Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

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Psalm 89

What should I learn from this chapter?

• King David as a representative of Jesus
• Satan as the Leviathan, Egypt, Rahab
• The Arm, Hand, and Finger of God
• Jesus as the Creator
• Symbolism of “the Sea” and the “raging Sea”
• Definitions of Justice, Truth, Mercy, and Righteousness.
• What God’s “Holy Oil” is
• The Highest King

Ethan was a singer at King David’s court well known for his wisdom.

Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon theorised that this was the same person as Jeduthun.
Theologian John Gill refers to a Jewish tradition which identifies Ethan with Abraham, Heman with Moses, and Chalcol with Joseph.

Ethan means strong and optimistic, solid and enduring, permanent.

He was a standard of wisdom to whom King Solomon is compared favorably.

A “son of Kishi” or “Kishaiah,” of the Merarite branch of Levites, and also, with Heman and Asaph, placed by King David over the service of song (1 Chronicles 6:44; 1 Chronicles 15:17, 19).

An ancestor of Asaph of the Gershonite branch of the Levites (1 Chronicles 6:42).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_(biblical_figure)

Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings

A Contemplation (Heb. Maschil) of Ethan the Ezrahite.

Psalm 89:¹ I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 89:² For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”

Psalm 89:³ “I have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have sworn to My servant David:

Psalm 89:⁴ ‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne to all generations.’ ” Selah

• Note: David’s seed is the Messiah Jesus who will reign on David’s throne forever.

Psalm 89:⁵ And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.

Psalm 89:⁶ For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?

Psalm 89:⁷ God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.

Psalm 89:⁸ O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

Psalm 89:⁹ You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.

• ► The word “sea” is symbolic of a sea of people. When the sea “rages” it is because their is the presence of a sea monster, the Leviathan, Satan who causes the sea to boil (rage, stew, fret, worry, fear, etc)

• Wind and Wave Obey Jesus
  • ^{Matthew 8:23-27 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be (what sort of man is this?), that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”}

• ►@ Moral of the Story
  When you feel anxiety in your life, it is because Satan is there, stirring up your relationships, your thoughts, and your emotions. You may be in the storm, but so is Jesus and He can stop the turmoil.

• ^{Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one (Satan). For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.}

Psalm 89:¹⁰ You have broken Rahab (Egypt) (Leviathan) in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

• Note: Rahab is the Leviathan. Throughout scripture, the Leviathan is Satan, the king over the children of pride.
• Strong’s h7294 sea monster, Leviathan – emblematic name of Egypt
• Egypt is symbolic of worldliness. In Psalm 89:10 the concept of Satan and worldliness are tied together.
• The Leviathan dwells in a sea of people
• This verse is prophetic of Jesus’ second return, when He returns with the saints. The Antichrist is indwelt by Satan the Leviathan. The Antichrist/Leviathan is destroyed.
  • Psalm 74:14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
    • The people inhabiting the wilderness are the remnant of Jews who have escaped from the massive annihilating goal of the Antichrist.
    • ^{Revelation 12:14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.}
  • Isaiah 27:1 -Israel Will Be Restored – In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.
    • Satan is always referred to in scripture as a reptile: serpent, Leviathan, dragon, sea monster, crocodile in Egypt’s Nile, and Beast.
    • See Topic: The Many Faces of Satan. When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.

Psalm 89:¹¹ The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.

• For more study on creation and the Creator:
  • Click here to see Topic: Jesus as the Creator. When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.
  • Click here to see Bible: John 1. When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.
  • Click here to see Bible: Psalm 104. When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.
  • Click here to see Bible: Psalm 148. When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.
  • Click here to see Bible: Psalm 102. When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.

Psalm 89:¹² The north and the south, You have created them;
(Mt. Tabor) and (Mt. Hermon) rejoice in Your name.

• From the Targum aka Tanakh in the king’s Bible:

“the desert of the north, and the inhabitants of the south, thou hast created; Tabor on the west, and Hermon on the east, praise in thy name.”

