Psalm 89:38–52: Faith and the Davidic Covenant (part 3)

Part 3: A Lament over the current state of the Davidic Dynasty (vs. 38–52)

Psalm 89 is a royal psalm by the choir of Ethan the Ezrahite. also called Jeduthun, who was a Levitical worship singer as well as a prophetic seer and a counselor to King David (1 Chr 16:41–42, 25:1–6; 2 Chr 5:12, 35:15). This royal psalm’s first section is that of a hymn to Yahweh for His faithfulness (1–18). The second section is an oracle on the promises and the covenant with David (19–37). The third section is a lament over the current sad state (to the writer) of the Davidic dynasty (38–51). See 2 Sam 7:4–17 for the prophecy on which this psalm is reflecting. 

The Preface to the NASB states: “One of the titles for God is Lord, a translation of Adonai. There is yet another name which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH (Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 42:8). This name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore, it has been consistently translated LORD.” See the preface of your Bible version on the proper name of God in the Old Testament. Every time you read “Lord,” think adonai  (Master, divine one) and every time you read LORD, think Yahweh (pronounced Yahveh, the eternally present covenant keeping God). The author is deliberately emphasizing something by his choice of each name, so you do not want to ignore the difference.

  I. The Davidic Covenant is invisible (vs. 38–45)

      A. Notice the “But You” of verse 38, there is a contrast from the oracle and hymn

      B. David’s sons, starting with Solomon strayed from covenant faithfulness

      C. The covenant relationship is broken, but not by God

      D. But this author wants God to intervene and restore what the kings broke

      E. This lament prayer has powerful and emotional verbs: cast off, rejected, spurned, full of                  wrath, renounced, defiled, broken down, brought to ruin, put an end to, cast to the ground, cut short, covered with shame  

      F. This language is so strong, many Bible students think this was written during the exile             when King Jehoiachin was deported and wore prison garments for 37 years (2 Kgs 24:8,                 25:27, 29; Lam 1:10–12, 2:8)

      G. God’s full wrath is for unbelievers, unrepentant, unsubmissive, rebels and His Son in the                 place of sinners who will believe, repent, and submit

      H. The anointed one, High priest, prophet, or King. Here it is clearly the King, David’s son Anointed One in Hebrew is masiach which we transliterate also as Messiah. In Greek it is               christos which we transliterate as Christ. So, when the NT says, “Jesus Christ” it is the                   same as the Hebrew Yesh’ua ha masiach, Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One. His name           Yesh’ua means salvation, his name/title Messiah or Christ means “anointed one.” His title                     Lord shows that He is God and he is the Master.

Is this man Coniah [Jehoiachin] a despised, broken pot, a vessel no one cares for? Why are he and his children hurled and cast into a land that they do not know? O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the LORD: "Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days, for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah." (Jer 22:28–30 ESV)

In what sense is he childless if he has children taken to captivity? No direct descendant will rule as king over Judah or Israel. 

Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel . . .  Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah (Mat 1:10–12, 16 NASB).

Joseph had royal blood through Solomon but could not rule nor his biological sons.

Mary genealogy was from David through his son Nathan, whose line was not cursed                            the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David (Luke 3:31 NASB)

The coming Messiah needed to be a son of David, but not through the cursed line of Jehoiachin, but the right to rule came through the cursed line. So, when Joseph adopted him as his son, as an adopted son He earned the right to rule without the genetic passing of the curse, as his blood line was under David through Nathan by His biological mother, Mariam’s genealogy. As the Son of God, He also retained the right to rule, as He did before His human birth in Bethlehem.

      I. Yeshua the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ) took the Father’s full wrath in your place

      J. God’s promise was that David’s lineage would survive any circumstances

On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant, declares the LORD, and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts. (Hag 2:23 NASB) 

          Zerubbabel survived the Babylonian exile and returned to Jerusalem as a governor and was            in the line of Joseph of Nazareth (Matt 1:12–17). God's mercy displayed

      K. God promised to bring the covenantal curses on any Jew who was not loyally devoted to                 Him, faithfulness matters

     L. God kept both of these promises by removing the wicked kings while simultaneously                         preserving the family line

     M. If God would allow the enemies of Israel to destroy the Davidic covenant, what hope would            Israel have of them not also violating the Abrahamic covenant to the people?

