Slices
Prepare
Have there been any times in your life when you have felt disappointed and let down by God? How have you responded at those times?
Bible passage
A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm for ever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
3 You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
4 “I will establish your line for ever
and make your throne firm through all generations.”’
5 The heavens praise your wonders, Lord,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?
7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.
8 Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?
You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
12 You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favour you exalt our horn.
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once you spoke in a vision,
to your faithful people you said:
‘I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
surely my arm will strengthen him.
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;
the wicked will not oppress him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down his adversaries.
24 My faithful love will be with him,
and through my name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.
26 He will call out to me, “You are my Father,
my God, the Rock my Saviour.”
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,
the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him for ever,
and my covenant with him will never fail.
29 I will establish his line for ever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30 ‘If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging;
33 but I will not take my love from him,
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered.
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness –
and I will not lie to David –
36 that his line will continue for ever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;
37 it will be established for ever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.’
38 But you have rejected, you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken through all his walls
and reduced his strongholds to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbours.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle.
44 You have put an end to his splendour
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.
For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
or who can escape the power of the grave?
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked,
how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.
52 Praise be to the Lord for ever!
Amen and Amen.
Explore
Verses 1–4 are a song of praise because of God’s promise to establish David’s throne for ever. This is the bedrock for what follows. Verses 5–18 are a confession of faith focusing on God’s rule. The psalmist speaks of four different characteristics of that. Look carefully to find them. (‘Rahab’ in verse 10 refers to a sea monster and also possibly to Egypt, and is not to be confused with the Rahab of Joshua.) Verses 19–37 explore God’s promise to David that his throne will last for ever, even if David’s sons disobey God (vs 31–33).
In verses 38–51 the mood changes. The psalmist does not say what has caused this rapid change to a sense of God’s rejection and abandonment (v 46). Look carefully at these verses to notice the forms that God’s rejection takes. Notice also the honesty with which the psalmist prays. He does not hold anything back in his complaint against God.
Yet, despite the bitterness of the psalmist’s words he concludes with a declaration that echoes his expression of faith in verses 1 and 2. He will continue to trust God and worship him (v 52). What was your reaction when you read that verse?
Respond
This psalm is encouraging in the way that it expresses disappointment so openly, yet asserts trust in God. How might this form a model of prayer for you?
Deeper Bible study
‘Let us bless God before we pray, and while we pray, and when we have done praying, for he always deserves it of us.’1
Psalm 89 is one of the most poignant poems in the whole of Scripture, focusing on the demise of the line of Davidic kings.2 The psalm opens with a song of praise, a statement of God’s Word and his promise, continuing with praise for the enormity of God and his incredible power. Such sovereignty surely enables God to uphold the covenant and protect his loved ones: after all, he is the Creator and the universe bows before him. How often humanity cries out to God, questioning ‘how long?’ or ‘why?’ – or even in protest ‘but God?’, as the psalmist does in this psalm (v 38). Lord, how could you abandon the covenant you made to establish the Davidic throne for ever? Why have you spurned and rejected us as your community? ‘Lord, where is your former great love … ?’ (v 49).
Yet they knew, as we do, that God is love; he cannot change. The lamenting psalmist must summon up the will to bend in sacrificial praise, for God is worthy despite our situation. ‘Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you’ (v 15). This is learned behaviour, acquired by looking back and forward and seeing a faithful and trustworthy God. The psalmist, in summary, says sing, acclaim, walk in the light, rejoice and celebrate – for God is our strength and glory. Such action may take all we have and here Christ is the perfect example. ‘Why have you forsaken me?’, he cried – and yet he had confidence to say, ‘into your hands I commit my spirit’.3 We hear the psalmist lament, if God loved David so much, why did he let his line fail in disgrace and destruction? We, however, are privileged to know of Christ’s reign and the establishment of the eternal Davidic line.
‘He who promised is faithful’.4 If you feel agony today, dare to praise God. He can see the future you can’t. Read Isaiah 43:18 and 19.
1 C Spurgeon, 1834–92 2 D Tucker and J Grant, The NIV Application Commentary, Psalms Vol 2, Zondervan, 2018, p313 3 Matt 27:46; Luke 23:46 4 Heb 10:23
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Exodus 31,32; Matthew 1
Pray for Scripture Union
Scripture Union in Laos thank God for the Bible engagement training they held in one province where 35 people attended. After the training, some people were very excited about engaging with the Bible. Pray that this excitement will remain.
