Raising David
A sermon on Psalm 89
I discussed Psalm 89 in the structure of the Psalter here. What follows is a homiletic version of the same arguments.
The Psalter is divided into five books. Psalm 89 is the hinge, the final Psalm of Book 3. It’s a Davidic Psalm. The Psalm mentions David four times, and it’s the only passage of the Old Testament that explicitly speaks of a covenant with David, four times.
It’s hardly the first Davidic Psalm. The Psalter begins with David, and we can trace the story of David and his house through the first three books. Psalms 1-2 are both royal Psalms, twin portraits of the perfect Davidic king.
In Psalm 1, the king is a student of Torah, just as Moses instructed (Deut 17). He muses on the torah day and night. Because he’s committed to torah, he doesn’t walk with the wicked. When he sits on his throne, he doesn’t surround himself with mockers (as Rehoboam would do). Rooted in torah, he’s like a tree, fruitful, strong, steady. When winds blow, he doesn’t fall over. The tree of his kingdom, of his dynasty, endures.
Psalm 2 is more overtly royal, more overtly Davidic. The “son” who’s installed as king on Zion is the Davidic king. As Yahweh said back in 2 Samuel, Yahweh will adopt David’s son as His own. Once enthroned, the Davidic king will pacify the roaring nations, establishing peace and justice in the earth.
This has always been God’s purpose: A world of abundant blessing, right order, the fullness of life associated with shalom. And He intends to do that through David’s son, through the Davidic dynasty. David recognized this when Yahweh made a covenant with him (2 Sam 7), declaring “This is the charter of humanity.”
It’s not a smooth road, as Psalm 41, the final Psalm of Book 1, indicates. David is sick. David is surrounded by adversaries. He cries out helplessly to the God who helps the helpless. Yahweh hears and rescues him from his enemies, raises him from his sick bed. Having been raised up, David raises up. Helped when he was helpless, David helps the helpless, and so receives the blessing of God.
At the end of Book 2, though, we see a vision of the Davidic kingdom as it’s intended to be.