Bird's-eye view
Psalm 89 is one of the most gut-wrenching psalms in the entire Psalter. It begins with a glorious celebration of God's covenant faithfulness to David, but it ends with a raw and honest lament over the apparent collapse of that very covenant. The anointed king is defeated, the crown is in the dust, and the promises of God seem to have failed. And then, after fifty-one verses of this emotional rollercoaster, we get to this verse. Verse 52 is not the logical conclusion to the argument; it is the theological conclusion. It is a sheer, defiant, and robust act of worship. It functions as the doxology that closes Book Three of the Psalms, a book filled with national laments and crises. This placement is intentional and instructive. It teaches us that biblical faith does not praise God because circumstances are neat and tidy. Biblical faith praises God because He is God, even when, and especially when, the circumstances are a complete wreck.
This final verse is a stubborn refusal to let the visible disaster have the last word. The last word belongs to God, and that word is a word of blessing. The psalmist, having poured out his heart in complaint, now leads the congregation in a great affirmation of God's eternal goodness. This is not wishful thinking. This is covenantal backbone. It is the firm belief that God's character is more real than the present disaster. The double "Amen" seals it, making it a corporate, binding oath of allegiance to Yahweh, forever.
Outline
- 1. A Hymn to God's Covenant Faithfulness (Ps 89:1-37)
- a. The Psalmist's Resolve to Praise (Ps 89:1-4)
- b. Yahweh's Unrivaled Power and Goodness (Ps 89:5-18)
- c. The Davidic Covenant Recited (Ps 89:19-37)
- 2. A Lament Over the Covenant's Apparent Failure (Ps 89:38-52)
- a. The Present Calamity Described (Ps 89:38-45)
- b. The Psalmist's Anguished Questions (Ps 89:46-51)
- c. The Concluding Doxology of Faith (Ps 89:52)
Context In Psalms
The Book of Psalms is not a random collection of songs but a carefully arranged hymnal for God's people, divided into five books. Each of the first four books ends with a doxology, a burst of praise to God (Ps 41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52; 106:48). Psalm 89:52 serves as the closing benediction for Book Three (Psalms 73-89). This third book is arguably the darkest section of the Psalter. It contains numerous psalms of communal lament, wrestling with the prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73), the destruction of Jerusalem (Psalm 74, 79), and the exile of the people. Psalm 89 is the climactic lament of this section, detailing the humiliation of the Davidic king and the seeming failure of God's covenant promises.
For this book to end here, with this verse, is a profound statement. After all the questions, all the pain, and all the confusion, the final word of the book is not despair, but blessing. It is a liturgical and theological anchor, reminding the worshiper that no matter how bleak things get, the foundation stands firm. God is worthy of praise, forever. This doxology turns the heart of the worshiper from the problem to the Problem-Solver, from the crisis to the King.
Key Issues
- The Function of Doxologies in the Psalter
- Worship in the Midst of Lament
- The Davidic Covenant and its Apparent Failure
- Amen as a Corporate Covenantal Affirmation
Commentary
Psalm 89:52a
Blessed be Yahweh forever!
Now, after all the foregoing complaints, this appears to come out of nowhere. But it does not. This is the bedrock. The psalmist has laid out his case before God. He has described the broken walls, the shamed king, the taunting enemies. He has asked "How long, O Lord?" And having said everything he needed to say, he now says the most important thing. He blesses Yahweh. To bless God is to declare His worthiness, His goodness, His eternal glory. It is an act of faith, not an emotional reaction to good fortune. The circumstances have not changed between verse 51 and verse 52. The enemies are still taunting. The king is still defeated. What has changed is the psalmist's focus. He is deliberately turning from the wreckage on the ground to the reality of Heaven.
And he blesses Yahweh. This is God's covenant name. He is not blessing a generic deity, but the God who made specific, blood-sealed promises to Abraham, to Israel, and to David. The very covenant that seems to be in tatters is the ground for this blessing. Why? Because the psalmist knows that God cannot lie. If there is a contradiction between what God has promised and what we are experiencing, the problem is with our experience, or our understanding, not with God's promise. And this blessing is not temporary. It is forever. God's worthiness does not fluctuate with the stock market or with the fortunes of a nation's military. He is blessed from everlasting to everlasting. This is the fixed point in a spinning world.
Psalm 89:52b
Amen and Amen.
This is where the whole congregation comes in. "Amen" is a Hebrew word that means "truly," "so be it," or "let it be so." It is the word of firm agreement. It is the people of God taking an oath and sealing their testimony. By saying "Amen," they are signing their name to the declaration that has just been made: "Blessed be Yahweh forever!" They are saying, "Yes, this is true. This is our confession. We agree."
And notice that it is doubled. Amen and Amen. This is for emphasis, for wholeheartedness. This is not a mumbled, half-hearted amen. This is a thunderous, resounding amen. It is the sound of a people who, despite their grief and confusion, are planting their flag firmly on the character of their God. It is a covenantal act. In the Old Testament, the people would say "Amen" to affirm their commitment to the terms of the covenant (Deut 27:15-26). Here, they are affirming their trust in the God of the covenant, even when they cannot see how He is going to keep His word. This double "Amen" is a defiant shout of faith in the face of doubt. It is the church militant, on its knees in lament, but on its feet in worship, declaring that God will have the final word. And that final word is Jesus Christ, who is Himself called "the Amen, the faithful and true witness" (Rev 3:14).
Application
We live in a time of great confusion and apparent defeat for the church in the West. Like the psalmist, we can look around and see broken walls, taunting enemies, and promises that seem to be a long time in coming. It is right and biblical for us to bring our honest laments to God. He is not afraid of our questions or our grief. But we must learn from the psalmist where lament must always end. It must end in doxology.
Our worship cannot be dependent on our circumstances. If we only bless God when things are going well, our faith is a mile wide and an inch deep. True, robust, biblical faith blesses God in the middle of the disaster. It looks at the evidence of apparent failure and says, "Nevertheless, blessed be Yahweh forever!" This is not a denial of reality; it is an affirmation of a greater reality. The character and promises of God are more real than our present troubles.
And we must learn to say a hearty, corporate "Amen." Our worship is not a private affair. We are in this together. When the Word is read, when the benediction is given, when the truth of God's goodness is declared, we must affirm it together. A loud, confident "Amen" is an act of spiritual warfare. It tells the world, it tells the devil, and it tells our own doubting hearts that we stand together on the unshakable truth of who God is. We may be confused, but we are not adrift. We may be sorrowful, but we are not without hope. Our hope is in Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God, and to His eternal glory we say, together, Amen and Amen.