Psalm 89:3 Study Bible: "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant,

◄ Psalm 89:3 ►

You said, "I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant:

I have made
The phrase "I have made" is rooted in the Hebrew word "karath," which means to cut. This term is often used in the context of making covenants, signifying a solemn and binding agreement. In ancient times, covenants were often ratified by cutting an animal in two and passing between the pieces, symbolizing the seriousness and binding nature of the agreement. This imagery underscores the gravity and permanence of God's promises.

a covenant
refers to a divine promise or agreement initiated by God. In the Hebrew context, a covenant is not merely a contract but a sacred bond. Theologically, covenants in the Bible are central to God's relationship with humanity, marking significant moments in salvation history. This particular covenant is reminiscent of God's promises to Abraham, Moses, and David, each serving as a foundation for God's unfolding plan of redemption.

with My chosen one
highlights the special selection and favor of the individual with whom God is making this covenant. The term "chosen one" in Hebrew is "bachir," indicating someone selected for a specific purpose or mission. Historically, this phrase is understood to refer to David, the king chosen by God to lead Israel and through whose lineage the Messiah would come. This choice is not based on human merit but on divine grace and purpose, reflecting God's sovereign will in the unfolding of His redemptive plan.

I have sworn to David My servant
The phrase "I have sworn" comes from the Hebrew "shaba," meaning to take an oath. In biblical times, an oath was a solemn promise, often invoking God as a witness to the truth of one's words. God's swearing an oath emphasizes the unchangeable and trustworthy nature of His promises. It reassures believers of the certainty and reliability of God's word, as He binds Himself to His promises with an unbreakable commitment.

to David
refers to King David, a central figure in the Old Testament. David is not only a historical king but also a type of Christ, prefiguring the coming Messiah. God's covenant with David, often called the Davidic Covenant, promised that his throne would be established forever, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of David. This promise to David is a cornerstone of biblical prophecy and messianic expectation.

My servant
underscores the relationship between God and David. The term "servant" in Hebrew is "ebed," which conveys both humility and honor. It signifies one who is devoted to carrying out the will of another. David, as God's servant, is portrayed as a model of faithfulness and obedience, despite his human flaws. This designation also points to the ultimate Servant, Jesus Christ, who perfectly fulfills the role of the obedient servant, accomplishing God's redemptive work on behalf of humanity.

Persons / Places / Events

1. God
The speaker in this verse, who is making a covenant. In the context of the Bible, God is the ultimate authority and the one who initiates covenants with His people.

2. David
The chosen servant with whom God makes a covenant. David was the second king of Israel, known for his heart for God and his role in establishing Jerusalem as the political and spiritual center of Israel.

3. Covenant
A solemn agreement or promise made by God. In the Hebrew context, the word "covenant" (berit) signifies a binding agreement that is often accompanied by a sign or sacrifice.

4. Chosen One
Refers to David in this context, but also prophetically points to Jesus Christ, who is often seen as the ultimate fulfillment of God's promises to David.

5. Servant
A term that denotes humility and dedication to God's will. David is referred to as God's servant, highlighting his role in God's plan and his obedience to God's commands.

Teaching Points

Understanding God's Covenants
God's covenants are foundational to understanding His relationship with humanity. They reveal His faithfulness and commitment to His promises.

The Role of David in God's Plan
David's life and kingship are central to the unfolding of God's redemptive plan. His lineage leads to Jesus, the Messiah, who fulfills the covenant promises.

Faithfulness of God
God's promise to David demonstrates His unwavering faithfulness. Believers can trust that God will fulfill His promises in their lives as well.

Prophetic Fulfillment in Christ
The covenant with David finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who reigns eternally. This encourages believers to see the Old Testament promises through the lens of Christ's work.

Living as God's Servants
Like David, believers are called to be servants of God, living in obedience and dedication to His will.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does understanding the covenant with David enhance our view of God's faithfulness in our own lives?

2. In what ways does the promise to David point to the coming of Jesus Christ, and how does this impact our understanding of the New Testament?

3. How can we apply the concept of being a "servant" of God in our daily lives, following the example of David?

4. What are some modern-day examples of covenants or promises, and how do they compare to the biblical covenants?

5. How does the fulfillment of God's promises in the Bible encourage us to trust Him with our future?

Connections to Other Scriptures

2 Samuel 7
This chapter details God's covenant with David, promising that his throne will be established forever. This is a direct connection to the promise mentioned in Psalm 89:3.

Isaiah 55:3
This verse speaks of the "sure mercies of David," which ties into the everlasting nature of God's covenant with David and points to the coming Messiah.

Luke 1:32-33
The angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary about Jesus' birth connects to the promise of an eternal kingdom, fulfilling God's covenant with David.

