Revisiting the Text
When I first encountered Psalm 89, it was through a trauma-informed lens. I saw the obvious things that live in this text and among many traumatized groups. The content indicates a traumatic event befell the writer and their community—that is the reason for the lament. On a more subtle level, the form of the lament and the emotional (and non-emotional) language used reveals the depth of the trauma.
I returned to this text after being exposed to 10 weeks of faith, patriotism, and differences at Chautauqua Institution. When I reread the text, this time, the trauma almost seemed unimportant. I could not get past the switch-up of the speaker’s allegiance: from “I will declare that your [God’s] love stands firm forever” (verse 2) to “you have renounced the covenantA covenant is a promise or agreement. In the Bible the promises made between God and God's people are known as covenants; they state or imply a relationship of commitment and obedience. More with your servant…” (verse 39). This is a bold charge to God, especially in the context of the Bible where we have a God who is all loving, most righteousA righteous person is one who is ethical and faithful to God's covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament is an attitude of God; in the New Testament it is a gift of God through grace. In the New Testament righteousness is a relationship with God... More, and powerful.
I will respond to the challenge that God has abandoned the covenant and bring this text to life with a timely focus on my country, the United States of America. Throughout the text, there is symmetry between King DavidSecond king of Israel, David united the northern and southern kingdoms. More and God that offers much introspection for all people—children, parents, and citizens of a nation state. Psalm 89 appears in three sections: pledge of allegiance (verses 1-18 ), covenant (verses 19-37 ), and lament (verses 38-45). The first two sections fortify God’s power and connect it to King David’s.
Covetous power
At the very beginning, verses 5-8 affirm God’s sovereignty with the rhetorical question “who is like you, Lord God…?”. This is repeated twice and reminiscent of the image and likeness concept in Genesis 1:26. It summons human kinship to the Lord’s strength and love.
In addition to granting the king God’s utmost regard, the psalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. More elevates the king dangerously close to God’s status in verse 25. This verse recalls verse 9 to say “that the king participates in the exercise of God’s sovereignty even on the cosmic scale” (McCann 1036). Verses like these are the focus of the lectionary.
The Revised Common Lectionary, a 3-year cycle of readings followed by many churches, only includes verses from the first two sections of the psalm (verses 1-37). This has potential for harm. Promoting this godly image of a king grants unwavering faith to a nation-state—or simply things other than God. Equating authorities to God creates space for excuses, abuse, and infallibility in the family and/or public spheres of society. This is important today because there is a movement of people in the U.S. built around conflating the political with the prophetic.
It is a fruitful coincidence that this psalm mentions Rahab to demonstrate God’s power (verse 10). In this context, RahabProstitute who sheltered Joshua's men when they came to spy on Jericho. More is not referring to the woman who harbors spies in Jericho (Joshua 2); rather, the name refers to a sea monster of chaos whose alternative name is LeviathanLeviathan is a biblical sea monster. Often mistakenly identified as a whale, this creature is perceived as larger and meaner than a whale. Leviathan is mentioned in Job, Psalms, and Isaiah as an example of enormity, who is eclipsed only by the enormity and power... More (Job 26:12). Interestingly, Thomas Hobbes influenced the U.S. Constitution with a philosophical treatise called The Leviathan (1651). In it, he creates a safety net for society with “social contract theory,” a new model of power. He proposes that a ruler should be all-powerful, but derive their power from the citizens. It was a long-overdue change from models where the sovereign derived their power from God.
Facing our hurt
Furthermore, in verses 38 to 51 the speaker makes it clear that he views the failure of the monarchy as the failure of God. This is the danger of equating the political to the prophetic that I want to stress: it threatens faith and damages the individual’s spirit. The psalmist’s heart is hardened as a result of the considerable amount of suffering King David’s people have been through. The traumatic effect becomes clear since he holds so much attention on the destruction of his enemy—it is central to the promise for him.