     N. Periods of chastisement are confusing and fearful times

 II. A Prayer for restoration of the Davidic Dynasty (vs. 46 –51)

      A. These questions for God reveal the intensity of the authors pain and fear

      B. This author wants the promises of the Davidic Covenant to be visibly restored during 

           his lifetime

      C. The people are perishing under the persecution

      D. The kingdom of God’s disarray brings dishonor to God among the pagans

      E. The pagans are mocking the King of the Jews

      F. Remember, things are not always what they appear to be or “feel” like

III. The Doxology of praise to Yahweh (vs. 52)

      A. This verse concludes the 3rd book of Psalms

      B. This lament also ends in faith and praise to Yahweh for who He is

Lessons to live by:

• Don’t ever let liberal propaganda steal the substitutionary atonement from you. Jesus offered himself as a wrath bearing sacrifice (a propitiation to God) in our place

• Sometimes it may not “feel” or “appear” like God is keeping His promises because we can’t see behind the scenes. This is where faith come in beyond what we see

• Honesty with God in our prayers should lead us to end in praise and adoration of His greatness as revealed in the Bible

• We too will suffer persecution, though we are heirs of the promises (1 Pet 4:4)

Psalm 40: Great is Thy Faithfulness

 A prayer for future deliverance after recounting God’s past deliverances

This Psalm, written by David, is similar to Psalm 27 and Psalm 70. It is a royal prayer that begins with confidence and thanksgiving for what God has done. Then it moves to praying for the present difficulties that need divine intervention.

Our Bible study rule is:

RULE #3: Interpret each passage based on the grammar used in each sentence. Pay attention to the verbs (tenses: past, present, future), subjects, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, preposition, etc. Use a dictionary and an English grammar book for help. If the passage is difficult to understand, label the key words grammatically and note their relationships to each other.

Many of the psalms and other Old Testament passages are written with a special form that is called a chiasm. It has a special pattern that has greater emphasis on the information in the center (D. and D`.) and there are parallels throughout the literary unit (A and A,` B and B,` etc.).

A. A personal experience of divine salvation (vs. 1–3)

     B. The blessing of Yahweh’s protection (vs. 4–5)

          C. A statement of commitment (vs. 6–8)

               D. A proclamation of God’s character (vs. 9–10)

               D`. A prayer based on God’s character (vs. 11)

          C`. A confession of sin (vs. 12)

     B`. A prayer for God’s protection (vs. 13–16)

A`. A personal need of divine salvation (vs. 17)

  I. A personal experience of divine salvation (vs. 1–3)

     A. Waiting patiently was rewarded

     B. The rescue was accomplished by God

     C. Quick sand, Jeremiah in the pit

     D. This may have been a terminal illness from which David was healed 

     E. The nation of Israel was delivered by God just as David was

     F. The rock is a symbol of God’s protection and defense

    G. God’s salvation results in worship, singing thanksgiving unto God

    H. God’s interventions can be seen and results in reverence and trust in Yahweh

 II. The blessing of Yahweh’s protection (vs. 4–5)

      A. Reflection on the life of faith

      B. Pride and idols bring curses

      C. Faith and obedience bring blessings

      D. God’s supernatural providential interventions are the “wonders”

           (Daniel and his friends)

      E. The history of redemption records many deliverances

III. A statement of commitment (vs. 6–8)

     A. Dedication and gratitude show that mere formalism does not do the job

     B. Ritual are not enough; Saul offered a sacrifice wrongly and lost the kingdom

     C. These words go beyond David and are Messianic (Heb 10:5–10)

     D. The O.T. predicted the Messiah’s coming

     E. Loving God with all our heart is first and foremost

     F. The procedure without the heart is never good enough

IV. A proclamation of God’s character (vs. 9–10)

      A. Proclamation of God’s saving acts is a duty

      B. God is righteous, faithful, loving, saving, truthful

      C. Proclamation is to the worshiping assembly

      D. God acts for the benefit of His kingdom and His covenant 

 V. A prayer based on God’s character (vs. 11)

      A. Waiting on God again for deliverance

      B. A new crisis has arisen for David or the nation

      C. David needs God’s hesed (covenant love) and mercy

VI. A confession of sin (vs. 12)

       A. My iniquities or the nations has caused this chastisement

       B. The consequence of sin always involves pain

       C. David goes to God for help even when the problem is his fault because he is in a covenant 

            relationship with God

VII. A prayer for God’s protection (vs. 13–16)

       A. David needs immediate deliverance       

       B. My enemies need to be stopped by God

       C. Those that love God praise and worship Him

       D. Believers seek God and His glory

VIII. A personal need of divine salvation (vs. 17)

        A. My help my deliverer (savior) is the Yahweh

        B. He does not doubt God’s ability to save

Lessons to Live by:

