MY SHORT REPORT PSALM 66-95
The link that brought you to this page and the page title are a bit of a misnomer, because this short report is not long enough to cover so many chapters of the Bible. What the link and the title do, however, is track where we are in our plan to read through the entire Bible in 1 year. May each report pique your interest and help you to draw near to God. The Bible, James 4:8, tells us if we do so God will draw near to us. Works cited are at the end of the report and a screenshot from the Names of God Bible follows that. Internal links provide additional information. Notice that some Bible verse links may link to more than the specified verse(s) to help put the verse into context. In addition, the Bible links go to Bible Gateway, and uses the ESV and NKJV; sometimes I add the HCSB, etc.
BIBLE READING—WEEK 26—PSALMS 66-95: Last week’s report looked at Luther’s perspective of the 26th Psalm and set the record straight on the 45th Psalm—although some commentaries question its prophetic vision, it really is a Messianic Psalm. This week’s Short Report sole focus is Psalm 89. It explains the main subject, provides an overview of the psalm, and explains a few difficult passages.
In the Names of God Bible the reader is told, “To get the most out of the Psalms, it is helpful to understand how Hebrew poetry works. Like poems in the English language, the Psalms use figures of speech such as simile … and metaphor. … Instead of rhythm and rhyme, however, most verses have two parallel lines. The two lines may express the same thought two ways. … They may offer two contrasting thoughts. … Or the second line may explain the first” (Spangler, 673) (see the full description in screenshot below).
Another way to describe the use of parallel lines in Hebrew poetry is parallelism, which burg explains this way: “Instead of rhyming words at the ends of successive lines, parallelism matches corresponding thoughts in successive lines. Poetry that uses parallelism as its main technique is, therefore, primarily a poetry of thoughts, rather than a poetry of sound” (Psalms 1, 24).
Burg goes on to say that there are different types of parallelism. One type is called synonymous parallelism where the second line uses similar words to restate the idea presented in the first line (p.24). This type of parallelism is used in Psalm 89.
There are four Ethan’s in the Old Testament, but the phrase Ethan the Ezrahite only appears twice in the Bible, here at the heading of the 89th Psalm and again in 1 Kings 4:31 where we are told that King Solomon was wiser than all men even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite. We know little more about him but can be certain he knew of David and God’s covenant with David, for that is the psalm’s central theme.
This psalm is listed as a maskil (instruction) of Ethan the Ezrahite. No doubt God gifted Ethan the Ezrahite with much wisdom, and his wisdom was known throughout the land so that when the people first learned of Solomon’s wisdom they were in awe to learn that Ethan the Ezrahite’s wisdom paled in comparison. God honored Ethan the Ezrahite with these inspired words, Psalm 89, from the Holy Spirit.
This psalm is 52 verses long and contains 104 lines of text. After the introduction, the psalm can be further divided into three segments. In the first section, verses 5-18, we find Ethan praising God for His faithfulness and more. Next, in verses 19-37, the praise continues, but the focus is clearly God’s covenant with David. In the third section, verses 38-52, the praise turns to lament as Ethan calls on God to remember His covenant with David and return Israel to its former glory. The overarching theme is the Davidic Covenant, God’s covenant of love, which is an unconditional covenant where God holds all authority and is exclusively responsible to make it happen; even when man fails God will be faithful to David’s everlasting throne, where Christ now sits. By way of contrast the Mosaic Covenant came with conditions called blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 11:26-30.
The introduction, verses 1-4, sets the pace for the psalm and has several key words or phrases that repeat throughout the psalm. In addition these opening verses have two parts, first we hear what Ethan the Ezrahite has to say about God. He speaks of God’s steadfast love, which is coupled with faithfulness.
Steadfast love and faithfulness both occur twice in the introductory verses and six more times within the psalm. This is followed by what God says about David. He has made a covenant with David to establish his throne forever. Forever occurs 9 times in the psalm with words like generations, steadfast, and faithfulness adding to the sense of permanence. Covenant appears once in the introduction and three more times within the text with additional phrases, such as sworn by my holiness, that increase the idea of covenant.
It is also important to note that the combination of the words steadfast love and faithfulness prompt us to remember our covenant relationship with God. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary explains that faithfulness is “the relationship between God and mankind and between individuals through which trust and belief are enacted… [which] in the Bible is expressed primarily in terms of loyalty to the covenant relationship. … Such faithfulness is frequently attributed to God … and is evident through his steadfast love … by which he upholds his gracious covenant” (p. 375; bold added).
Below, a few more key words / passages are explained:
1) Rahab (verse 10)
According to The Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary Rahab appears in the Bible 13 times; 8 times of the 13 it is a person’s name (in Joshua and the New Testament). But is also used in Job 9:13, 26:12; Psalm 87:4, 89:10; and Isaiah 51:9 to describe a “mythical sea monster.” The dictionary is not saying there is mythology in the Bible, it is simply speaking the language of men as Paul does in Romans 3:5.
