My covenant will I not profane, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
In Psalm 89 God speaks about His covenant with David. He stakes His faithfulness on words He has already said — yet David's line failed, so in what sense did God keep His word?
The psalm does not celebrate a promise being fulfilled. It holds on to one while the visible facts point the other way.
Psalm 89 has one remarkable feature we should notice here. It rests on the faithfulness of God according to His original word of promise, at a time when everything on the outside is against it. And it expects that word to be fulfilled on the ground of mercy — in fact on Christ, in whom all promised mercies come together.
The verses just before speak of children who forsake God's law and feel the rod. Verse 34 does not ignore that failure. It answers it, and God's holiness stands behind the answer.
With the seed there can be failure, and the consequences that God's government brings (vv. 30-32). Still, God will not take His loving-kindness away from them completely, nor let His faithfulness fail. God will not break His covenant, nor alter the word that has gone out of His lips (vv. 33-34). The holiness of God is a witness that God cannot change the word by which He secures blessing to David and his seed.
Commentators draw a line between David's other descendants and the One David pictures. With Him the question of a broken covenant never arises.
But with Christ, the true David, there can be no failure — and so no breach of covenant in His case. Here holiness itself is pledged on His behalf, for by it God has sworn to Him; and God cannot take it back.
Israel stood before God in two ways. The two lead to opposite ends.
This Psalm is about the unchangeable promises of God and the sure mercies of David. On the footing of the law, the people's relationship to God can only lead to the darkness of judgment and death. On the basis of the covenant of grace made with David, that relationship 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.
The New Testament shows where this unaltered word lands. It names the seed God had in view from the start.
In the "everlasting covenant" God assured David that, through his seed, He would establish his kingdom and throne for ever (see 2 Samuel 7:12–17; Ps. 89:34–37; Jer. 33:19–32). Acts 13:34 shows us that the Spirit of God points to Christ as the promised seed of David. It also shows that God secures the sure mercies of David through Christ risen from the dead.
Resurrection is not a side detail here. Without it, nothing in the promise held.
Israel could not have these mercies without death and resurrection. So the sure mercies of David are proof of resurrection. Nothing was sure until then. If they trusted in a living man, everything failed.
The law required a man to keep whatever came out of his mouth. Who has ever fully answered to that?
The first case we read of in the chapter is a man who vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge. He must not break his word. He must do everything that comes out of his mouth. Do we not know who this is? We know the One who never needs to recall a word: indeed, there is none other. His word stands; we can trust it without fear.
- Spoken. God's covenant with David has already left His lips. The psalm rests on that, not on how things look.
- Tested. God foresaw failure in David's line and met it with the rod. The rod never touches the covenant itself.
- Guaranteed. God's own holiness is the witness that He cannot alter what He said. He will never take the promise back.
- Grace, not law. Under law the story ends in judgment. Under the covenant of grace, God builds mercy up for ever, in the heavens where nothing can reach it.
- Secured. The mercies became sure only in resurrection. Nothing rests on a living man who could fail; everything rests on the risen Son of David.
Once have I sworn by my holiness; I will not lie unto David
Psalm 89 celebrates the covenant God made with David. Here God backs that covenant with an oath on His own holiness — even though David's throne would later lie in ruins.
The oath in this verse belongs to a bigger theme. One writer names what the whole psalm is about.
A few words now on Psalm 89 in detail. Its subject is the mercies of Jehovah — His graciousness, chasdee, toward Israel. These mercies never change; they are the sure mercies. There was faith to say, "for ever," for it was grace... He then repeats the covenant God first made with David. That covenant is the expression of mercy, and Jehovah was to be faithful to it — the sure mercies of David.
God swears by nothing outside Himself. One writer shows what that holiness then does for the promise.
God will not break His covenant, nor alter the word that has gone out of His lips (vv. 33-34). The holiness of God is a witness that God cannot alter His word by which blessing is secured to David and his seed.
The verses just before this one warn that David's children may abandon God's law and face discipline for it. That warning does not weaken the oath.
So for many centuries, that was the end of David's throne. Yet God had guaranteed that throne with a promise that no human failure could set aside. No — in giving it, God had contemplated the failure, and declared what He would do.
The unfaithfulness runs one way only. God's side of the covenant does not depend on what His people do with theirs.
They may be in some measure unfaithful. But it is not so with the Lord Jesus. God will not take His loving-kindness from Him, for God's faithfulness will remain untouched whatever may be the failure of His people. How could He ever alter the word that has issued from His lips? Indeed, He who cannot lie has sworn to David by His holiness (v. 35).
