Psalm 89: Covenant

Have you ever felt two different ways about one thing? Possibly excited at first, but then scared as the moment nears, confident in the beginning, but insecure near the end, filled with faith on the first step but then overtaken with doubt as the journey continues. I have definitely been there, and I am probably there in some area of my life at this very moment. If you are right there with me, we are not alone. We see it in Abraham’s life, in Elijah’s, in Mary and Martha’s and in Peter’s, but I am not sure we see it anywhere more starkly than in Psalm 89, one song about one topic but with two very different, even opposing parts. I know we like to say that faith and fear cannot exist together, but sometimes, for faith to grow, fear has to be exposed and our doubts must be expressed so that they can be dealt with. 

This psalm begins as a celebration of God’s promise to David in II Samuel 7, that while David was not permitted to build God a temple, God would establish a covenant that David’s throne would be eternal. It is God’s character to take the attention off of what we want to do for Him and put it on what He promises to do in us, through us and even for us. Just think about it for a moment, David wanted to build a house for God, but God was going to build a throne, using David’s name and David’s family, for the Messiah. David wanted a place where people would come into God’s presence, God was preparing a way for His Spirit to live in His people. David wanted God to have a temple, but God knew that David, that all of us needed the cross. We want promises, God gives covenants. We want rewards, God offers relationship. We want to do things for Him, He wants to give Himself to us. 

A promise is something that is hoped for, but a covenant is something that is binding. If I break a promise I have hurt your feelings, I have not met your expectations and I have probably tarnished your view of me, but if I break a covenant I have lost a part of myself, of my name, of my character because in making a covenant we bind ourselves together. This is the most surprising thing about God making covenants with man. He is greater than us, He is supreme, He has no need of and yet He binds Himself to us in covenant. Why? The answer to that question is given seven different times throughout this psalm, because of His steadfast love and faithfulness. His covenants are our outflow, it is God’s covenants with us that reveal His character to us. 

God made a covenant with Noah that He would never again destroy mankind with a flood, a covenant with Abraham that He would form a great nation that would bless every nation of the earth, a covenant through Moses that Israel would be that nation and that to them and through them the Messiah would come, a covenant with David, that this Messiah would redeem and then reign forever. Each covenant shouted loudly the two things that are most necessary for man to know about God, His steadfast love and His faithfulness. In fact, there would be no covenants between man and God without His steadfast love and faithfulness. 

The Hebrew word that is translated as “steadfast love” seven different times in Psalm 89 is “checed”. Other translations call it “unfailing love”, “great love”, “loving devotion”, “lovingkindness” or “mercy”. The best way to describe this word might be “loyal love”. It is a love that does not move, does not change, does not fall back or leap forward, it is a love that is solid, sure and does not change. That is the thing that a covenant is dependent upon, unchanging love and it must be found in God, because, as much as we might fight to admit to, it is not found in us. We fail, we fall down, we become fickle, sometimes even foolish, but God keeps His Word even when we break ours. He is the God who went looking for Adam and Eve, who met with Cain, who came down to deliver Israel, who took Moses up on a mountain to show him the promised land even though his sin would keep him from going into it. He is the God who sent angels, judges, kings, and prophets to people that were running, stubborn or even idolatrous. He is the God who sent His only begotten Son to the perfect Passover Lamb that would take away the sins of the world. As Paul wrote it in II Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot (and he will not) deny Himself.” 

The high point of this psalm is in verses 29-34, when God told David that if his children disobeyed the law or did not obey His commandments that He would punish them, “but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.” God’s covenant with us is not based on our faithfulness to Him, but His faithfulness to us. Not only does God not lie, but He also does not change, He will not move, He does not just stay the same, He is loyal in His love. Because of this, we can all know for sure that if we are in Christ we will never be out of Christ. Jesus said that He holds us in the palm of His hand, and no one can pluck us out. Peter wrote that we are “kept by the power of God through faith”. If we are God’s, we will always be God’s because His steadfast love and faithfulness overcome every one of our spots and blemishes. 

That is the good news of Psalm 89, but it is not the end of the psalm. In verse 38 there is a violent shift in tone and in song. The first 37 verses were a song of thanksgiving, of joy, of faith, but the rest of the psalm is filled with lament, with fear and doubt. It seems as if the first part of the psalm was written near the time of God’s covenant with David. It was still fresh in the mind of the writer. The promises were in front of them, there was peace in the moment and excitement for the future. But the second part of the psalm seems to be written as much as 400 years later, when Judah was in exile, there was no king, no throne and the people wondered, even doubted if there was still a covenant. In verse 49, the steadfast love and faithfulness that had been affirmed and celebrated six times earlier were questioned, “Lord, where is your steadfast love of old? Which by your faithfulness you swore to David?” It is easy to understand how these questions could be asked. It is hard to see the covenant when we feel removed from what we felt sure the covenant would provide us. 

That is what happened with everyone we mentioned near the start. Abraham doubted the promised after a certain number of years and had a son with Sarah’s maidservant. Elijah doubted his usefulness and his calling when Jezebel threatened his life and asked God to take his life. Mary and Martha doubted Jesus’ steadfast love, even while they continued to believe in His power, when their disappointment over Lazarus’ death caused them to wonder where He had been. Peter doubted that he belonged on the water when he saw the power of the wind and the waves, looking away from Jesus and beginning to sink. As Isaiah 55 tells us, God’s ways really are higher than ours. Some of our desires are just that, not right nor wrong, good nor bad, but also, not necessarily God’s desire for us. When those desires go unmet, do we fear that the covenant has been broken or do we force ourselves to remember the character of the One who made the covenant? The truth about the strength of God’s covenants with us is not found in desires met, promises fulfilled or expected outcomes achieved, the truth is found in who God is, He is faithful, and His love is steadfast. 

One last thought, Abraham, Elijah, Mary, Martha, and Peter, all of them doubted, but none of them were cast out or set aside. Abraham’s doubts were exposed, His fears were healed, and God’s covenant was fulfilled when Isaac was born. Elijah’s heart was strengthened, His suicidal thoughts were soothed, and his prophetic call continued. Mary and Martha’s disappointment was met by Jesus’ love, He mourned with them, He wept for them. Their fears and doubts of where they stood with Jesus were washed away, not in the resurrection of their brothers, but in the tears of their Master. Remember what the crowd said as Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb, “See how he loved him!” The resurrection was about Jesus’ glory, the weeping was about Jesus’ love. Peter’s fears were immediately put to rest, he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus grabbed him, picked him up and put him back in the boat. But then Jesus asked a question we all need to be asked, we all need to ask ourselves, “Why did you doubt?” 

Forgive me if this sounds pointed today, but why do you doubt? Is it because you are looking more at your worth than Jesus? Because your life has not gone according to plan, your expectations have not been met or your promises do not seem like they are being fulfilled? All of those things are difficult, they test our faith and they wound our hearts. But God’s covenant with you is not about how your life will turn out, it is about how His love will endure. While we may have may questions about the things we see, my prayer is that we will no longer question what we know, God will not remove His steadfast love, He will not be false to His faithfulness and He will not violate His covenant. If you are held, you will be kept. If you have been taken hold of, you will not be let go. If you have been found, you will never again be lost. His covenant is not based on your effort, it is based on His character and His character will not change.