Burg prefers to call the use of Rahab, in verse 10, figurative language for the sea, and calls the sea “a monster that only God can control” (Psalms 2, 74). I see his point, but he is looking back to verse 9 to support his position where the parallel lines of Hebrew poetry speak directly of the sea, but verse 10 speaks of slaying and scattering the enemy.
Both Strong and Burg convey the idea of God being in control of His Creation, and that works for this passage of the Bible. However, to be clear, in Psalm 87:4 Rahab is mentioned alongside Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush and all of them were enemies of God that He either slew or scattered. The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary equates Rahab, in Psalm 87:4 with Egypt (p. 887), and Cush in just south of Egypt (Ezekiel 29:9-10). In addition, Job 26:12 couples Rahab with a serpent, and Isaiah 51:9 couples Rahab with a dragon, both are enemies of God. And in Revelation 12 the devil is called the great red dragon, while in Revelation 13 there is a beast that rises out of the sea and a beast the rises out of the earth that talks like a dragon.
In summary, Rahab, when not used as the name of a person, is used in several Biblical passages where a sea monster, dragon, or enemy of God is implied and additional passages equate the monster to Satan. And all of these enemies of God, be they Egypt or Satan, have been slain or scattered.
2) Tabor and Hermon (verse 12)
At its highest point Mount Tabor is only 1886 feet tall (Wikipedia), but when viewed from the Jezreel Valley Mount Tabor abruptly juts out of the level ground, making it a prominent land feature. A decisive battle was won here by Deborah, a prophetess and judge of Israel (Judges 4). Furthermore, at 9,232 feet Mount Herman is the tallest mountain in Israel, though only the southern slopes reach into the land they hold today (Wikipedia). In some years the snowcapped peaks can be seen year-round. Together these two mountains bring to mind the awe of God’s Creation and compliment verse 11 where we read, “The earth is also yours.“
In the Names of God Bible the reader is told, “To get the most out of the Psalms, it is helpful to understand how Hebrew poetry works. Like poems in the English language, the Psalms use figures of speech such as simile … and metaphor. … Instead of rhythm and rhyme, however, most verses have two parallel lines. The two lines may express the same thought two ways. … They may offer two contrasting thoughts. … Or the second line may explain the first” (Spangler, 673) (see the full description in screenshot below).
Another way to describe the use of parallel lines in Hebrew poetry is parallelism, which burg explains this way: “Instead of rhyming words at the ends of successive lines, parallelism matches corresponding thoughts in successive lines. Poetry that uses parallelism as its main technique is, therefore, primarily a poetry of thoughts, rather than a poetry of sound” (Psalms 1, 24).
Burg goes on to say that there are different types of parallelism. One type is called synonymous parallelism where the second line uses similar words to restate the idea presented in the first line (p.24). This type of parallelism is used in Psalm 89.
There are four Ethan’s in the Old Testament, but the phrase Ethan the Ezrahite only appears twice in the Bible, here at the heading of the 89th Psalm and again in 1 Kings 4:31 where we are told that King Solomon was wiser than all men even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite. We know little more about him but can be certain he knew of David and God’s covenant with David, for that is the psalm’s central theme.
This psalm is listed as a maskil (instruction) of Ethan the Ezrahite. No doubt God gifted Ethan the Ezrahite with much wisdom, and his wisdom was known throughout the land so that when the people first learned of Solomon’s wisdom they were in awe to learn that Ethan the Ezrahite’s wisdom paled in comparison. God honored Ethan the Ezrahite with these inspired words, Psalm 89, from the Holy Spirit.
This psalm is 52 verses long and contains 104 lines of text. After the introduction, the psalm can be further divided into three segments. In the first section, verses 5-18, we find Ethan praising God for His faithfulness and more. Next, in verses 19-37, the praise continues, but the focus is clearly God’s covenant with David. In the third section, verses 38-52, the praise turns to lament as Ethan calls on God to remember His covenant with David and return Israel to its former glory. The overarching theme is the Davidic Covenant, God’s covenant of love, which is an unconditional covenant where God holds all authority and is exclusively responsible to make it happen; even when man fails God will be faithful to David’s everlasting throne, where Christ now sits. By way of contrast the Mosaic Covenant came with conditions called blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 11:26-30.
The introduction, verses 1-4, sets the pace for the psalm and has several key words or phrases that repeat throughout the psalm. In addition these opening verses have two parts, first we hear what Ethan the Ezrahite has to say about God. He speaks of God’s steadfast love, which is coupled with faithfulness.
Steadfast love and faithfulness both occur twice in the introductory verses and six more times within the psalm. This is followed by what God says about David. He has made a covenant with David to establish his throne forever. Forever occurs 9 times in the psalm with words like generations, steadfast, and faithfulness adding to the sense of permanence. Covenant appears once in the introduction and three more times within the text with additional phrases, such as sworn by my holiness, that increase the idea of covenant.
It is also important to note that the combination of the words steadfast love and faithfulness prompt us to remember our covenant relationship with God. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary explains that faithfulness is “the relationship between God and mankind and between individuals through which trust and belief are enacted… [which] in the Bible is expressed primarily in terms of loyalty to the covenant relationship. … Such faithfulness is frequently attributed to God … and is evident through his steadfast love … by which he upholds his gracious covenant” (p. 375; bold added).
