John Gill Commentary Psalms 89

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever Both temporal and spiritual, especially the latter, in which there is a large display of the rich and abundant mercy of God, from which they are so called;

as in the choice of men to everlasting life, who are said to be vessels of mercy; in the covenant of grace made with them, the blessings of which are the sure mercies of David; in the mission of Christ, whose coming, as the dayspring from on high, is owing to the tender mercy of our God; in redemption by him, in which mercy and truth have met together; in regeneration, which is according to abundant mercy; in the forgiveness of sins, which is according to the multitude of his tender mercies; and in the whole of salvation, which is not by works of righteousness, but by the mercy of God through Christ:

the word may be rendered "graces, kindnesses, goodnesses" ^F12 , and designs the abundance of grace; as in the heart of God, in the covenant, in the hands of Christ, as displayed through him, and in the several parts of salvation, and the whole of it:

and these are a proper subject for a song; and a truly gracious soul, sensible of these things, thankful for them, cheerful on account of them, and seeing his interest in them, cannot but "sing" of them; and will determine to do it "for ever", every day, and all the day long, as long as he lives, and while he has any being, and which he will do to all eternity:

with my mouth will I make known your faithfulness to all generations ; God is faithful to himself, to all the perfections of his nature, to his truth, holiness, and justice, he cannot deny himself; he is so to his Son, and to all engagements with him, and promises to him; to all his counsels, purposes, and decrees; all which are faithfulness and truth, or faithfully and truly performed; and to his covenant and promises made to his people in Christ, in whom they are all yea and amen: and that this glorious perfection of God might be made known to the saints in all successive generations, and be taken notice of by them, the psalmist spoke and sung this psalm with his mouth, and penned it with his hand; in which there is more mention made of the faithfulness of God than perhaps in any other passage of Scripture besides; see (Psalms 89:2Psalms 89:5Psalms 89:8Psalms 89:24Psalms 89:33) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F12: (ydox) "bonitates", Tigurine version; "benignitates", Junius & Tremellius; "beneficia", Piscator; "gratias", Cocceius.

For I have said That is, in his heart he had said, he had thought of it, was assured of it, strongly concluded it, from the Spirit and word of God; he believed it, and therefore he spoke it; having it from the Lord, it was all one as if he had spoke it:

I have made a covenant with my chosen
Not with Abraham, as the Targum expresses it: but with David, as in the following clause; not David, literally understood, though he was chosen of the Lord to be his servant, and a covenant was made with him, and a promise made to him of the perpetuity of his throne and kingdom in his family, (Psalms 78:70) (2 Samuel 7:16) but mystical David, the Messiah, David's son and antitype; after, on this account, called David in Scripture, (Ezekiel 34:23Ezekiel 34:24) (Hosea 3:5) and who is the Lord's "chosen" One, foreordained to be the Redeemer of lost sinners, chosen to be the Mediator between God and them, to be the head of the church, and Saviour of the body; and his human nature was chosen to the grace of union to the Son of God, (Psalms 89:19) , hence he is called God's elect, (Isaiah 43:1) and with him the covenant of grace was made from all eternity, and all the blessings and promises of it were put into his hands; he is the Mediator, surety, and messenger of it, and by his blood it is ratified and confirmed:

the Septuagint render it, in the plural number, "with mine elect ones"; and it is a truth, that the covenant of grace is made with all the elect, considered in Christ, and is made with them as such, and not as believers, converted persons election is the foundation of the covenant, and the source of all covenant blessings:

I have sworn unto David my servant :
to the Messiah, called David, as before observed, and who is the Lord's servant, as man and Mediator, of his choosing, calling, sending, and supporting, (Isaiah 42:1) (49:3) (53:11) , to whom he swore, and he will not repent; and which oath of his, joined to his covenant and promise, makes for the strong consolation of the heirs of promise; see (Psalms 89:35) (110:4) (Hebrews 6:18) , the sum and substance of which covenant and oath follow.

Your seed will I establish for ever
Meaning not the natural seed of David, at least not only them; whose family was indeed preserved, though in very low circumstances, until the Messiah came, who sprung from thence, (Luke 1:27) (2:4) (Acts 13:23) , but the spiritual seed of Christ, to whom it was promised that he should have a seed, and should see and enjoy it, and which should endure for ever; see (Psalms 89:29Psalms 89:36) (Isaiah 59:21) , and so he always has had a seed to serve him in all generations, in the worst of times, and will; and who are established in him, and will be kept and preserved by him, and whom he will present to his Father, saying, "Lo, I and the children whom you have given me", (Hebrews 2:13)

and build up your throne to all generations ;
and this shows that the passage is not to be understood literally of David, and of his temporal throne and kingdom, which did not last many generations; but of the spiritual throne and kingdom of the Messiah, who sprung from him, called the throne of his father David, whose throne is for ever and ever, and whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, (Luke 1:32Luke 1:33) (Psalms 45:6) (Daniel 2:44) , his throne is in the heavens, where he will reign until all enemies are put under his feet; and it is also in the midst of his church, and in the hearts of his people, where he reigns as King of saints; and he is on the same throne with his Father; it is the same with his, as to glory, power, and authority; on this he will sit, and judge the world at the last day; and on it he will reign with his people a thousand years, in the New Jerusalem state, and after that to all eternity, (Revelation 3:21) (Revelation 20:4Revelation 20:5Revelation 20:11) (Revelation 22:3Revelation 22:4) .

Selah. (See Gill on Psalms 3:2).

And the heavens shall praise your wonders, O Lord

Which, by a prosopopoeia, may be understood of the heavens literally, in the same sense as other inanimate creatures praise the Lord, (Psalms 148:3Psalms 148:4) , or mystically of the church, consisting of heaven born souls, and whose doctrines and ordinances are from heaven; or of the apostles, as Jerom, who had their ministry, mission, commission, and gifts, from thence; or rather of the angels, the inhabitants of heaven, who praise the Lord for his wonderful works of nature, providence, and grace, (Psalms 148:2) .

Particularly they admire and praise the wonderful work of redemption "that wonderful thing of yours" ^F13 , as the word may be rendered, being in the singular number: the person of the Redeemer is wonderful, and that is his name; his incarnation is a most amazing thing, it is the great mystery of godliness; and the redemption wrought out by him is the wonder of men and angels: when he appeared in the world, the angels of God worshipped him; at his birth, they sung glory to God in the highest; and the mysteries of his grace are what they look into with wonder and praise, (Hebrews 1:6) (Luke 2:13Luke 2:14) (1 Peter 1:12) .

your faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints ;

i.e. is praised there; which Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret of the angels also, who are called saints, (Deuteronomy 33:2) , of which there is a congregation, even an innumerable company, (Revelation 19:6) , these not only admire and praise the wonderful works of the Lord, but his perfections also; and particularly his faithfulness in the execution of promises and threatenings, (Revelation 7:11Revelation 7:12) (16:5) , but rather holy men are meant, such as are called to be saints, and are gathered together in a Gospel church state, designed by a congregation of them, among and by whom the truth and faithfulness of God, as well as his lovingkindness and mercy, are spoken of with the highest commendation, (Psalms 40:9Psalms 40:10) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F13: (Kalp) "mirabile tuum", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Gerjus; "mirabile apus tuum", Junius & Tremellius; "illud miraculum tuum", Michaelis.