Sharper Iron — Time in the Psalms - Psalm 89: Remember, O LORD, Your Promise to David

Psalm 89 begins by praying to the LORD as the incomparable Creator of all things. He stills the mightiest forces in all creation by His mighty hand, and His people are blessed. That blessedness is seen especially in the LORD’s steadfast promises to David and his son. Yet the people of God lament that the line of David seems to have withered under God’s judgment, and so they pray that the LORD would remember His steadfast love and bring an end to the mockery of His anointed one. Through the promises spoken by the LORD in this psalm, the coming of Jesus Christ as the Son of David is foretold.

Rev. Mark Squire, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Ansgar, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 89.

To learn more about Immanuel Lutheran, visit www.immanuelsta.org.

Join Sharper Iron this summer to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund. Together in faith, LCEF helps to start, sustain and strengthen LCMS ministries through financial and strategic partnerships. Visit lcef.org.

Psalm 89

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord

A Maskil^[a] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

89 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever;
    with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
²For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
    in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
³You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
    I have sworn to David my servant:
⁴‘I will establish your offspring forever,
    and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

⁵Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
    your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
⁶For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
    Who among the heavenly beings^[b] is like the Lord,
⁷a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
    and awesome above all who are around him?
⁸O Lord God of hosts,
    who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
    with your faithfulness all around you?
⁹You rule the raging of the sea;
    when its waves rise, you still them.
¹⁰You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
    you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
¹¹The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
    the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
¹²The north and the south, you have created them;
    Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
¹³You have a mighty arm;
    strong is your hand, high your right hand.
¹⁴Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
¹⁵Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
    who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
¹⁶who exult in your name all the day
    and in your righteousness are exalted.
¹⁷For you are the glory of their strength;
    by your favor our horn is exalted.
¹⁸For our shield belongs to the Lord,
    our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,^[c] and said:
    “I have granted help to one who is mighty;
    I have exalted one chosen from the people.
²⁰I have found David, my servant;
    with my holy oil I have anointed him,
²¹so that my hand shall be established with him;
    my arm also shall strengthen him.
²²The enemy shall not outwit him;
    the wicked shall not humble him.
²³I will crush his foes before him
    and strike down those who hate him.
²⁴My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
    and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
²⁵I will set his hand on the sea
    and his right hand on the rivers.
²⁶He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
    my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
²⁷And I will make him the firstborn,
    the highest of the kings of the earth.
²⁸My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
    and my covenant will stand firm^[d] for him.
²⁹I will establish his offspring forever
    and his throne as the days of the heavens.
³⁰If his children forsake my law
    and do not walk according to my rules,^[e]
³¹if they violate my statutes
    and do not keep my commandments,
³²then I will punish their transgression with the rod
    and their iniquity with stripes,
³³but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
    or be false to my faithfulness.
³⁴I will not violate my covenant
    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
³⁵Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
    I will not lie to David.
³⁶His offspring shall endure forever,
    his throne as long as the sun before me.
³⁷Like the moon it shall be established forever,
    a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

³⁸But now you have cast off and rejected;
    you are full of wrath against your anointed.
³⁹You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
    you have defiled his crown in the dust.
⁴⁰You have breached all his walls;
    you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
⁴¹All who pass by plunder him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
⁴²You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
    and you have not made him stand in battle.
⁴⁴You have made his splendor to cease
    and cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵You have cut short the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with shame. Selah

⁴⁶How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷Remember how short my time is!
    For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
⁴⁸What man can live and never see death?
    Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

⁴⁹Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
    which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
⁵⁰Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
    and how I bear in my heart the insults^[f] of all the many nations,
⁵¹with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
    with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

⁵²Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

Footnotes

Psalm 89:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 89:6 Hebrew the sons of God, or the sons of might
Psalm 89:19 Some Hebrew manuscripts godly ones
Psalm 89:28 Or will remain faithful
Psalm 89:30 Or my just decrees
Psalm 89:50 Hebrew lacks the insults

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).