^{See Mt. Tabor and Mt. Hermon
~ Betty Robertson}

Psalm 89:¹³ You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.

• God’s mighty Arm is Jesus who does the work of the Father.
• To be a person’s “right” hand is to be in the strongest position.

Psalm 89:¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.

• Truth = unedited reality
• Mercy = combination of forgiveness with nurturing
• Justice = to make all things right (evened)
• Righteousness = Upright, Straight up, Not deviating from absolute Truth.

• If you are going to have Truth, you had better have Mercy because Truth is toxic to a sinner and mercy is the antidote. Furthermore; there is no Justice without Righteousness.

• Abraham Lincoln “No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar”

Psalm 89:¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.

Psalm 89:¹⁶ In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.

Psalm 89:¹⁷ For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our horn (Strength) is exalted.

• The word “horn” is symbolic of the power of strong leaders. Jesus is God’s anointed leader of the Jews and there is none of greater strength.

Psalm 89:¹⁸ For our shield (protection) belongs to the Lord,
And our king (The office of the kingship) to the Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 89:¹⁹ Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one (holy ones),
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.

• David is the one God chose for the people to represent Himself. As such, David is a representation of the Jewish one and only King to come who will rule over the Jews at His second coming, Jesus.

Psalm 89:²⁰ I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed Him,

• Now, and Heretofore; “Him” is referring not only to King David, but to Jesus when He reigns as King in Jerusalem during the millennium (1,000 year reign). Metaphorically, “Like David” … “also Jesus”.
  • 

• God’s “holy oil” is His Holy Spirit represented by the olive oil squeezed out in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus poured out His soul in a garden of olive trees.
  • ^{Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.}
  • ^{Luke 4:17 And when He (Jesus) had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”}
  • ^{Luke 1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.}

• The literal pouring of olive oil for anointing was reserved for kings and priests.

Psalm 89:²¹ With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.

• God’s Hand, with His fingers, is the Holy Spirit. The Arm of the Lord, specifically, God’s right arm, is Jesus, the Son and Prince of the Godhead.
  • ^{Exodus 31:18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.}
  • ^{Exodus 8:19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.}
  • ^{Psalm 8:3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,}
  • ^{Daniel 5:5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.}
  • ^{Luke 11:20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.}
  • ^{John 8:6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.}

Psalm 89:²² The enemy shall not outwit (Or: exact usury from him) him,
Nor the son of wickedness (Satan) afflict him.

Psalm 89:²³ I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.

Psalm 89:²⁴ “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn (power) shall be exalted.

• ^{Faithfulness = Being full of faith is believing that God has more to offer the believer than the world does.}
• ^{Mercy = forgiveness with nurturing}

Psalm 89:²⁵ Also I will set his hand over the sea (of people),
And his right hand over the rivers.

Psalm 89:²⁶ He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the Rock of my Salvation.’

SALVATION:

• ^{For a deeper understanding of Salvation See Topic: The Meaning of Salvation. When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.}

Salvation literally means Yeshua (in Hebrew) (pronounced yesh-oo’-aw)
or Jesus (in Greek):

• h3468 יִשְׁעֶֽךָ  יֵשַׁע yēšaʿ
  • yeshaʻ, yeh’-shah; or יֵשַׁע yêshaʻ; from H3467; liberty, deliverance, prosperity:—safety, salvation, saving.
• H3467 – yāšaʿto be open, wide or free.
  • 
• h3444 לִֽישׁוּעָתְךָ  יְשׁוּעָה yᵊšûʿâ
  • yesh-oo’-aw יְשׁוּעָה yᵉshûwʻâh, yesh-oo’-aw; feminine passive participle of H3467; something saved, i.e. (abstractly) deliverance; hence, aid, victory, prosperity:—deliverance, health, help(-ing), salvation, save, saving (health), welfare.

ROCK:

Jesus is called: Foundation Stone, Capstone, Stone of healing and Stone of stumbling, the Rock the wise man built his house upon and The Rock who followed the Hebrews through the wilderness when they left Egypt.

