Bless the Lord – Amen and Amen – Psalm 89:24-52

“But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with Him, and in My Name His horn shall be exalted.” Psalm 89:24

God’s mercy and faithfulness have been secured for believers in Christ. God entrusted the administration of His covenant promises to Christ. All divine mercy flows through Him, and all God’s promises are guaranteed in Him. This is why Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that all the promises of God are “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ. [1]

Christ is therefore the great Trustee and Mediator between God and humanity. The covenant stands firm because it rests upon Him, not upon the faithfulness of sinful people. [2]

“Also I will set His hand over the sea, and His right hand over the rivers.” Psalm 89:25

David’s earthly kingdom was limited but Christ’s kingdom is worldwide. David's rule reached the borders of Israel, but Christ's kingdom extends to every nation and will ultimately encompass the whole earth when as Revelation 11:15 says, “The kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.” [3]

“He shall cry to Me, ‘You are My Father, My God, and the rock of My salvation.’” Psalm 89:26

During His earthly ministry, Jesus addressed God as His Father and submitted to His will. [4]

“Also I will make Him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” Psalm 89:27

This verse is fulfilled in Christ, who is the Firstborn over all creation and the heir of all things. He is exalted above every earthly king and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. [5]

“My mercy I will keep for Him forever, and My covenant shall stand firm with Him. His seed also I will make to endure forever, and His throne as the days of heaven.” Psalm 89:28-29

Historically, this passage refers to David’s descendants who occupied Judah’s throne. Spiritually, it refers to Christ. Christ’s spiritual seed will endure forever. Though generations pass away, Christ will always have people who worship and serve Him. [6]

“If His sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, if they break My statutes and do not keep My commandments, then I will visit their transgression with the rod, and their perversity with afflictions.” Psalm 89:30-32

God does not ignore disobedience. He disciplines His children. The rod symbolizes correction and fatherly care, not His rejection. The Lord corrects perversity with afflictions to spare us from living in bondage to it, and to help us avoid its wages, namely eternal death. [7]

“Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from Him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail.” Psalm 89:33

Even when God’s people fail, His covenant remains secure. Their sins may bring discipline, but they cannot nullify God’s promises. Their stability is God’s faithfulness to them in Messiah. [8]

“My covenant I will not break, nor alter the Word that has gone out of My lips.” Psalm 89:34

Because Christ is the Mediator and guarantor of the covenant, God’s people can be confident that His mercy will never depart from them. [9]

“Once I have sworn by My holiness. I will not lie to David. His Seed shall endure forever, and His throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky. Selah!” Psalm 89:35-37

Our durability is in Christ (the Seed) rather than in ourselves. We may stumble and require God’s discipline, but God’s covenant of mercy remains steadfast. The Church will endure as surely as the sun and moon continue in the heavens because Christ sustains us. [10]

“But You have cast off and abhorred, You have been furious with Your Anointed.” Psalm 89:38

After celebrating God’s covenant with David and the certainty of His promises, Ethan turns to the painful reality that the Davidic kingdom appears to be collapsing. The contrast between God’s promises and Israel’s circumstances seem irreconcilable. [11]

“You have renounced the covenant of Your Servant. You have profaned His crown by casting it to the ground. You have broken down all His hedges. You have brought His strongholds to ruin. All who pass by the way plunder Him. He is a reproach to His neighbors. You have exalted the right hand of His adversaries. You have made all His enemies rejoice. You have also turned back the edge of His sword and have not sustained Him in the battle. You have made His glory cease and cast His throne down to the ground. The days of His youth You have shortened. You have covered Him with shame. Selah!” Psalm 89:39-45

Ethan struggles to reconcile God’s promised steadfast love and an enduring throne to David's descendants with what he sees. The royal house now appeared rejected, humiliated, and abandoned. From a human perspective, it seemed that God had made void His covenant.

The covenant with David remained intact when Jesus hung on the cross. It appeared that God had cast Him off, yet His suffering fulfilled God’s covenant of redemption. [12]

Ethan describes to God several aspects of David’s kingdom’s demise. The picture he paints with words is one of humiliation. He attributes the losses to God. He says, “You have” allowed enemies to prosper, defenses to fail, and the kingdom to weaken. This abandonment is a foreshadowing of what Christ would experience on the cross. [13]

I’m glad that the Lord limits Satan’s attacks on us. In Job 1:9-11, Satan doubted the sincerity of Job’s faith. He asked the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

The Lord did not turn His hand against Job, but did allow Satan to do so. In Job 1:12, the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only do not lay a hand on his person.”

In Job 2:3-6, the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” So, Satan suggested that if Job’s body were afflicted, he would surely curse God to His face. The Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” Satan afflicted Job with boils.

Praise God! He did not allow Job’s faith in Him to fade. In Job 1:10, we read, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

In Luke 22:31-32, the Lord said to Peter, “Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail. When you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” The Lord upheld Peter’s faith in Him despite Satan’s goal to steal it.

In John 19:11, Jesus said to Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

In 1 Corinthians 4:9, Paul wrote, “For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death. For we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.” Apostles, prophets and Christ all suffered for the sake of helping others come to God.

The earthly throne of David seemed to disappear, but God preserved His promise until the coming of Messiah Jesus. Earthly crowns fall, but Christ’s kingdom endures forever, and those who belong to Him will receive an unfading crown of glory. [14]

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

Ethan grieves due to the seeming withdrawal of God’s presence. Like Jesus, in Matthew 27:46, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

God’s wrath felt like fire. Ethan’s lament expressed faith in the God who empathizes with pain.

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

Life is brief, uncertain, and swiftly passing away. He asks God not to allow an entire lifetime to be consumed by misery. [15]

“What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? Selah!” Psalm 89:48

Every person must face death. No strength, wealth, or position can deliver anyone from the grave, but God can extend our life on earth so that we may continue to witness for Him.

This passage also points beyond the grave. If earthly life were all there is, human existence might seem vain. But God’s covenant promise assures believers that there is a future beyond death, giving meaning to life even amid suffering. [16]

“Lord, where are Your former loving kindnesses, which You swore to David in Your truth?” Psalm 89:49

This is not an accusation but an appeal to God’s faithfulness. Ethan asks God to act consistently with His covenant. What God has promised, He will fulfill in His perfect time. [17]

“Remember Lord the reproach of Your servants—how I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples, with which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord, with which they have reproached the footsteps of Your Anointed.” Psalm 89:50-51

The enemies of God’s people mocked them and ridiculed His anointed king. These reproaches were especially painful because they reflected upon God’s honor. Ethan carries these insults “in his bosom,” feeling their weight personally. The enemies were not merely attacking Israel. They were challenging God’s purposes and promises. [18]

Just as ancient scoffers mocked God’s promises concerning David’s kingdom, end-time scoffers mock the coming of Christ, asking in 2 Peter 3:4, “Where is the promise of His coming?” God’s people have often endured reproach while waiting for the fulfillment of His promises.

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

With no visible answer in sight, the throne cast down and enemies mocking, Ethan still blessed God. His double “Amen” expressed love for God amid contrary circumstances. Like Job, he did not sin with his lips. When all was said and done, he continued to bless the Lord. By God’s grace, Ethan is in heaven now blessing the Lord forevermore. “Amen and Amen!”


[1-18] Material edited and modified from Matthew Henry’s Commentary