What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
The writer of this psalm approaches God's throne with the covenant made to David as his anchor: God promised to sustain His favor toward this people forever through their king. He rehearses God's power in all creation and His faithfulness in redemption, yet the complaint that follows cuts sharp, God has seemingly abandoned His Church to her enemies, withdrawn all help and comfort, as though He had forgotten His own word.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 89:1-52
What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? All must die. None of our race can answer to the question here propounded except in the negative; there is none that can claim to elude the arrows of death. Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?
God seems to have cast off David's house entirely, not merely disciplined it but cancelled the whole covenant, yet we mistake the rebukes of Providence if we think they void His word. When Christ Himself hung on the cross under God's wrath, the covenant stood eternal still.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 89:38-52