With David's descendants, God's holiness has one effect. With the true King it has the opposite.
In this case, holiness must show itself in discipline: the character of God must be maintained.
But with Christ, the true David, there can be no failure — no breaking of covenant in His case. Here holiness itself is pledged on His behalf, for by it God has sworn to Him, and cannot recall it.
God first gave this promise in words spoken to the prophet Nathan. One writer traces it forward to the announcement made before Christ was born.
More than that, God confirmed this great covenant with His own oath (Ps. 89:35-36). And He was about to come: the Son of David in the flesh, but also David's Lord, the One who spoke these words to Nathan. Then came God's own announcement: "the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign forever and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:32-33). That throne and that kingdom He has not yet received.
Israel rejected their Messiah, and the promise of a Son on David's throne looked finished.
But Israel rejected and killed their Messiah. Humanly speaking, at this point, all was lost. But what did God do? He "raised him from among the dead, no more to return to corruption"... God had promised that David would have a descendant to sit on his throne (2 Sam. 7:16). This promise is absolutely certain, sure and unalterable. In order that it be fulfilled, God raised up Christ from among the dead.
- Sworn — God backs the promise with His own holiness. That holiness now witnesses that He will never change His word.
- Foreseen — God allowed for the failure of David's line before it happened. No human collapse can cancel the promise.
- Unmoved — people may prove unfaithful. He who cannot lie will not withdraw His loving-kindness.
- Pledged — with David's descendants, holiness showed itself in discipline. With Christ, the true David, God pledges that same holiness for Him and cannot recall it.
- Raised — Christ has not yet taken the throne. But God raised Him from the dead, so death can no longer touch the promise.
His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me;
Psalm 89 celebrates a promise God made to David, and verse 36 ties its future to the sun itself. That raises two questions: who is this offspring, and how can the promise stand when the psalm itself ends in collapse?
God gave this guarantee with failure already in view. He did not make the throne depend on the good behaviour of David's descendants. He promised it knowing they would fail.
So, for many centuries, the throne of David came to an end. Yet God had guaranteed that throne with a promise that no failure of man could ever set aside. In fact, when He gave it, God had taken the failure into account, and declared what He would do.
That promise rests on an oath God swore by His own holiness. The question is who can carry such an oath without failing.
But with Christ, the true David, there can be no failure — and so no breaking of covenant in His case. Here holiness itself is pledged on His behalf, for God has sworn to Him by it, and cannot take it back.
"His seed" is the older wording; the ESV says "offspring." Either way, it cannot mean David's natural family as history knew it. Commentators point past David to one descendant.
David's seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun (v. 36). Of course, this can refer only to the Lord Jesus, the Root and Offspring of David.
The end of the psalm makes the same point from the other side. The song of promise turns into a record of collapse.
Verses 38-51 sound a note of failure about David's seed. Anything put into the hands of men ends in sad and grievous failure. The Psalm in all its fullness and blessing waits for another Seed to fulfil it — the Lord Jesus Christ.
The comparison is not decoration. Every generation can see the sun and the moon, and they outlast every generation that sees them.
The sun and the moon last, and they witness to something that lasts longer still: the throne of the Lord Jesus. They are witnesses in the heavens, and all mankind can see them.
One writer asks whether the picture goes further still, and reads the two lights as two levels of rule.
Do the symbols used not even seem to point to the kingdom of Christ in its full sun-like glory, as He represents it? And then to those lesser thrones around the throne, like planets, where the light is only reflected, like the moon's, and yet where stability is just as certain?
A promise of an endless line runs into an obvious obstacle: men die. One writer points to the event that answers it.
The Apostle Paul preached in the synagogue at Antioch. He quoted the words "the sure mercies of David," and connected them with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. These words also connect with what we find in Psalm 89... Clearly the Psalm has in view the Son of David, of whom David was only a picture. All the mercies of the Psalm will only be proved true in Christ risen from the dead. Chief among those wonderful mercies are the forgiveness of sins and justification from all things, which Paul preached at Antioch.
Note what that does to the word "endure." It does not mean a family line surviving. It rests on a Man raised from the dead, and on mercies that begin with forgiveness.
This oath did not end with David. One writer follows it into the New Testament.
