“I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever, and build up your throne to all generations.” (vv.3-4)
Here in psalm 89, the psalmist recalls an amazing promise given to David by God. It established a covenant with David that his offspring would reign forever! But in looking at Israel’s current state, the psalmist asks the question, “Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David” (v.49)? What led to this seemingly lack of faith?
After Zerubbabel, no prince of the house of David sat on his throne, or had temporal sway over Israel and the kingdom split in two. The Northern Kingdom of Israel would fall to Assyria, and later the Southern Kingdom of Judah would fall to Babylon. The descendants of David then sank into obscurity, and so remained for five centuries. It seemed as though God’s Word was unsure.
However, God had not removed his steadfast love or faithfulness, nor had he broken his covenant. An offspring would come from David’s line (see Matthew 1) who will reign forevermore over the people of God… Jesus. In Jesus Christ (of the seed of David), every pledge made to David was fulfilled. The Psalmist would never see this in his lifetime, and it would be hundreds of years before the first coming of Christ as prophesied (see Isaiah 9:6-7). But, even among all the questions he raised before the Lord in this psalm, the psalmist remained steadfast in his hope of the faithfulness of God (v.52).
Likewise, amidst all our pain and suffering in this life (which we’ve been told will come, John 16:33, 1 Peter 4:12), we too must remain steadfast in our trust in God’s Word. And even though we can not understand our current trials, we can look to His track-record and see His faithfulness shining through in our lives and know that He is faithful.
The Truth: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
