Holy One of Israel – Psalm 89:1-18

Psalm 89 closes the 3rd book of the Psalter. It serves as a great example of a book three Psalm featuring prominently 3 major themes. First: (1-18) Praise and adoration for Yahweh – the great and only covenant keeping God. Second: (9-37) A recounting of covenant terms that establish the hope and identity of the people of God. Third: (38-52) A lament and appeal to this covenant promise given adverse circumstances plaguing the nation of Israel. In this structure, Psalm 89 shares the priorities of the Lord's prayer (Mat 6:9-13) which begins: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” Ethan the Ezrahite begins his Psalm exalting the Lord and His holy name in sweeping stanzas of worship and praise. Psalm 89 is situated next to Ps 88 in location and theme – albeit expanded. Whereas the previous psalm mentioned only briefly that Yahweh was the God of his salvation (88:1), the first 18 verses of Psalm 89 expound the greatness and glory of the steadfastly loving God of Israel. Spurgeon comments on the usefulness of Psalm 89 evident from the first verse: “What Ethan sung is now a text book for Christians, and will be so as long as this dispensation shall last. We ought to have an eye to posterity in all that we write, for we are the school masters of succeeding ages.” In this, Spurgeon recognized that Psalm 89 serves as a hymn and an example for believers of all ages...