Psalm 89 tells us that God has made a covenant where the seed of David are secure. “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations’” (3–4). It is a covenant that lasts forever and establishes both his throne and his line or seed. There are two key questions that arise in this text. Who is David? And who is his seed? The reason for this question is that what is applied to David in this text is applied to David’s son in 2 Samuel 7 where the promises were first given. So, how can we apply this to David when 2 Samuel 7 says the promises are for his son? And what does this mean for his seed? These are the questions we’ll explore in this post.
First Question – Who is David?
The name David is mentioned three times in Psalm 89 (vv. 3, 20, 35). Most modern commentators take it for granted that this solves the question of the identity of David in this psalm. For example, J.A. Alexander writes, “This verse removes all doubt as to the person primarily intended in the foregoing verse, but without excluding his successors, and especially the last and greatest of them, to whom the royal dignity was given in the unction of David.” Thus, the modern commentators tend to see this Psalm as referring primarily to David and only secondarily or typically (if at all) to Christ. This view would then make the sons of David in vv. 29-30 the physical descendants of King David. This is a plausible reading and conclusion from an initial examination of the text.
On the other side, the older commentators tend to identify the David mentioned in this passage as the Christ. And there is good reason to give serious consideration to this second view. While it is not so obvious in a casual reading, a careful comparison with 2 Sam. 7 indicates a surprising change in the recipients of the promises listed in that first announcement of the Davidic covenant. The specific promises that God applied to David’s son in 2 Sam. 7 are applied to David in Ps. 89, except for the promise to chasten him with the rod, which is changed from “son” to “sons.” This indicates that we should at least consider whether or not the “David” meant here is the literal David or the Messiah Himself.
There are good reasons to believe that this refers to the Messiah. The promises listed concerning “David” can, in their full sense, only refer to Christ. There are three prophecies in Psalm 89 that do help us understand the identity of David. First, in Ps. 89:21-23 we learn that all his enemies will be defeated. Of course, victory over enemies may be applied to David, but the verbs are future. It also may be understood of the enemies of David figuratively speaking, that is, the opponents of his throne on which his physical descendants and then Christ sits. However, in Psalm 89, “David” is referred to as the one who sits on the throne and before whose face the enemies are defeated. When the reign of the Messiah is described elsewhere, there is constant reference to the defeat of all his enemies (Ps. 2:7-12, 21:8-12, 110:5-7, Dan. 2:44-45, etc.). This promise in Psalm 89 speaks in the same language of David as the other psalms do of Christ. Therefore, this promise is best applied to the Messiah, and it cannot be said that the historical David will sit on the throne and actually have the victory over his enemies.