Psalm 89: Eclipsed

​Key Verse
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. 29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.
 
Meditation
Have you experienced a solar eclipse? For a brief moment the bright light of the sun darkened and the color of the day dimmed. The sun still shines! But light is obstructed. Today’s psalm is worship for God’s eternal faithfulness even when it seems eclipsed by pain and problems of life.  
 
This exalted psalm ends with questions to God- How long… How Long will you hide yourself? Where is your steadfast love? (vv. 46-51). The circumstances are dire (vv. 38-45), but the difficulty cannot fully darken the light of God’s covenant faithfulness.
 
God’s promise of an eternal king springs from His covenant with David (2 Samuel 2:4-17). Language from the Davidic Covenant echoes the Lord’s promises with the repetition of “forever” (vv. 1, 2, 4, 27, 28) describing the rule of God’s anointed king. God’s king will have an endless rule, a truth that exists even when eclipsed.
 
The throne of God is eternal (vv. 1-4, 27-28), exalted above every power (vv. 5-18), and will endlessly fulfill His covenant promises to David (vv. 19-37). The psalmist’s view was clouded by the Babylonian invasion and exile, unable to see what later prophets such as Jeremiah will proclaim (Jeremiah 23:5-6) and Jesus will fulfill (Luke 1:32). 
 
Jesus is God’s eternal King, the fullness of God’s covenant promises to David. Colossians 1 describes King Jesus with language from this psalm. Circumstances may eclipse the light of God’s promises but they cannot negate God’s faithfulness. Jesus is king! And Jesus invites you to know the blessing of walking in the light of His love (v. 15).
 
 
Today’s Reading
 
I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;
    with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
    in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
    I have sworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
    and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
 
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
    your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
    Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
    and awesome above all who are around him?
8 O Lord God of hosts,
    who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
    with your faithfulness all around you?
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
    when its waves rise, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
    you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
    the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12 The north and the south, you have created them;
    Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
    strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
    who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
16 who exult in your name all the day
    and in your righteousness are exalted.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
    by your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
    our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
    “I have granted help to one who is mighty;
    I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found David, my servant;
    with my holy oil I have anointed him,
21 so that my hand shall be established with him;
    my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
    the wicked shall not humble him.

23 I will crush his foes before him
    and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
    and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea
    and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
    my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the firstborn,
    the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
    and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his offspring forever
    and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 If his children forsake my law
    and do not walk according to my rules,
31 if they violate my statutes
    and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
    and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
    or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
    I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever,
    his throne as long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established forever,
    a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
 
38 But now you have cast off and rejected;
    you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
    you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have breached all his walls;
    you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
    and you have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with shame. Selah
 
46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is!
    For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48 What man can live and never see death?
    Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
 
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
    which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
    and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
    with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the emotions arising from the eclipsed faithfulness of God?
 
-How do you react when the light of hope from God’s promises are eclipsed by the circumstances of our world? What are your emotions? Do you turn to the Lord?
 
-God is faithful to His promises. They are endless, eternal, and exalted over everything in our world! Jesus is the fullness of God’s faithfulness and Jesus invites you to walk in the light of His love, His covenant faithfulness. How can you trust God’s faithfulness even when you do not feel it? What is one promise Jesus makes you can meditate on and carry throughout your day?
 
Key Verse
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. 29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.