More than that, Jehovah confirmed this great covenant with an oath... He was about to come — the Son of David according to the flesh, but also David's Lord, the One who had spoken these words to the prophet Nathan. Then God announced: "the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:32-33). That throne and that kingdom He has not yet received. He fills the Father's throne in the highest heaven, but all heaven and earth wait for the appointed time when He will come again to claim His rights as king and receive the world-wide kingdom.
- Sworn. God swore an oath to David with failure already in view. No sin in the royal line can cancel the throne.
- Seed. The offspring who endures forever is not David's family line as history ran it. It is Christ, the Root and Offspring of David.
- Sure. Resurrection makes the promise sure. The mercies of David hold good only in Christ raised from the dead, and they begin with forgiveness of sins.
- Seen. Everyone can see the sun and the moon, and they outlast the people who watch them. The throne lasts longer still, with lesser thrones shining like the moon by reflected light.
- Soon. He has not yet taken David's throne. He fills the Father's throne in heaven, while heaven and earth wait for the day He comes to claim His kingdom.
It shall be established for ever as the moon, and the witness in the sky is firm. Selah.
This verse closes God's oath to David, and He points to the moon overhead as the proof. Two questions follow: whose throne is meant, and how long a "forever" measured by the moon lasts.
Earlier verses allow for a family that fails and needs the rod. The promise does not rest on that family's record.
They may be unfaithful in some measure, but it is not so with the Lord Jesus. God will not take His lovingkindness from Him. God's faithfulness will remain untouched, whatever the failure of His people may be. How could He ever alter the word that has gone out from His lips? Indeed, He who cannot lie has sworn to David by His holiness (v. 35).
Another writer draws the line inside the promise. The rod falls on David's descendants, not on the King Himself.
When His seed are in view, rather than Himself — as though there could be any doubt about Him — the necessary conditions of divine holiness appear. Yet His seed too shall be established for ever, just as His throne is unchangeable. But here God foresees failure as possible and makes provision for it. In that case, holiness must show itself in chastening: the character of God must be maintained.
The comparison is not decoration. God chose lights nobody can miss, and He promises something firmer than they are.
David's seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun (v. 36). Of course, this can refer only to the Lord Jesus, the Root and Offspring of David. The sun and the moon last, and they witness to the greater durability of the throne of the Lord Jesus — witnesses in the heavens, seen by all mankind.
The psalm does not end on this high note. It soon turns to a throne cast down, and that turn shows where the fulfilment lies.
A note of failure is sounded in verses 38–51, concerning David's seed. Anything entrusted to the hands of men ends in sad and grievous failure. The psalm, in its fulness and blessing, waits to be fulfilled in another Seed, the Lord Jesus Christ.
David's throne was set up on earth as a witness to God's authority. The One who takes that throne up again carries the same title.
The throne and kingdom of David passed to his son Solomon, so that he might hold them as glorious in the eyes of the nations. So the throne of David became a second witness of God's authority and power on earth. But the house of David, like Israel before it, quickly corrupted itself… So the Lord has been left without a proper and appointed witness to His glory as Lord of the earth. But Scripture tells us at length that Israel is to revive as though from their present state of death. Israel will be established by Christ and under Christ (who is the Faithful Witness to the glory of the Father) in the person, and with all the rights, of "Son of David."
Commentators differ on how far this "for ever" reaches. Some read the sun and moon as a picture of a rule that never ends. One writer points out that the wording is tied to created things, and so to the limits of time.
How is the length of the blessing defined? "Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies." The wording is all the more striking because it is applied to something eternal, according to full New Testament revelation. That is the throne, which never passes from David's Son, though He gives it up as man to take it as "God all in all." Yet even where the blessing is eternal in itself, the language used does not go beyond the outermost limit of time.
The heavenly comparisons also open the door to a wider company than Israel.
The stability of His throne is assured again. The comparisons used carry our thoughts as Christians up to the heavens, where that throne belongs. There a glorious fulfilment of this seed will also be found, in the days all this points forward to. Then the thrones around the Throne will hold a company John foresees in the Spirit and pictures for us — a company who cast their crowns at the feet of the Lamb.
- Sworn — God swore by His own holiness. He cannot lie, so the throne does not rest on David's family record.
- Chastened — the covenant allowed for failure. The rod falls on the descendants, but the promise still stands.
- Witnessed — sun and moon are public guarantees. The throne they point to lasts longer than they do.
- Fulfilled — verses 38–51 show the throne cast down. The promise waits on another Seed, the Lord Jesus, the Root and Offspring of David.
- Shared — the comparisons lift the eye past Israel to the thrones around the Throne, where a company casts their crowns before the Lamb.