Verses 19-29 are essentially a commentary on 2 Samuel 7. This stanza highlights six critical features of God's covenant with David, three of which we looked at yesterday, and the remaining three of which we take up today.
Having moved from heaven to earth and from nature to the specific event of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt, the writer now turns to the faithfulness of God to his people generally (vv. 14-18). At this point he brings in many other attributes of God which his people have experienced and for which they praise him. These attributes are added to faithfulness as basic to God's character and as a foundation for faith in his faithfulness. God has the power to be faithful, but does he want to be? Is God willing? These attributes assure us that the answer is "Yes."
Having spoken of the faithfulness of God in heaven and of that strength which is one of its characteristics, the psalmist next moves to earth where the power of God is particularly evident (vv. 9-13). Faithfulness itself is not mentioned here, since the writer seems to be concentrating on the power of God. Why? The reason becomes clear in the next stanza. It is the power of God that enables God to be effective in his faithfulness to his people. He is effectively faithful because he is his people's "shield” and sure defense against enemies (see v. 18).
The theme of the psalm is established in the first stanza (vv. 1-4) by the repeated use of "faithfulness" and "forever" and by one use of the word "covenant.” These words occur throughout the psalm, as indicated, but they are particularly prominent here. "Forever" occurs three times, the word "faithfulness" twice, and "covenant" once.
There are as many attributes of God as there are names of God, one for each day of the year, according to ones writer's collection. But of all these divine attributes it would be hard to find one as important to us as faithfulness. Men and women are unfaithful. We make promises and break them. We want people to rely on us, but we cannot be relied on ourselves. God is utterly faithful. What he promises, he performs. This is what Psalm 89 is about. It is about God's faithfulness.
