is the final psalm in Book 3 of the Psalter, and it was placed last for a reason – it asks, where is the Davidic king? The psalm can be divided into two: a description of the promise of a king (vv. 1-37) and a description of life with a rejected king (vv. 38-59).

Ethan is a disappointed man, indeed an extremely disappointed man. He is also a devout believer, indeed a very devout believer. His disappointment is caused by a dilemma, a great dilemma, which he would love to be solved. So as a very devout man, he brings his dilemma to God.

Although Ethan is living in difficult days, he praises God for his faithfulness. He knows that life should be seen through God’s revealed plan and not merely by observation of the current situation (vv. 1-2).

What is that divine plan? It is to have a descendant of David on an endless throne, and this divine intention had been revealed to David as a covenant promise (vv. 3-4). Therefore, it was bound to happen.

Angels should praise God for his faithfulness and worship him as they gather in his presence (vv. 5-7). The Lord had shown his faithfulness in numerous ways: he controls the oceans; he defeated Egypt; the creation does what he wills; he has unlimited power which he exercises righteously and justly (vv. 8-14). His people have every reason to celebrate his faithfulness as they gather to worship him. He has given them great privileges and one of the privileges is a divinely chosen king to whom God will show favour (vv. 15-18).

Then Ethan recounts how the dynasty began. God had chosen David and anointed him for the role. He had given help to David and prevented his enemies from removing him by crushing them. His reign would prosper because of God’s faithfulness in geographical gains previously unimagined (vv. 21-25).

There would be a strong personal relationship between God and David, all based on divine faithfulness and covenant promises. Through divine favour, David would become remarkably high. He would have a dynasty that would not cease, a future quite different from all other royal lines (vv. 26-29). Should some of the descendants prove unfaithful, they would be punished; but the promises about the Davidic line would not be removed. The kingdom will last as long as the sun and the moon (vv. 30-37).

But Ethan lived in the real world in which his theology seemed irrelevant. Since the Davidic line was now nowhere to be seen, what can one do with the covenant promises? Ethan does not doubt the existence of God, therefore the only conclusion he can make is that God has changed his mind. The Lord has become angry with Israel, annulled the covenant about the kingship, and left the country powerless, defenceless, and conquered (vv. 38-45). The presence of the king was a sign of God’s favour, but now the kingship was gone. Ethan is referring to what happened when Babylon removed the Davidic dynasty (vv. 38-45).

What could Ethan do? He prayed intensely with deep feeling. He wanted to see the kingdom restored by the covenant Lord, but he knew that his days on earth would be few, and given the scale of the collapse, it would take something dramatic to bring restoration. Instead of participating in a highly favoured kingdom, the only certainty he faced was death (vv. 46-48).

Ethan points out the dire straits in which the people of God are now in. They have become a derision to the surrounding nations. Those whose ancestors bowed to the authority of David now mock at the weakness of his non-existent kingdom, and even the king is treated with great disrespect. He leaves with God a question about his faithfulness, but he does so with profound respect as he expresses his desire that God be honoured for ever (vv. 49-52).

What can we take from this psalm? One lesson is that great spiritual prosperity can turn into a steep decline into abject poverty. Another lesson is that in prayer we can mention in detail the promises and other aspects of God’s revealed will, because we show the extent of our concern by the amount that we mention. A third response is that we should write over this psalm, ‘Remember that Jesus is coming!’ He is the Son of David who will reign in the New Jerusalem forever and his reign will be marked by faithfulness and justice.