(An instruction. Of Ethan the Ezrahite.) I will sing of the loving-kindness of Jehovah for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness from generation to generation.
Psalm 89 opens with a man singing about God's unchanging kindness. He promises to sing of it "forever" — and he sings while David's house lies in ruins and Israel is scattered.
(The ESV says "steadfast love." Older translations say "mercies" — the word the writers below use.)
The psalm just before this one ends in darkness. Psalm 89 answers it, and the change lies in what the singer takes as his subject.
In Psalm 89 the wisdom of Ethan instructs us. What does this other wise man speak of? Of grace! This Psalm is about the unchangeable promises of God and the sure mercies of David. reason: 62-word sentence, grade 30
The singer named in the title carries the same idea in his own name.
The psalm is another Maskil, and no wonder; and it is the maskil of another Ezrahite, Ethan; whose name means, in full accordance with his subject, "constant, durable." And here too we find what is proper to the soil it springs from, the covenant of promise rooting itself in what God is; "durable," because Jehovah endures, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
reason: watery second sentence, writer's own claim
Here is one point in the Hebrew of Psalm 89 that greatly interests me. The psalm speaks of "the Holy One of Israel" and of "the Holy One," but the words in the original are quite different... What makes it interesting is that verse 19 uses the same word as verse 1: "I will sing of the mercies of Jehovah forever." It gathers the mercies of Jehovah into the person of the man chosen out of the people — David His servant, one able to sustain all the attributes of Jehovah... The whole seems to be the presenting of Christ as the person who sustains Chesed, God's mercy, with all that follows for those who are united to Him.
Writers connect this to what Paul preached in Acts about a Christ raised and no longer subject to decay:
It is not the same truth which the same apostle asserts in Romans 1:4: Christ declared or determined Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection... In Acts 13:34 it is the holiness of grace and mercy manifested and operative in Him risen from the dead. After His baptism of suffering, known by Him as by none else, straitening was over, Jewish barriers righteously gone, the floods of grace could flow forever.
reason: heading should be a label, not passive clause
The next verse says where mercy and faithfulness are kept, and that is why the singer can say "forever."
The opening verses present the great theme of the psalm — the mercies and faithfulness of God, instead of the sin and failure of the nation, as in Psalm 88. The psalm also presents this great fact: God not only has mercies and faithfulness, but nothing man does can touch these blessed qualities. They are beyond the reach of man's corrupting hand. Mercy is built up forever, and faithfulness is established in the very heavens.
Only one basis allows that word to be used:
Its subject is the mercies of Jehovah (His graciousness, chasdee, towards Israel), and their unchangeableness — the sure mercies. There was faith to say, "forever," for it was grace.
The song is sung while the facts on the ground say the opposite.
Psalm 89 has one remarkable feature we should notice here. It relies on the faithfulness of God to His original word of promise, at a time when everything on the outside contradicts that promise. Yet it still expects the promise to be kept, and it rests that expectation on mercy — in fact on Christ, in whom all promised mercies come together.
Faith does not look only at the ground; it looks at the heavens.
Upon earth, indeed, things may seem for the present to be in conflict with this... The tree of David's house is levelled to the ground and Israel are wanderers among the nations. But for faith the heavens have another story to tell, since the Crucified has become the Glorified. They will give a marvellous witness when the fruits of the cross are seen in the crowd of the redeemed in heaven.
The second half of the verse turns the song into public testimony, and its full scope is still ahead.
This will indeed produce the singing of the mercies of the Lord forever (v. 1), the making known of God's faithfulness to all generations. Sadly, this has not been true of Israel through her history, and it is not true now. But it is a prophecy of what will be true in the millennium, when God will make known the wonders of His faithfulness to all the generations then living. Believers today may well anticipate that time by magnifying the name of the Lord now.
- Grace, not law. Psalm 88 ends in darkness under law. Psalm 89 answers it, taking grace and the covenant with David as its subject.
- Beyond reach. God builds mercy up forever and sets faithfulness in the heavens, where nothing man does can touch them.
- Gathered in a Person. The word for "mercies" in verse 1 comes back in verse 19, used of a man — God's mercies gathered in Christ.
- Sung against the evidence. The psalmist sings while David's house lies levelled. He rests on the promise, not on what he can see.
- Told to all generations. What faith sings now in the face of ruin, God will one day make known to every generation.
