ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Psalms 89

Psalm Ps. 89. This is a community lament, but with a distinctive flavor. The people celebrate the Davidic kingship as God’s special gift to his people, but they also mourn the distress into which they have fallen. They interpret that distress as God’s wrath against his anointed king. They pray earnestly for God to bless his people by blessing their king with wisdom, goodness, and might.

Ps. 89:1–4 In raising up David and his descendants to be kings for his people, God has displayed his steadfast love and faithfulness. These words, which recall Ex. 34:6, appear throughout the psalm (Ps. 89:1, 2, 14, 24, 28 [see esv footnote], 33, 49). Verses 3–4 refer to the events of 2 Sam. 7:8–16, God’s promise to David to establish his offspring forever. Because the promise is rooted in God’s enduring love for his people, and because it is a covenant, the term “forever” is important. If the covenant is forever, then why has humiliation come (Ps. 89:38–45)? But “forever” also means they can offer this prayer confidently, knowing that God will be true to his own word.

Ps. 89:8–10 God is more mighty than any other being. He governs even the raging of the sea; to the people of that day, the sea represented humanly unmanageable chaos.

Ps. 89:13–14 The pairing of God’s hand and his right hand refers to his power for the sake of his own people (see 74:11; 138:7).

Ps. 89:15–18 God has given his people a special place in his plan for the world. They are exalted, and God pledges his strength on their behalf.

Ps. 89:19–37 The mention of the king’s role in Israel (v. 18) leads to the story of how David and his heirs came to be the royal family (1 Sam. 16:1–13) and what promises God made to them (2 Sam. 7:4–17).

Ps. 89:19 Your godly one most likely refers to Nathan, who received God’s instructions by night in a vision (see 2 Sam. 7:17).

Ps. 89:24–25 steadfast love. See v. 33; 2 Sam. 7:15. For hand and right hand, see Ps. 89:13, where it is God’s hand. The king also serves the people as God’s representative.

Ps. 89:26–28 Father . . . firstborn. See 2 Sam. 7:14. Just as Israel is God’s “firstborn” (Ex. 4:22), so the king is the firstborn as he represents the people (see note on Ps. 2:7).

Ps. 89:38–45 It looks and feels as if God has not kept his promises to the house of David (and thus to his people). This section repeats words from the preceding parts of the psalm to stress the feeling of betrayal. God’s anointed (v. 38) was his special choice (v. 20), but now God is full of wrath against him. The covenant (v. 39) should have meant security (v. 34), but God has renounced it. The king’s “right hand” (v. 42) should govern even the rivers (v. 25), but now God has exalted the right hand of his foes. David’s throne (v. 44) was to endure as long as the sun (vv. 29, 36), but now God has cast it to the ground. Rather than David’s heir being “the highest of the kings of the earth” (v. 27), now all the Gentiles triumph over him and his people (vv. 40–43). Although things seem bleak, the psalm is not hopeless. The current hardship may be God’s punishment of the king for unfaithfulness, and so it is a call to repentance.

Ps. 89:46–51 There is great comfort in the promise of an enduring Davidic house. The people can be confident that their present low condition is not the end of their story. The appeal is to God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (v. 49, see note on vv. 1–4) as expressed in his oath to David (v. 24).