Psalms 89:28
in Psalms 89I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My lovingkindness will I keep for him for evermore; And my covenant shall stand fast with him.
KJV
My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
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This verse in Psalms 89
Commentary
11 notes on this verseMy mercy will I keep for him for evermore. The kings of David's line needed mercy, and mercy prevented their house from utterly perishing until the Son of Mary came. He needs no mercy for himself, but he is a representative man, and the mercy of God is required for those who are in him: for such mercy is kept for ever. And my covenant shall stand fast with him.
This site's exposition
his horn will be exalted
on Psalms 89:24-29
In verse 26 the son calls God Father, and in verse 27 God makes him the firstborn, highest of the earth's kings. Revelation 1:5 gives those titles to Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
This site's exposition
My covenant with him will stand fast
The covenant stands because God keeps it. Charles Spurgeon observed that David's sons needed God's loving devotion, and it kept his house from perishing until the Son of Mary came. Albert Barnes pointed ahead to verses 33 to 36, where the same promise is sworn again.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"My mercy will I keep for Him for ever: and my Testament faithful with Him" [Psalm 89:28]. On His account, the Testament is faithful: in Him the Testament is mediated: He is the Sealer, the Mediator of the Testament, the Surety of the Testament, the Witness of the Testament, the Heritage of the Testament, the Coheir of the Testament.
"My mercy will I keep for Him for ever: and my Testament faithful with Him" [Psalm 89:28]. On His account, the Testament is faithful: in Him the Testament is mediated: He is the Sealer, the Mediator of the Testament, the Surety of the Testament, the Witness of the Testament, the Heritage of the Testament, the Coheir of the Testament.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And, as the mercy of God flows to us through him, so the promise of God is, through him, firm to us: My covenant shall stand fast with him, both the covenant of redemption made with him and the covenant of grace made with us in him. The new covenant is therefore always new, and firmly established, because it is lodged in the hands of a Mediator, Heb. viii.
My mercy will I keep for him for evermore,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Then--when the covenant was established, of whose execution the exalted views of God now given furnish assurance. thou . . . to thy holy one--or godly saint, object of favor (Ps 4:3). Nathan is meant (2Sa 7:17; 1Ch 17:3-15). laid help--literally, "given help." David was chosen and then exalted.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This relation is perpetual with David's descendants, as a whole typical in official position of his last greatest descendant. Hence though in personal relations any of them might be faithless and so punished, their typical relation shall continue. His oath confirms His promise, and the most enduring objects of earth and heaven illustrate its perpetual force (Ps 72:5, 7, 17).
My mercy will I keep for him for evermore. The kings of David's line needed mercy, and mercy prevented their house from utterly perishing until the Son of Mary came. He needs no mercy for himself, but he is a representative man, and the mercy of God is required for those who are in him: for such mercy is kept for ever. And my covenant shall stand fast with him. With Jesus the covenant is ratified both by blood of sacrifice and by oath of God, it cannot be cancelled or altered, but is an eternal verity, resting upon the veracity of one who cannot lie. What exultation fills our hearts as we see that the covenant of grace is sure to all the seed, because it stands fast with him with whom we are indissolubly united.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
My mercy will I keep for him for evermore - I will not withdraw my favor from him, nor from his posterity, Psa 89:33-36. In him, and in his Great Descendant, the throne shall be established forever. This dominion will not be like the changing dynasties of this world, but will be perpetual and eternal. And my covenant shall stand fast with him - See 2Sa 7:14-16; 2Sa 23:5. It shall be firm, or established with him and his family.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְ֭עוֹלָ֗ם | leolam | for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| אֶשְׁמָר | ʾeshmor- | I will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| ל֣וֹ | lo | to him | H8104 → | 468 times |
| חַסְדִּ֑י | chasdi | covenant loyalty my | H2617 → | 247 times |
| וּ֝בְרִיתִ֗י | uveriti | and covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| נֶאֱמֶ֥נֶת | neemenet | [will be] reliable | H539 → | 106 times |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | to him |
לְ֭עוֹלָ֗םfor ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
אֶשְׁמָרI will keep
ʾeshmor-H8104 →468 times
ל֣וֹto him
loH8104 →468 times
חַסְדִּ֑יcovenant loyalty my
chasdiH2617 →247 times
וּ֝בְרִיתִ֗יand covenant my
uveritiH1285 →284 times
נֶאֱמֶ֥נֶת[will be] reliable
neemenetH539 →106 times
לֽוֹ׃to him
lo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 54:10Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has…
it leads to
- Psalms 89:33–34
But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness.
- Psalms 46:2
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas,
- Ephesians 2:4–5
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- Romans 11:29
For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
- Psalms 89:33–34
Through
Isaiah 55:3Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:40
I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 4:20
My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
- Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Jeremiah 32:40
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
On this verse
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 89; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.