Greetings!
Here’s a summary of the Bible study on December 1.
Believing the Promise but… (Psalm 89)
Last December, we finished a Bible study series called “God’s Promise for the Nations.” In that series, we considered a series of connected promises of God. Knowing about these promises helps us to understand God’s plan and purpose for His creation. And believing these promises brings us vision, encouragement and hope. Psalm 89 focuses on one of these promises.
Praise
Psalm 89 begins with praise. The psalmist says, “I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations” (v. 1, ESV). The psalmist speaks of God “faithfulness” and “steadfast love” again and again (vv. 1, 2, 5, 8, 14, 24, 28, 33). These attributes go together and are usually connected to God’s promises or covenants.
A “covenant” can be defined as “an agreement between two parties that defines a relationship in which obligations or mutual responsibilities may be enacted.” God made several covenants in the Bible (which we studied in “God’s Promise for that Nations”). It is God who sets the terms for his covenants, and he is faithful to keep them. He is faithful to fulfill his promises.
Promise
The specific covenant mentioned in Psalm 89 is God’s “covenant with David” (vv. 3-4), also called His “promise to David.” David was the great king of Israel who reigned 1010-970 BC. God’s covenant with David is found in 2 Samuel 7:8-16.
Briefly stated, God promised that He would establish a “house” for David (that is, a line of descendants, a dynasty). He would raise up David’s offspring to succeed him as king, and He would establish his kingdom. God promised that David’s house and kingdom would endure forever. He also said David’s successor would build a house for the LORD’s name.
The “forever” part of God’s promise (2 Samuel 7:13, 16) is repeatedly emphasized in Psalm 89 (vv. 1, 2, 4, 28, 29, 36). The psalmist (and other ancient Jews) believed that God would “establish [David’s] line forever and make [his] throne firm through all generations” (v. 4).
Belief
The first 37 verses of Psalm 89 express the psalmist’s firm belief. He speaks of God’s sovereign, powerful rule over His creation, characterized by His righteousness, justice, love, and faithfulness (vv. 9-18). He speaks of God giving David strength and victory over his enemies (vv. 19-27). David’s success was not his own. It was God who made him “the highest of the kings of the earth” (v. 27).
Again and again, the psalmist declares God’s faithfulness to his covenant with David. Reflecting God’s promise, the psalmist writes, “I will maintain my love to [David] forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure (vv. 28-29, NIV).
The psalmist also reflects God’s warnings, which are part of his covenant. If David’s offspring (descendants) forsake God’s law, they will be punished (vv. 30-32; 2 Samuel 7:14). But God will not take away his love from David’s offspring (v. 33; 2 Samuel 7:15). Reflecting God’s promise, the psalmist writes, “[David’s] line will continue forever” (v. 36, NIV).
But…
In verse 38, the psalm takes a surprising turn. The psalmist writes, “But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust” (vv. 38-39). Thus begins the “lament.”
The “laments” in the Psalms are primarily defined by their mood. Typically, the psalmist cries out to God when experiencing great distress, realizing he has nowhere to turn but to God (Tremper Longman, How to Read the Psalms, 26). Longman lists three types of laments: 1) the psalmist may be troubled as a result of his own thoughts and actions; 2) he may complain about the actions of others (‘enemies’) against him or God’s people; 3) he may be frustrated by God himself.
In Psalm 89, the psalmist is apparently facing “the conflict of faith and experience” (W. Dennis Tucker, Jr. & Jamie Grant, The NIV Application Commentary: Psalms – Vol. 2, 323). This “conflict” is seen in the contrast between verses 21-27 and verses 40-45.
Verses 21-23 declare strength and victory for David, while verses 40-41 speak of his vulnerability and defeat. Verse 24 declares the exaltation of David’s strength, while verse 42 speaks of the exaltation of his enemies’ strength. Verse 27 declares the exaltation of David’s rule, while verse 44 says, “You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground.”
In verse 46, the psalmist cries out, “How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?” What’s behind this lament? What has happened? Why is there an apparent “conflict of faith and experience?” Psalm 89 was apparently completed after Jerusalem was destroyed and David’s dynasty ceased.
God had warned the Israelites. If they disobeyed Him and turned to other gods and worshiped them, they would be cursed, uprooted from the land, and cast into another land (Deuteronomy 29:9-28). And that’s what happened. The kingdom was torn in two in 931 BC and the northern kingdom (Israel) was later destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC. The southern kingdom (Judah) continued to be ruled by the descendants of David, as God had promised. But Judah was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, and the Davidic dynasty ceased.
So, under these conditions, how could David’s line “continue forever?” Didn’t God say his covenant with David would “never fail?” “The psalmist believed this promise, but he now faces a historical reality that contradicts his beliefs” (Tucker & Grant, 322).
Application to Us
Does our experience ever seem to conflict with what we have believed, or hoped for, based on the Bible’s teaching, especially in relation to God’s promises? Do we ever feel like saying, “How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?” (Psalm 89:46; cp. Psalm 13:1) Do we ever cry out to God, asking questions like “how long…”, “why…”, or “have you rejected…”; or pleading with Him, “have mercy on me,” “hear me,” “rescue me,” or “vindicate me”?
At least one third of the Psalms express lament. They are in the Bible for a reason, and we can be helped by reading them, and praying through the laments that relate to our situations. In Psalm 89, the psalmist didn’t give up on God. He believed God’s faithfulness and steadfast love, but he cried out to God as a human confused or frustrated by his observations and experience.
As believers, in our times of trouble, distress, confusion, or frustration, God already knows what we are thinking and feeling. Why not cry out to God, laying our emotions before him? As true believers, we know there is nowhere else to turn. He is our loving and gracious Father! When our faith is being tested, we can cry out, “strengthen my faith, Lord!”, as we hold on to Him.
(If you aren’t a believer, I encourage you to cry out to God in another way. As you continue to read, consider, and experience the Bible’s teaching, pray, “Help me to understand. Help me to see, believe, and respond.” I did this for a long time before I was a believer. Keep seeking!)
Laments can be a fresh reminder of who God is, and what he has promised. They can lead us to greater assurance of God’s faithfulness and love, and deeper intimacy with Him. Laments can remind us of our constant need of God’s provision; and stimulate us to pray for his actions. They can be opportunities to participate in the pain of others, showing our concern and solidarity with others who are suffering, consistent with our love for one another and our neighbor.
One more thing. Laments can lead us to praise.
Doxology & Resolution
After 14 verses of lament, Psalm 89 ends with praise: “Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen” (v. 52). But questions remain. What about God’s promise to David? What about David’s line being established forever? In what way does God’s covenant “never fail”? Come back next Sunday for our final lesson in this study series, and we’ll see!
Your Servant,
Jay