The Unbreakable Oath: God's Covenant with the Greater David Text: Psalm 89:19-37
Introduction: The Covenant is the Plot
If you want to understand the Bible, you must understand that it is not a collection of disconnected stories, moralistic fables, or inspirational quotes. The Bible is one book, telling one story, about one covenant, which climaxes in one man, Jesus Christ. To miss this is to miss everything. The covenants are the plot of the story. They are the load-bearing walls of the entire biblical structure. And at the heart of the Old Testament covenants, standing as a great mountain peak that casts its shadow all the way to the manger in Bethlehem, is the covenant God made with David.
Psalm 89 is a meditation on that covenant. It is a glorious celebration of God's promises, but it is also a raw, honest lament over the apparent failure of those promises. The first part of the psalm, which we are considering today, is a recitation of the magnificent, unconditional promises God swore to David. The latter part of the psalm, which we will get to in due course, cries out to God because the Davidic throne is in ruins and the king is defeated. How can this be? How can God's unbreakable promises appear to be so thoroughly broken?
This is not just an ancient Israelite problem. This is our problem. We live in a world that seems to mock the promises of God. We see the church in retreat, our culture in a moral freefall, and our own lives marked by failures and defeats. And we can be tempted to ask the same question as the psalmist: "Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, which You swore to David in Your truth?" (Psalm 89:49). The answer to this crisis of faith, both for the psalmist and for us, is found in understanding the nature of the covenant itself and in seeing its ultimate fulfillment not in the son of Jesse, but in the Son of God.
This passage is a deep dive into the heart of God's faithfulness. It shows us a God who binds Himself by an oath, a God whose promises are more stable than the sun and moon. It reveals a promise that is so robust, it anticipates the failure of its recipients and provides for it. This is not a fragile, conditional contract that we can void with our sin. This is a blood-bought, sovereignly administered, eternal covenant of grace. And it is all about Jesus.
The Text
Formerly You spoke in vision to Your holy ones, And said, “I have bestowed help to a mighty one; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him. The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of unrighteousness afflict him. But I shall crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him. My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted. I shall also set his hand on the sea And his right hand on the rivers. He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth. My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. So I will set up his seed to endure forever And his throne as the days of heaven. “If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, If they profane My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod And their iniquity with striking. But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not profane, Nor will I alter what comes forth from My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever And his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah.
(Psalm 89:19-37 LSB)
The Anointed King and His Unshakable Support (vv. 19-25)
The psalmist begins by recounting the vision, the divine oracle, where God established His covenant with David. This looks back to the events of 2 Samuel 7.
"Formerly You spoke in vision to Your holy ones, And said, 'I have bestowed help to a mighty one; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him.'" (Psalm 89:19-21)
God's choice of David was an act of pure grace. David was not chosen because he was the oldest, the strongest, or the most qualified by human standards. He was a shepherd boy, the youngest of his brothers. God exalted one "chosen from the people." This is a fundamental principle of God's kingdom. He does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. He finds David, He calls him "My servant," and He anoints him. The anointing with oil signifies being set apart for a divine task and empowered by the Spirit of God. This is the very meaning of "Messiah" or "Christ", the Anointed One.
Of course, David is a type, a foreshadowing, of the ultimate Anointed One. Jesus was not chosen from the angelic ranks, but from the people. He is the mighty one, the Gibbor, who brings salvation. And God's hand was established with Him. God's arm strengthened Him. This promise of divine support is absolute. God does not anoint someone for a task and then abandon them to their own resources.
This divine support translates into total victory over his enemies.
"The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of unrighteousness afflict him. But I shall crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him. My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted. I shall also set his hand on the sea And his right hand on the rivers." (Psalm 89:22-25)
This is a promise of invincibility. The enemy will not outwit him, and the wicked will not overcome him. In fact, God promises to go on the offensive, to crush David's adversaries. This was true for David in his many victories, but it is supremely true for Christ. Satan, the ultimate "son of unrighteousness," could not afflict Him beyond what God ordained, and in the end, Christ crushed the serpent's head. All who hate Christ will be struck down. His victory is guaranteed.
Notice the foundation of this victory: "My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him." The word for lovingkindness is that great covenant word, hesed. It means loyal love, steadfast love, covenant faithfulness. It is a love that does not quit. Because of God's hesed, the king's horn, his strength and authority, will be exalted. His dominion will be vast, from the sea to the rivers, a poetic way of describing universal dominion. This points far beyond the borders of ancient Israel to the global reign of King Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and on earth.
The King's Unique Sonship (vv. 26-29)
The relationship between God and His anointed king is described in the most intimate of terms.
"He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth." (Psalm 89:26-27)
This is astonishing. While all of Israel could be called God's son, the Davidic king has a unique, filial relationship with God. He calls God "my Father." This establishes the king as God's representative on earth. But again, the type gives way to the antitype. David's sonship was by adoption. Christ's sonship is by nature. He is the only-begotten, eternal Son of the Father. He is the only one who could truly pray this prayer from the depths of His being.