Sermons

God's Faithfulness	S. Conway	Psalm 89:1, 2, 5, 8
A Majestic Song		Psalm 89:1-52
God's Promise to David and His Seed	C. Short	Psalm 89:1-52
The Uncovenanted Mercies of God	Samuel Cox, D.D.	Psalm 89:1-52
The Security of God's Pledged Word	R. Tuck	Psalm 89:2-4

People

David, Ethan, Psalmist, Rahab

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Agreement, Chosen, Covenant, David, Elect, Hast, Oath, Selection, Servant, Sworn

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Psalm 89:3

8344 servanthood, in believers

Psalm 89:1-4

2078 Christ, sonship of

Psalm 89:1-37

5089 David, significance

Psalm 89:3-4

     1351   covenant, with David
     1443   revelation, OT
     5431   oaths, divine
     6641   election, responsibilities
     7125   elect, the

Library

Continual Sunshine
'Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance.'--PSALM lxxxix. 15. The Psalmist has just been setting forth, in sublime language, the glories of the divine character--God's strength, His universal sway, the justice and judgment which are the foundation of His Throne, the mercy and truth which go as heralds before His face. A heathen singing of any of his gods would have gone on to describe the form and features of the god or goddess who …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

December the Ninth National Blessedness
"Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound." --PSALM lxxxix. 1-18. Blessed is the people who love the sound of the silver trumpet which calls to holy convocation! Blessed is the people who are sacredly impatient for the hour of holy communion! Blessed is the people "in whose heart are the highways to Zion." And in what shall their blessedness consist? In illumination. "They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance." The favour of the Lord shall shine upon them when they walk …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

September the Sixteenth the Steadfastness of the Lord
"My covenant shall stand fast." --PSALM lxxxix. 19-29. Such a divine assurance ought to make me perfectly quiet in spirit. Restlessness in a Christian always spells disloyalty. The uncertainty is born of suspicion. There is a rift in the faith, and the disturbing breath of the devil blows through, and destroys my peace. If I am sure of my great Ally, my heart will not be troubled, neither will it be afraid. And such a divine assurance ought to make me bold in will and majestic in labour. I ought …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The People's Christ
We do not believe that Israel or Judah ever had a better ruler than David; and we are bold to affirm that the reign of the man "chosen out of the people" outshines in glory the reigns of high-bred emperors, and princes with the blood of a score of kings running in their veins. Yea, more, we will assert that the humility of his birth and education, so far from making him incompetent to rule, rendered him, in a great degree, more fit for his office, and able to discharge its mighty duties. He could …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

The Blessing of God.
NUMB. VI. 22-27. We have already seen the grace of GOD making provision that His people, who had lost the privilege of priestly service, might draw near to Him by Nazarite separation and consecration. And not as the offence was the free gift: those who had forfeited the privilege of priestly service were the males only, but women and even children might be Nazarites; whosoever desired was free to come, and thus draw near to GOD. We now come to the concluding verses of Numb. vi, and see in them one …
James Hudson Taylor—Separation and Service

A vision of the King.
ONE of the most blessed occupations for the believer is the prayerful searching of God's holy Word to discover there new glories and fresh beauties of Him, who is altogether lovely. Shall we ever find out all which the written Word reveals of Himself and His worthiness? This wonderful theme can never be exhausted. The heart which is devoted to Him and longs through the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be closer to the Lord, to hear and know more of Himself, will always find something …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The City of God. Index of Subjects.
Abel, the relation of, to Christ, [1]299. See Cain. Abraham, the era in the life of, from which a new succession begins, [2]318; time of the migration of, [3]319, etc.; the order and nature of God's promises to, [4]320, etc.; the three great kingdoms existing at the time of the birth of, [5]321; the repeated promises of the land of Canaan made to, and to his seed, [6]321; his denial of his wife in Egypt, [7]322; the parting of Lot and, [8]322; the third promise of the land to, [9]322; his victory …
St. Augustine—On Christian Doctrine In Four Books.

Unity of Moral Action.
CAN OBEDIENCE TO MORAL LAW BE PARTIAL? 1. What constitutes obedience to moral law? We have seen in former lectures, that disinterested benevolence is all that the spirit of moral law requires; that is, that the love which it requires to God and our neighbor is good-willing, willing the highest good or well-being of God, and of being in general, as an end, or for its own sake; that this willing is a consecration of all the powers, so far as they are under the control of the will, to this end. Entire …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Letter Lv. Replies to Questions of Januarius.
Or Book II. of Replies to Questions of Januarius. (a.d. 400.) Chap. I. 1. Having read the letter in which you have put me in mind of my obligation to give answers to the remainder of those questions which you submitted to me a long time ago, I cannot bear to defer any longer the gratification of that desire for instruction which it gives me so much pleasure and comfort to see in you; and although encompassed by an accumulation of engagements, I have given the first place to the work of supplying …
St. Augustine—The Confessions and Letters of St