Rock/Stone = Stability

For a deeper understanding of Rock: Click here to see: Topic: Jesus as a Rock and a Stone. When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.

Psalm 89:²⁷ Also I will make him (Him) My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.

• Firstborn
  • See Topic: First, Firstborn, Firstfruits, Birthright
• Highest of kings: A prophecy of Jesus’ millennial kingdom on earth:
  • Numbers 24:7 He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
    • The names “Agag” and “Gog” are identical. Agag means Gog.
    • The meaning of the name “Agag” means “lifted” or “highest”.
    • It is a pun in the wording of the name “higher than Agag” meaning “higher than the highest”

Psalm 89:²⁸ My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.

• Mercy = forgiveness with nurturing
• Covenant = oath

Psalm 89:²⁹ His seed (descendants) also I will make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

• Note: David’s seed is the Messiah Jesus who will reign on David’s throne forever.
• Jesus’ seed are the saints/believers who have become His children.

Psalm 89:³⁰ “If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,

• The word “If” points to a conditional agreement/oath/covenant signaling a two-way agreement. “If you do this…then I will do that” and conversely “If you don’t do this…then I will NOT do that (good thing)”, furthermore, “If you don’t do this…then I WILL do that (bad thing) (the consequence)”.

Psalm 89:³¹ If they break (profane) My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,

Psalm 89:³² Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.

• The word “then” signals the follow through or consequence.

Psalm 89:³³ Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take (Lit. break off) from him,
Nor allow (Lit. deal falsely with My faithfulness) My faithfulness to fail.

Psalm 89:³⁴ My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

Psalm 89:³⁵ Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:

Psalm 89:³⁶ His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;

Psalm 89:³⁷ It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

• The moon symbolically is a “faithful witness”. It is also symbolic of gentile believers.
  • See Jacob’s Two Wives: Rachel and Leah.
    • When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.
  • See Joseph’s dreams of the Sun, the Moon, and the twelve stars.
    • When the pop-up appears click on the link at the top of the pop-up.

• God will never, ever, ever forsake the Jews entirely. They will bear the consequences of their rejection of Him, but God will work with them until finally, they all become believers of His Son. Ultimately, it will take a Seven Year Tribulation when they are about to be annihilated to turn them around. Then Jesus will return to earth to fight on their behalf.
  • Zechariah 12:10 Mourning for the Pierced One – “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
  • Hosea 5:15b Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

• Only if the sun falls out of the sky will God cast off His Jewish children forever:
  • Jeremiah 31:35 Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name):
  • Jeremiah 31:36 “If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.”

Psalm 89:³⁸ But You have cast off and abhorred (rejected),
You have been furious with Your anointed (Commissioned one, Heb. messiah.)

Psalm 89:³⁹ You have renounced the covenant (oath) of Your servant;
You have profaned (defiled) his crown by casting it to the ground.

Psalm 89:⁴⁰ You have broken down all his hedges (protections);
You have brought his strongholds (fortresses) to ruin.

Psalm 89:⁴¹ All who pass by the way plunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.

Psalm 89:⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.

Psalm 89:⁴³ You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.

Psalm 89:⁴⁴ You have made his glory (splendor or brightness) cease,
And cast his (the Jewish) throne down to the ground.

Psalm 89:⁴⁵ The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame. Selah

Psalm 89:⁴⁶ How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?

• During the Seven Years of Tribulation, the saints of the dead under the altar of God ask the same question:
  • Revelation 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Psalm 89:⁴⁷ Remember how short my time is;
For what futility have You created all the children of men?

Psalm 89:⁴⁸ What man can live and not see (experience) death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave (Or Sheol)? Selah

Psalm 89:⁴⁹ Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses,
Which You swore to David in Your truth?

Psalm 89:⁵⁰ Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants—
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,

Psalm 89:⁵¹ With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed (Commissioned one, Heb. messiah.)

Psalm 89:⁵² Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.

• Amen and Amen means: Let it be so, Let it be so.