For I said, Loving-kindness shall be built up for ever; in the very heavens wilt thou establish thy faithfulness.
The singer names two things he means to sing about for ever: God's steadfast love and His faithfulness. Verse 2 says why he dares use the words "for ever" when everything on earth said the opposite.
Psalm 88 dwells on the nation's sin and failure. This psalm changes the footing, and that change is what makes such confident words possible. Where the ESV says "steadfast love," older translations say "mercy" — the word the writers below use.
In Psalm 89 the wisdom of Ethan instructs us. What does this other wise man speak of? Of grace! This Psalm is about the unchangeable promises of God and the sure mercies of David. The people's relationship to God on the footing of the law can only lead to the darkness of judgment and death. Their relation on the basis of the covenant of grace made with David leads to this: "Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness" (v. 2) — in the heavens, where nothing shall ever touch it. This magnificent Psalm is the hymn of grace. It sings of all the glory of God which this grace has established and brought to light.
The singer can say "for ever" only because his subject is grace — and this grace does not change.
Its subject is the mercies of Jehovah (His graciousness, chasdee, towards Israel), and their unchangeableness — the sure mercies. There was faith to say, "for ever," for it was grace... Jehovah was faithful. For he had said in faith, Mercy, manifested goodness, shall be built up for ever, and faithfulness was established where nothing could reach it.
"Built up" pictures something still rising. "In the heavens" puts it where no one on earth can get at it.
The opening verses present the great theme of the psalm — the mercies and faithfulness of God, instead of the sin and failure of the nation, as in Psalm 88. The psalm also presents this great fact: there are mercies and faithfulness with God, and nothing that man can do can touch these blessed qualities. They are beyond the reach of man's corrupting hand. Mercy is built up for ever; and faithfulness is established in the very heavens.
Notice the psalmist says "I said." This is a settled conviction, not a report of what he can see.
Psalm 89 has one remarkable character which it is right for us to notice here — reliance on the faithfulness of God according to His original word of promise, when everything on the outside is against it. The expectation of fulfilment is founded on mercy, in fact on Christ, in whom all promised mercies concentrate themselves.
The heavens are named for a reason. Earth's evidence at the time pointed one way; heaven pointed another.
On earth, things may look for the present as if they conflict with this. From the Jewish standpoint the witness of many generations now might look to be against it. The tree of David's house is cut down to the ground, and Israel are wanderers among the nations. But for faith the heavens have another story to tell, since the Crucified has become the Glorified. They will have a marvellous witness to give when the fruits of the cross are seen in the multitude of the redeemed in heaven, soon to be seen following Him as He comes out from there, not only King of Israel, but King of kings.
Mercy that lasts for ever must be secured somewhere. Commentators point to a Person now in heaven.
The general tone of the Psalm is earthly. Yet because the sure mercies of David form its leading topic, the heavens are joined with the earth in the celebration of His praise. God has set His glory above those heavens in the Person of His risen and ascended Christ. For the mercy of God's choice, which is the basis of Israel's promised blessing, is secured in Him whom the Church already worships and glories in as her exalted Head... Faithfulness and mercy are built up and established in Him who is Himself the covenant of His people's endless peace.
Commentators also point to a link between the word "mercies" in verse 1 and a title used later in the psalm, showing where those mercies gather.
The word "mercies," in the first verse of that psalm, is the same word as "Holy One" in verse 19... "your gracious One, in whom help and mercy is summed up." I have laid help upon One that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David my servant," etc. Here, no doubt, the immediate subject is David: but in the mind of God a greater, even Christ, is here.
Mercy that keeps rising does not stop at one nation.
"Mercy shall be built up for ever" (Ps. 89:2)... The Gentiles shall be embraced in the same mercy, for it is written, "In you shall all nations be blessed"; and it is written again, "Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people" (Rom. 15:10)... Mercy with righteousness, peace with truth, shall rear that temple, and uphold the kingdom.
- Ground — The psalm stands on grace and covenant, not law. Under law the outcome is judgment; only mercy lets anyone say "for ever."
- Building — Mercy is not just stored; it is being built up, and no human hand can pull it down or spoil it.
- Place — Faithfulness is fixed in the heavens, out of reach of the earth where the promise looked broken.
- Person — God secures those mercies in Christ, risen and ascended. He is Himself the covenant of His people's peace.
- Reach — The same mercy reaches the nations, and mercy with righteousness builds the kingdom that lasts.