The Promised King and Temple-Builder
'And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, 5. Go and tell My servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build Me an house for Me to dwell in! 6. Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"He is the Rock, his Work is Perfect. For all his Ways are Judgment. A God of Truth, and Without Iniquity, Just and Right is He.
Deut. xxxii. 4, 5.--"He is the rock, his work is perfect. For all his ways are judgment. A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he. They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children. They are a perverse and crooked generation." "All his ways are judgment," both the ways of his commandments and the ways of his providence, both his word which he hath given as a lantern to men's paths, and his works among men. And this were the blessedness of men, to be found …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Atonement.
We come now to the consideration of a very important feature of the moral government of God; namely, the atonement. In discussing this subject, I will-- I. Call attention to several well-established principles of government. 1. We have already seen that moral law is not founded in the mere arbitrary will of God or of any other being, but that it has its foundation in the nature and relations of moral agents, that it is that rule of action or of willing which is imposed on them by the law of their …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Second Sunday in Lent
Text: First Thessalonians 4, 1-7. 1 Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, even as ye do walk,--that ye abound more and more. 2 For ye know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; 4 that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The Justice of God
The next attribute is God's justice. All God's attributes are identical, and are the same with his essence. Though he has several attributes whereby he is made known to us, yet he has but one essence. A cedar tree may have several branches, yet it is but one cedar. So there are several attributes of God whereby we conceive of him, but only one entire essence. Well, then, concerning God's justice. Deut 32:4. Just and right is he.' Job 37:23. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Covenanting Provided for in the Everlasting Covenant.
The duty of Covenanting is founded on the law of nature; but it also stands among the arrangements of Divine mercy made from everlasting. The promulgation of the law, enjoining it on man in innocence as a duty, was due to God's necessary dominion over the creatures of his power. The revelation of it as a service obligatory on men in a state of sin, arose from his unmerited grace. In the one display, we contemplate the authority of the righteous moral Governor of the universe; in the other, we see …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

His Future Work
The Lord Jesus Christ, who finished the work on earth the Father gave Him to do, who is now bodily present in the highest heaven, occupying the Father's throne and exercising His priesthood in behalf of His people, is also King. To Him belongeth a Kingdom and a kingly Glory. He has therefore a kingly work to do. While His past work was foretold by the Spirit of God and His priestly work foreshadowed in the Old Testament, His work as King and His glorious Kingdom to come are likewise the subjects …
A. C. Gaebelein—The Work Of Christ

Assurance
Q-xxxvi: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM SANCTIFICATION? A: Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. The first benefit flowing from sanctification is assurance of God's love. 'Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' 2 Pet 1:10. Sanctification is the seed, assurance is the flower which grows out of it: assurance is a consequent of sanctification. The saints of old had it. We know that we know …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Of the Name of God
Exod. iii. 13, 14.--"And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." We are now about this question, What God is. But who can answer it? Or, if answered, who can understand it? It should astonish us in …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Poetical Books (Including Also Ecclesiastes and Canticles).
1. The Hebrews reckon but three books as poetical, namely: Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, which are distinguished from the rest by a stricter rhythm--the rhythm not of feet, but of clauses (see below, No. 3)--and a peculiar system of accentuation. It is obvious to every reader that the poetry of the Old Testament, in the usual sense of the word, is not restricted to these three books. But they are called poetical in a special and technical sense. In any natural classification of the books of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin?
That we may give some satisfaction to this question, we shall, 1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth to concur in this distemper. 2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thus with his people. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case. 4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and, 5. Add a word or two of caution. As to the first, There may be those parts of, or ingredients in this distemper: 1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Firstborn.
"THE Firstborn" or "The Firstbegotten" is one of the names of our blessed Lord. It is applied to Him after His resurrection from the dead. As the Only Begotten He came into this world, the unspeakable gift of God to a lost and ruined world; after the accomplishment of His work on the cross He left the earth, He had created, as the Firstborn. As the Firstbegotten He is now in the highest heaven and as the Firstbegotten the Man of Glory He will be sent back to this earth and rule in power and glory. …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Why is the commandment in the second person singular, Thou? Why does not God say, You shall have no other gods? Because the commandment concerns every one, and God would have each one take it as spoken to him by name. Though we are forward to take privileges to ourselves, yet we are apt to shift off duties from ourselves to others; therefore the commandment is in the second person, Thou and Thou, that every one may know that it is spoken to him, …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Call of Matthew - the Saviour's Welcome to Sinners - Rabbinic Theology as Regards the Doctrine of Forgiveness in Contrast to the Gospel of Christ
In two things chiefly does the fundamental difference appear between Christianity and all other religious systems, notably Rabbinism. And in these two things, therefore, lies the main characteristic of Christ's work; or, taking a wider view, the fundamental idea of all religions. Subjectively, they concern sin and the sinner; or, to put it objectively, the forgiveness of sin and the welcome to the sinner. But Rabbinism, and every other system down to modern humanitarianism - if it rises so high in …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Being of God
Q-III: WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES PRINCIPALLY TEACH? A: The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Q-IV: WHAT IS GOD? A: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Here is, 1: Something implied. That there is a God. 2: Expressed. That he is a Spirit. 3: What kind of Spirit? I. Implied. That there is a God. The question, What is God? takes for granted that there …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

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