Psalm 89:28

My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Psalm 89:28-34. My mercy — Declared and promised to him and his seed, as it here follows; will I keep for him for evermore — Nothing shall alter my kind intentions, but I will mercifully fulfil all my promises to him; and my covenant shall stand fast, &c. — Of which see notes on 2 Samuel 7:12-13. His seed will I make to endure for ever — That is, to sit upon the throne for ever, as the next words explain it. This was accomplished only in Christ, the eternal king of the church and of the world, who was of David’s seed according to the flesh. And his throne as the days of heaven — As long as the world shall have a being, or for ever, as was now said. It shall be as unchangeable and durable as the heavens themselves, which are of an incorruptible nature. If his children forsake my law — Of this and the following verses, to Psalm 89:34, see the notes on 2 Samuel 7:14-16.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

89:19-37 The Lord anointed David with the holy oil, not only as an emblem of the graces and gifts he received, but as a type of Christ, the King Priest, and Prophet, anointed with the Holy Ghost without measure. David after his anointing, was persecuted, but none could gain advantage against him. Yet all this was a faint shadow of the Redeemer's sufferings, deliverance, glory, and authority, in whom alone these predictions and promises are fully brought to pass. He is the mighty God. This is the Redeemer appointed for us, who alone is able to complete the work of our salvation. Let us seek an interest in these blessings, by the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. As the Lord corrected the posterity of David for their transgressions, so his people shall be corrected for their sins. Yet it is but a rod, not a sword; it is to correct, not to destroy. It is a rod in the hand of God, who is wise, and knows what he does; gracious, and will do what is best. It is a rod which they shall never feel, but when there is need. As the sun and moon remain in heaven, whatever changes there seem to be in them, and again appear in due season; so the covenant of grace made in Christ, whatever alteration seems to come to it, should not be questioned.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

My mercy will I keep for him for evermore - I will not withdraw my favor from him, nor from his posterity, Psalm 89:33-36. In him, and in his Great Descendant, the throne shall be established forever. This dominion will not be like the changing dynasties of this world, but will be perpetual and eternal.

And my covenant shall stand fast with him - See 2 Samuel 7:14-16; 2 Samuel 23:5. It shall be firm, or established with him and his family.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

28-37. This relation is perpetual with David's descendants, as a whole typical in official position of his last greatest descendant. Hence though in personal relations any of them might be faithless and so punished, their typical relation shall continue. His oath confirms His promise, and the most enduring objects of earth and heaven illustrate its perpetual force (Ps 72:5, 7, 17).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

My mercy, declared and promised to him and his seed, as it here follows. My covenant; of which see 2 Samuel 7:12,13, &c.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

My mercy will I keep for him for evermore,.... That is, for his mystical body, his church and people; for whom stores of mercy are kept with him, to be laid out in their regeneration, pardon, salvation, and eternal life; for to them the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting, Psalm 103:17, unless this is to be understood of the "grace" and "kindness" (g) of God, as the word may be rendered; his free favour and love to Christ, which always continues; for as he was always his dearly beloved Son, that lay in his bosom from eternity, so he continued, throughout his state, of humiliation, his well beloved, in whom he was well pleased, and still is, and ever will:

and my covenant shall stand fast with him; being made with him as the head and representative of his people, it remains, and will remain, sure, firm, and immoveable; its blessings are "sure mercies", and its promises are all "yea and amen in Christ": the stability of it, and of all that is in it, is owing to its being made with him, and being in his hands, who is the surety, Mediator, and messenger of it.

(g) "bonitatem meam", Musculus, Tigurine version; "benignitatem meam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "gratiam meam", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Geneva Study Bible

My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

28, 29. The emphasis is on for evermore. The permanence of the promise is expressed in the strongest terms. Cp. 2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:16.

Once more too the notes of lovingkindness and faithfulness are sounded, for the word rendered shall stand fast is from the same root as the word for faithfulness; hence R.V. marg. shall be faithful.

as the days of heaven] I.e. for ever; the heaven is the emblem of permanence as well as stability. Again a phrase originally referring to the nation (Deuteronomy 11:21) is applied to the king.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 28. - My mercy will I keep for him for evermore (comp. 2 Samuel 7:15, "My mercy shall not depart away from him"). And my covenant shall stand fast with him (see 2 Samuel 7:16; 2 Samuel 23:5). Psalm 89:28

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

What is promised in Psalm 89:26 is a world-wide dominion, not merely dominion within the compass promised in the primeval times (Genesis 15:18; 2 Chronicles 9:26), in which case it ought to have been said ובנהר (of the Euphrates). Nor does the promise, however, sound so definite and boundless here as in Psalm 72:8, but it is indefinite and universal, without any need for our asking what rivers are intended by נהרות. נתן יד בּ, like שׁלח (in Isaiah 11:14, of a giving and taking possession. With אף־אני (with retreated tone, as in Psalm 119:63, Psalm 119:125) God tells with what He will answer David's filial love. Him who is the latest-born among the sons of Jesse, God makes the first-born (בּכור from בּכר, to be early, opp. לקשׁ, to be late, vid., Job 2:1-13 :21), and therefore the most favoured of the "sons of the Most High," Psalm 82:6. And as, according to Deuteronomy 28:1, Israel is to be high (עליון) above all nations of the earth, so David, Israel's king, in whom Israel's national glory realizes itself, is made as the high one (עליון) with respect to the kings, i.e., above the kings, of the earth. In the person of David his seed is included; and it is that position of honour which, after having been only prelusively realized in David and Solomon, must go on being fulfilled in his seed exactly as the promise runs. The covenant with David is, according to Psalm 89:29, one that shall stand for ever. David is therefore, as Psalm 89:30 affirms, eternal in his seed; God will make David's seed and throne לעד, into eternal, i.e., into such as will abide for ever, like the days of heaven, everlasting. This description of eternal duration is, as also in Sir. 45:15, Bar. 1:11, Taken from Deuteronomy 11:21; the whole of Psalm 89:30 is a poetic reproduction of 2 Samuel 7:16.