Psalm 89
Introduction
Verses 1–4
The Divine Mercy and Faithfulness. Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. 1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
Verses 5–14
These verses are full of the praises of God. Observe, I. Where, and by whom, God is to be praised. 1. God is praised by the angels above: The heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord! Ps.
Verses 15–18
The psalmist, having largely shown the blessedness of the God of Israel, here shows the blessedness of the Israel of God. As there is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, so, happy art thou, O Israel! there is none like unto thee, O people! especially as a type of the gospel-Israel, consisting of…
Verses 19–37
The covenant God made with David and his seed was mentioned before ; but in these verses it is enlarged upon, and pleaded with God, for favour to the royal family, now almost sunk and ruined; yet certainly it looks at Christ, and has its accomplishment in him much more than in David; nay, some…
Verses 38–52
In these verses we have, I. A very melancholy complaint of the present deplorable state of David’s family, which the psalmist thinks hard to be reconciled to the covenant God made with David. “Thou saidst thou wouldst not take away thy lovingkindness, but thou hast cast off.
Many psalms that begin with complaint and prayer end with joy and praise, but this begins with joy and praise and ends with sad complaints and petitions; for the psalmist first recounts God’s former favours, and then with the consideration of them aggravates the present grievances.