Below, a few more key words / passages are explained:
1) Rahab (verse 10)
According to The Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary Rahab appears in the Bible 13 times; 8 times of the 13 it is a person’s name (in Joshua and the New Testament). But is also used in Job 9:13, 26:12; Psalm 87:4, 89:10; and Isaiah 51:9 to describe a “mythical sea monster.” The dictionary is not saying there is mythology in the Bible, it is simply speaking the language of men as Paul does in Romans 3:5.
Burg prefers to call the use of Rahab, in verse 10, figurative language for the sea, and calls the sea “a monster that only God can control” (Psalms 2, 74). I see his point, but he is looking back to verse 9 to support his position where the parallel lines of Hebrew poetry speak directly of the sea, but verse 10 speaks of slaying and scattering the enemy.
Both Strong and Burg convey the idea of God being in control of His Creation, and that works for this passage of the Bible. However, to be clear, in Psalm 87:4 Rahab is mentioned alongside Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush and all of them were enemies of God that He either slew or scattered. The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary equates Rahab, in Psalm 87:4 with Egypt (p. 887), and Cush in just south of Egypt (Ezekiel 29:9-10). In addition, Job 26:12 couples Rahab with a serpent, and Isaiah 51:9 couples Rahab with a dragon, both are enemies of God. And in Revelation 12 the devil is called the great red dragon, while in Revelation 13 there is a beast that rises out of the sea and a beast the rises out of the earth that talks like a dragon.
In summary, Rahab, when not used as the name of a person, is used in several Biblical passages where a sea monster, dragon, or enemy of God is implied and additional passages equate the monster to Satan. And all of these enemies of God, be they Egypt or Satan, have been slain or scattered.
2) Tabor and Hermon (verse 12)
At its highest point Mount Tabor is only 1886 feet tall (Wikipedia), but when viewed from the Jezreel Valley Mount Tabor abruptly juts out of the level ground, making it a prominent land feature. A decisive battle was won here by Deborah, a prophetess and judge of Israel (Judges 4). Furthermore, at 9,232 feet Mount Herman is the tallest mountain in Israel, though only the southern slopes reach into the land they hold today (Wikipedia). In some years the snowcapped peaks can be seen year-round. Together these two mountains bring to mind the awe of God’s Creation and compliment verse 11 where we read, “The earth is also yours.“
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3) Festal Shout (verse 15)
Festal shout? I get their meaning, but the translation may be too literal in the ESV. The KJV and NKJV say “joyful sound,” and the NIV says “learned to acclaim you,” while the HCSB says “joyful shout.” No doubt all this joyful acclamation takes place during the feasts, especially the major feasts when Israel was to present itself before the Lord 3 times a year.
4) His hand on the sea, etc. (verse 25)
Spurgeon explains that this refers to the territory God will give to David (p. 30). This makes sense in the light of verse 24 where God promises to exalt David.
5) You, meaning God, renounced the covenant (verse 39)
This never happened. As stated earlier God’s covenant with David is an everlasting covenant. Ethan the Ezrahite is not reporting a fact, he is expressing a feeling. He is lamenting the hiddenness of God, which he indicates in verse 46, “How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?” I covered the hiddenness of God in week 22 (Nehemiah 10 through Job 10) while reporting on the book of Esther.
Festal shout? I get their meaning, but the translation may be too literal in the ESV. The KJV and NKJV say “joyful sound,” and the NIV says “learned to acclaim you,” while the HCSB says “joyful shout.” No doubt all this joyful acclamation takes place during the feasts, especially the major feasts when Israel was to present itself before the Lord 3 times a year.
4) His hand on the sea, etc. (verse 25)
Spurgeon explains that this refers to the territory God will give to David (p. 30). This makes sense in the light of verse 24 where God promises to exalt David.
5) You, meaning God, renounced the covenant (verse 39)
This never happened. As stated earlier God’s covenant with David is an everlasting covenant. Ethan the Ezrahite is not reporting a fact, he is expressing a feeling. He is lamenting the hiddenness of God, which he indicates in verse 46, “How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?” I covered the hiddenness of God in week 22 (Nehemiah 10 through Job 10) while reporting on the book of Esther.
~ Works Cited ~
Barker, Kenneth, L., and John Kohlenberger III (Consulting Editors), Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary: Volume 1: Old Testament. Zondervan Publishing House, 1994.
-Note: this book is no longer in print
Burg, John F., Psalms 1 - People’s Bible Commentary. Concordia Publishing House, 1992.
Burg, John F., Psalms 2 - People’s Bible Commentary. Concordia Publishing House, 1992.
Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, The. Allen C, Myers (ed.), William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987.
Note: this is no longer in print
Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary, The. Olive Tree (for the Olive Tree App).
Spangler, Ann, (ed.) The Names Of God Bible. Baker Publishing Group, 2011.
Spurgeon, Charles, H., The Treasury of David: Volume 2. Hendrickson Publisher Marketing, 2016.
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