Psalm 89
This is a very long psalm. It is thought to have been written after the fall of the Davidic Dynasty when it seemed God had rejected His people.
The psalm starts with verses of praise. The psalmist proclaims that he will sing of God’s great love forever and teach the generations about God’s great love. He recounts instances of God’s intervention in the path of His people as they occupied Israel and became a mighty nation. He recounts how God anointed David to be King and made a covenant with him for his dynasty to reign forever. But he also recounts how the covenant terms were that David and his descendants were to remain faithful to God in order for that to happen. Then the psalm changes.
Now the psalmist is horrified that God has rejected the covenant and destroyed Jerusalem. Great has been the fall of the people of God. God is no longer with them when they go out to battle and the people are ashamed.
As I read this psalm I was reminded of the current COVID-19 pandemic that is proving so disruptive and for some, deadly. Many people are facing financial ruin as businesses close and customers keep away. People are frightened as well. Will they catch the infection? Will they be one of the ones who is killed by it? What will the future hold? Will they lose their financial security? Is this the beginning of end times? Will our world as we know it cease to exist?
This bewilderment is echoed in the second half of this psalm. For many it seems that God, who has showered blessings on them, has departed and is now leaving them to suffer and be destroyed.
There is one important line in this psalm I have not yet mentioned. It is the last verse. It holds the key to our need to wait in the uncertainty as so many of the psalms describe and to have faith in God. To trust that joy will return. Maybe there will be moments of joy now.
The important thing to do is to never forget:
“Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen” v52 NIV
