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"And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth."
(Psalm 89:27)
What do you do when you know something to be true but all the evidence around you seems to be pointing somewhere else? Looking back at where we ended yesterday, the psalmist of Psalm 89 is confused because he trusts in God's character but it seems as though God is acting against His covenant with David with the end of the Davidic monarchy. After all, God said that He would establish an eternal throne through the line of David. The author laments this situation but with a steady faith in God nonetheless.
With the information known by the psalmist, Ethan the Ezrahite, one can understand his confusion. How is God going to still be faithful when it looks like the covenant has been broken? In fact, Ethan couldn't see how God would indeed show Himself faithful to His covenant with David. The psalm ends without an answer, but the Scriptures as a whole do not end without an answer to these questions.
The ultimate fulfillment of David's descendants reigning eternally was not to be found in disobedient and flawed kings, but in Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus, from the line of David, is God's ultimate fulfillment of His ancient covenant with David. Jesus reigns forever and ever. God is faithful to His covenant; the end of the Davidic monarchy in Ethan's time was not proof of God's untrustworthiness, rather, it is a reminder to us that His plans might not look the way we expect, but they are always good, faithful, and true.
The Lord says in verse 27, referring to His covenant with David, "And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth" (Psalm 89:27). This is Messianic language! Colossians 1:15, speaking of Christ says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." Firstborn does not refer to literal birth order but to a status or rank of the one who receives the inheritance. Jesus is the priority and will inherit all the earth.
So what hope do we have to take from Psalm 89? The Davidic covenant was not broken with the fall of Jerusalem and the end of an earthly line of kings. It had a greater fulfillment all along, rooted in the perfect person of Jesus Christ. The sons of David failed, and the covenant seemed broken. But thanks be to God that His faithfulness is not based on our performance but rather on the perfection of Christ the Son!
If you are in Christ, you are a recipient of the same steadfast love and the same hope promised to David. Thankfully, God didn't make a contract with David which could be broken by man's shortcomings; He made a covenant based on His own faithfulness. God's promises do not exist with us holding up one end and him holding up the other. If that were so, we'd drop our end every time. Christ holds it all up through His work on the cross. We can't ruin God's plan. We may therefore rest in His promises and trust in His perfect faithfulness.
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