In response, God bestows upon him the title "My firstborn." In the ancient world, "firstborn" was not merely about birth order; it was a title of rank, privilege, and inheritance. The firstborn received the double portion and held the position of preeminence. David was the youngest son of Jesse, so this is clearly a title of sovereign appointment, not natural birth. God is declaring him to be the preeminent one, "the highest of the kings of the earth." This is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whom Paul calls "the firstborn over all creation" and "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:15, 18). He has the name that is above every name.
This status is permanent, secured by God's unchanging covenant.
"My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. So I will set up his seed to endure forever And his throne as the days of heaven." (Psalm 89:28-29)
God's hesed is not a temporary mood; it is an eternal commitment. The covenant is not provisional; it is confirmed, made firm and reliable. The result is a dynasty and a throne that will last forever, "as the days of heaven." This promise could not terminate on Solomon, or Zedekiah, or any of the earthly sons of David whose thrones crumbled to dust. This promise shoots like an arrow straight through the Old Testament and lands on the one whose kingdom will have no end.
Covenant Discipline and Unbreakable Love (vv. 30-37)
Now we come to the heart of the matter, the issue that so troubled the psalmist and often troubles us. What happens when the covenant people are unfaithful? What happens when David's sons are anything but Christ-like? Does their sin nullify God's promise? The answer is a resounding no.
"If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, If they profane My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod And their iniquity with striking." (Genesis 89:30-32)
God is not naive. He anticipates the failure of David's sons. The covenant is not built on the sandy foundation of their obedience. The "if" here is not a condition that voids the covenant, but rather a condition that triggers a specific response within the covenant. Sin will have consequences. God is a holy God, and He is a good Father, and good fathers discipline their children. He will not wink at their sin. He will come after their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with striking. The history of Israel's kings is a long and sorry commentary on this very point, culminating in the destruction and exile of Jerusalem.
But this discipline, severe as it may be, is not a sign of the covenant's failure. It is a sign of its functioning. It is proof of God's love, not its absence. And it is immediately followed by one of the most glorious, gospel-drenched promises in all of Scripture.
"But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not profane, Nor will I alter what comes forth from My lips." (Genesis 89:33-34)
This is the hinge. The discipline is real, but the hesed is inviolable. God says, "I will punish them, BUT..." This is the gospel "but." "But God, being rich in mercy..." (Eph. 2:4). God's love is not withdrawn. His faithfulness is not compromised. He will not profane His own covenant or take back His Word. His promises are not dependent on our performance. He can be faithful even when we are faithless, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13).
Why is this so? Because the covenant is ultimately not made with David's sinful sons, but for them, on the basis of the one true Son. God's faithfulness to the covenant is grounded in His faithfulness to Christ. He punishes our sin, yes. But He does not break off His lovingkindness, because that lovingkindness was secured by another. The rod of punishment that we deserved fell fully on the back of our substitute. God did not spare His own Son the striking. Because of the cross, God can be both just in punishing sin and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus, keeping His covenant promises intact.
God concludes this section by putting His own character on the line. He swears an oath.
"Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever And his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah." (Genesis 89:35-37)
When a man makes an oath, he swears by something greater than himself. As the author of Hebrews tells us, since God could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself (Hebrews 6:13). Here, He swears by His own holiness, the very essence of His divine nature. It is impossible for God to lie. The promise is therefore as immutable as God Himself. The permanence of David's seed and throne is guaranteed by the most stable and reliable things in creation: the sun and the moon. As long as they endure, the covenant endures. The "witness in the sky" is a faithful, constant reminder of God's faithful, constant promise.
Conclusion: The Unshakable Throne
When the psalmist wrote these words, he was looking at a kingdom in shambles. He was looking at the apparent contradiction between God's glorious promise and the grim reality on the ground. And yet, he did the only thing a faithful man can do: he took God at His word. He recited the terms of the covenant back to God, not to inform God, but to remind himself of where his true hope lay.
We are in the same position. We look out at the world and see chaos. We look into our own hearts and see sin. And if our hope were in our own strength, or in the political fortunes of our nation, or in the moral improvement of our culture, we would have every reason to despair. But our hope is not in any of those things. Our hope is anchored to two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie: His promise and His oath.
The Davidic covenant has not failed. David's throne is not empty. The Son of David, Jesus the Christ, has come. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. He called God His Father. He was declared the Firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. He was disciplined with the rod of men, struck for our iniquities. But God's hesed was not removed from Him. God raised Him from the dead and seated Him on the throne. His seed, all who are united to Him by faith, will endure forever. His throne is as the sun before God.
Therefore, we do not lose heart. The covenant holds. The King reigns. And because He reigns, we know that He is putting all His enemies under His feet. The promise that He will crush His adversaries is being fulfilled now and will be consummated at His return. Our task is to live as loyal subjects of this unshakable kingdom, trusting not in what we see, but in the unbreakable oath of our covenant-keeping God.