Psalm 89

Psalm 89 begins by praising God for His promise---His love---and His kindness.

God made a promise to David that his family would always be on the throne as kings. Kings forever.

Then the psalms has more words of praise for all the good things God has done.

Then in verse 19, again it tells how God spoke to a prophet/preacher in the Old Testament and told him that David’s family would always sit on the throne.

David tells how God promised to be with him and help him.

Verse 28, God promised, "I will love him forever, and be kind to him always, my promise will never end." David will always have an heir to sit on the throne. His throne will be without end.

Verse 30-32, If David’s children will not obey God’s laws, God will punish them, but God will never take away His loving kindness from them. God will never let His promise fail.

God will not break His promise. He will not take back one word. David’s throne will be eternal.

Verse 38, David asks: Why are You (God) angry with the one You chose as king? Why have You put me away from You?

You have thrown my crown in the dirt. You have broken down the walls that protected me. You have broken down the forts where I could defend myself.

Everyone who comes along robs me. They laugh at me.

You have made my enemies strong against me. You have let me lose the battle.

You have taken away my glory as king and upset my throne.

You have made me old before my time, and made me ashamed before my people.

Oh, God, How long will this go on?

Will You hide Yourself from me forever?

How long will Your anger burn?

God, remember that man’s life is short. Have You given man an empty useless life?

No man will live forever---we will all die. Who can save him from the grave?

Lord, where is the love you used to have for me? Where is the kindness that You promised to me?

Lord, see how all the people hate me. People joke about me, the one You anointed as king.

Then the psalm ends with these words, "Blessed be the Lord forever."

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David is having a hard time! He feels like God has left him. Everything is going wrong. David is a king, a leader in battle. People look up to him. He is respected. He has honor.

Now things have not gone as David had hoped. He has failed. His enemies are laughing. David is ashamed. He is discouraged.

David comes to God and tells Him all he is feeling.

Sometimes we think we have to keep all our unhappy, sad, discouraged feelings to ourselves. But we can speak them all to God. He will listen.

David felt that because God gave him a promise that his family would be king down the family line forever-----that God would save David from these problems he is having.

David is in great sorrow of spirit. He is feeling very bad about things.

He is feels that God has let him down.

We can understand how David feels. We have done the same. When bad things have happened, we feel that God has let us down.

David reminds God of all His promises. David reminds God of His big promise for all of David’s family to be kings down the family line.

How can God make a promise like that then let all these awful bad things happen to him?

As we read many of the psalms, we see how David comes to God over and over and tells God how he feels. David is never embarrassed to tell God how he feels upset, sad, discouraged, or feeling bad about God.

David is honest. This is the best way for God to be able to speak to David. David opens his heart to God. God meets David where he is.

God does not scold David and tell him to be quiet. God gently leads David to better thoughts and back to faith.

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We may wonder about God’s promise to David about his family being kings forever.

Years after David was king, the nation of Israel came to an end for hundreds of years. They were ruled by other countries. Today Israel is a nation again----since 1948---but they do not have a king.

Did God lie? Where is the son of David as a king?

Jesus is a son of David. Jesus’ family line from his mother and his earthly father are part of David’s family line…..the tribe of Judah.

Jesus is alive now in heaven. He will come to earth again the second time. When Jesus comes the second time, He will rule as the king over the whole earth. Jesus will be the King forever.

God’s promises are wider and bigger than we can see. When God gives us a promise, we get a picture in our mind of what that will be. When it does not happen in the way we expect it, we begin to think that God is not keeping His promise.

God will keep His promise to David. David will be full of joy to see that Jesus, the Savior of the world, was one of his sons.

God is not done yet. David will his God’s promise as true.

God is not done with us. We will see---if we stay faithful---that God’s promise will be true for us, too.

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David ends the psalm with "Blessed be the Lord forever." No matter how David was feeling at the time, down deep David knew and made a choice to believe----The Lord is worthy of praise and I will praise Him."

Let us make the same choice. Let us decide---no matter what we may feel when we are having a bad time of things---let us give God praise. He is always and forever worthy of our praise.

Praise will change the way we feel quicker than anything else.

God’s promise will come true, but it may come in a different package than we expect.