• We are prone to quickly forget God’s past deliverances. When we are going through a new trial we should look back to God’s past acts in the Bible and in our lives

• God is faithful, righteous, true, and keeps His covenant promises

• We need to reaffirm our confidence in God and proclaim His greatness

• We need to trust God for salvation

• We need to confess our sins to God and take responsibility for our iniquities

• We need to go to God our Savior in prayer—He alone can deliver us

• Once we do our part, we need to wait on God 

The Homegoing of Mary Anne Belcher

Mary Anne Belcher of Fort Mill, South Carolina, was born on May 1, 1935 in Troy, Missouri, and went home to be with the Lord on September 30, 2016. She was 81 years old and was the daughter of Robert and Edna Casner.

Mary Anne is survived by her beloved husband of 62 years, Dr. Richard Paul Belcher, Sr. of Fort Mill, South Carolina; a son, Dr. Richard Paul Belcher, Jr. and his wife Lu of Fort Mill, South Carolina; a daughter, Anne Jeanette Gottman and her husband Tom of Springfield, Missouri; a sister, Mae Martin of St. Louis, Missouri; a sister-in-law, Frances Haley of Troy, Missouri; five grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. Her mother and father, sister Jeanette Hamlett (Tom), brother Marvin Handlong, and brother-in-law Walter Martin, all preceded her in death.

Mary Anne was in banking most of her life, was an accomplished mortgage loan officer, and was Vice President of Service Corporation of South Carolina after moving to Columbia, South Carolina from Missouri. When her mother-in-law needed extra care many years ago, Mary Anne and Doc took her into their home. Mary Anne faithfully provided the care she needed for many years until the Lord took Doc’s mother home to heaven. Her story as a prayer warrior is told in Dr. Belcher’s book, A Journey in Christian Heritage.

Mary Anne was a big help to her husband in his publishing business. She typed many manuscripts and after she retired she helped manage Richbarry Press. She also provided many hours of support for Evangelizing India for Christ (EIFC). She was a volunteer bookkeeper and also provided secretarial support for several years as well. She made numerous sacrifices for the work in India with a willing servant’s heart.

Mary Anne loved working in the nursery at church and served as nursery coordinator for many years. She also enjoyed singing hymns. After Dr. Belcher retired from Columbia International University, they moved to Fort Mill. She also enjoyed crocheting, reading, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, and feeding birds.

Mary Anne was also an excellent housekeeper and a gracious host. She may have been too gracious of a host, at times, for Dr. Belcher’s liking, as the following story will illustrate. Dr. Belcher used to pick up board members at the airport and train station in Charlotte twice each year for the EIFC board meetings held in Rock Hill. On one occasion, after stopping for an early lunch, Doc drove a board member he was transporting to his house for a short visit while he worked briefly on a project with a deadline. Those who know Doc well know that he has a special love for ice cream. (He used to even eat ice cream in India, even though they don’t pasteurize their milk, and this involved a risk of “Delhi belly.”) As the story goes, when Doc came downstairs, Mary Anne and the board member he left downstairs were enjoying two of his Dove bars. He used to tell others how great they were. He would say, “D-O-V-E, Dove bars—you need to try one.” When Doc saw the Dove bars being consumed, he noted, “Now you know how good they are.” This board member would tease Doc on the way to Rock Hill from Charlotte for the next few board meetings that he dare not stop at his house in Fort Mill. Mary Anne was such a gracious hostess that she would give away all his Dove bars, significantly reducing his inventory.

Mary Anne is greatly missed by her husband, family, church family, the board of EIFC and many friends. We are looking forward to spending time with her in heaven and joining her in the resurrection on that great day. Please continue to pray for Dr. Belcher and the extended Belcher family as they reorient their lives over the next several years without Mary Anne’s special presence.