This is antagonistic but it is useful: healing from trauma naturally involves revenge fantasies. However, as God-fearing people we must be careful with combative frameworks as we heal from personal or sociopolitical trauma. Unfortunately, the text is chock-full of them; for example, the verse that recognizes other gods as inferior.
Verse 6 does not refer to God in the plural, as in the holyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine More “us” that was present at creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... More (Genesis 1:26). It refers to the gods of polytheism. It is a comparative theology saying our god is the greatest. This type of mentality has manifested in extremist attitudes against non-Christians.
In all, the lectionary’s editing misguides the reader and leaves us with an egotistical affirmation of God’s power and favoritism. The lament provides an important balance of humility and reality/complexity. Why does the lectionary exclude the lament? Do we fear it will cause unfaithfulness?
Reading the lament can actually be a springboard for a hurt person to work through their feelings. When I am left with the psalmist’s emotions, my own are projected before me to see and reflect upon. When I think deeply violent things, as a Christian, am I willing to let it consume me? How deep is my lament? Do I trust in the first visible symbol of God’s kingship in this psalm—that “righteousness and justice are the foundation of” God’s throne (verse 14)?
My heart’s belief in a steadfast loving God is the only thing strong enough to pull me out of an unfaithful lament against the powers that be—empires and God. Like CainThe elder son of Adam and Eve, Cain murdered his brother Abel. More, we need to mind our emotions in response to God’s plan (Genesis 4:6,7). Do not let it turn us towards hate, or worse, violence.
Our myopic condition
There is empathetic healing to be found in the psalm. Suffering is something we can all relate to, even people who do not belong to disenfranchised groups. The unansweredness about this lament does not leave one wanting to walk away from God—but fills one with wonder. J. Clinton McCann Jr. agrees that the openness at the end caused re-evaluation for past readers (see McCann, “Psalm 89,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible). McCann reflects on the value of this but also makes the observation that the supposedly inviolable covenant has been broken. However, a broken covenant is a dilemma the speaker creates for himself, and we have this same problem!
We see things manifest and our little minds decide they represent the cosmic order. This thinking creates self-fulfilling prophecies in our lives and society. We think God has turned away from us so we turn away from God and cause ourselves to become greatly displaced from God’s favor. For example, if we think God has cursed Black people, we may treat them in a way that keeps them from encountering any good fortune. I want to challenge initial perceptions to say that the covenant has not been broken.
The Davidic covenant is lost from the psalmist’s sight but, I would argue as others have, not gone. The defeat of the monarchy breaks the basic assumptions of goodness in their world. But God’s plan does not need political power! There is a sign in this psalm that is rehabilitative for the reader who needs it. Verse 35-36 “and I will not lie to David—that his line will continue forever”. Focus on this, now read verses 41-45. The psalterThe psalter is a volume containing the book of Psalms (see Psalm). In the early Middle Ages psalters were popular and contained - in addition to the psalms - calendars, litanies of saints, and other devotional texts. More laments, “he [David’s people] has become the scorn of his neighbors … You have cut short the days of his youth.” Yes, and he still lives! God has not ended David’s bloodline—the lineage continues—so saying that God renounced the covenant (verse 39) is untrue. God is not unfaithful.
Though still enduring similar trauma to this psalm, it is by God’s plan that Jews (and other marginalized groups, including African Americans and indigenous peoples) are still alive today. They may be disinherited and downtrodden, but I do not think God has abandoned any of these people. What do you think: Where is suffering in the U.S.? In the world? Does God’s plan end in neglect of any single part of creation?
Still, thy kingdom come
As an American, this psalm teaches me that our short-sighted, polarized thinking is what has us viscerally reacting to politics—not God’s abandonment. By mixing the prophetic with the political we are backtracking to what our founding colonies ran away from. Psalm 89 reminds me that we must put all our faith, only, in God to prevent harm. Let me clarify: putting all your faith in God is not putting all your faith in the church and clergy. Putting all our faith in God, only, is acting like JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. More and trusting everything else will work itself out. Not just for yourself, but for the entire kingdom here on earth.
