Psalms 89:2

2. For I have said] ‘I have deliberately come to this conclusion.’ Thus emphatically the poet introduces the motive for his song. He is persuaded that one stone after another will continue to be laid in the building of God’s lovingkindness till it reaches to heaven itself, even though it may now seem to be a deserted ruin. Though for rhythmical reasons the verse is divided into two lines, its sense must be taken as a whole: ‘Lovingkindness and faithfulness shall be built up and established for ever in the heavens.’

For the metaphorical use of ‘build’ cp. Job_22:23; Jer_12:16; Mal_3:15. The choice of the word, as well as of ‘establish’ in the next line, is suggested by their use in Psa_89:4.

in the very heavens] High as the heavens (Psa_36:5); or in the region where it is beyond the reach of earthly vicissitudes (Psa_119:89-90).

Many editors would read, Thou hast said … My faithfulness shall be established &c., a change partly supported by the LXX and Jer. But the structure of the Psalm is against the change, for the verses run in pairs, and Psa_89:2 is clearly to be connected with Psa_89:1 : moreover the emphatic ‘I have said’ is by no means superfluous.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 89:2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

Ver. 2. For I have said] I believed, therefore have I spoken it; I dare say it shall be so, because thou hast said it (so the Greek here hath it). What God saith we may write upon it, because all the words of his mouth are in righteousness, neither is there anything froward or perverse in them, Pro 8:8.

Mercy shall be built up for ever] Till the topstone be laid, and judgment be brought forth into victory, Mat 12:20; the sure mercies of David fail not.

Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the heavens] Or, with the very heavens; that is, so sure as they are established. If that martyr could say, The heavens shall sooner fall than I will forsake the truth I have learned; how much more may we say so of God’s unfailable faithfulness! See Psa 89:33.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_89:2

For I have said, Mercy shall be built up far ever.

The building up of a good government for the world

I. A good government for the world is a desirable thing. Human society would scarcely be possible without a government.

II. A good government for the world is destined to be established (Psa_89:3). The Supreme here pledges in the most solemn way the establishing of a government in the world of which Davids is a most imperfect type, viz. the moral reign of Christ. This reign will be the reign of truth and love, and will one day be commensurate with the race.

III. A good government for the world will be reared by mercy and faithfulness. Mercy and faithfulness are to be the elements of which it is to be composed. As all the great mountains in nature are built up of certain elements, all grand and beneficent institutions in the world are built of mercy and faithfulness. (Homilist.)

The house of mercy

(to children):--Mercy is here compared to a building.

I. The builder. Strangers when they visit this great metropolis, and see some of its remarkable buildings, such as St. Pauls Cathedral, for instance, very naturally ask, Who was the builder of this beautiful edifice? The answer would be, Sir Christopher Wren.

1. A wise builder.

2. A mighty builder.

II. The name of the building. The house of mercy.

1. A very beautiful name.

2. A most just and proper name. Every little child who goes to the door of this House of Mercy, and asks admittance, is instantly received; and, when admitted, that child receives from Him who raised the building the choicest mercies--the mercy of pardon, the mercy of acceptance, the mercy of adoption, the mercy of holiness, and of a title to heaven.

III. The foundation of the building. Jesus Christ (1Co_3:11).

IV. The apartments of the building.

1. The storeroom, containing precious food. The bread of life, etc. Also medicine for the sick and diseased. The balm of Gilead, etc.

2. The wardrobe, containing the robe of righteousness, the garments of salvation, etc.

3. The armoury (Eph_6:13-17).

4. The library, containing books of history; books of doctrine; books of promises; books of threatening (these are all bound in black, and are very dreadful-looking books, though of great importance); books of precepts; books of songs, and oh, what beautiful songs! the songs of David, and other sweet singers of Israel; books of prophecy; and books of experience, such as the Psalms, Lamentations, and Job.

V. The excellencies of the building. It is--

1. Ancient.

2. Large.

3. Commodious.

4. Beautiful.

5. High.

6. Durable.

If you look at a building in this city which is ten years old you will see that it shows the effects of the elements upon it; it hears traces of the frost and smoke and rain. But there is no change in this beautiful building. It is very commodious. There is every comfort within these walls for every one without exception. It is filled with light. It is warm. There is no cold winter within that noble edifice.

VI. The inhabitants of the building.

1. All forgiven.

2. All sons and daughters of the living God.

3. All beautiful--no deformity there.

4. All happy.

VII. The road to the building. Every one who enters is convinced of three things:--

1. That he is a sinner.

2. That he is in danger of hell.

3. That he will never be saved till he enters this Building of Mercy.

VIII. The door of the building. The righteousness of Christ--what He did, became, and suffered.

IX. The servants employed to invite sinners to enter the building. (A. Fletcher, D.D.)

Thy faithfulness shalt Thou establish in the very heavens.

The establishment of Gods faithfulness

God draws us into the conscious knowledge and enjoyment of His faithfulness--

I. By keeping the promises of His grace to us.

II. By engaging us in special work. Though we have omnipotence on our side, God will employ the last ounce of our strength. He will not spare us thought, anxiety, trouble, endurance, labour, no, nor even some measure of disappointment--nothing that can conduce to make us workmen that need not be ashamed, and soldiers who can endure hardness. (J. P. Gledstone.)

Gods faithfulness

That is a Christmas psalm chosen for the day, and it is the psalm of dauntless courage, for it is a song that sings always the lovingkindness of the Lord; it goes up out of the darkness of desolation, it sees no cause for cheerfulness ringing it round as it sings. The singer stands, he tells us, in the heart of a great dismay. The cause of God is in ruin and contempt and impotence and misery. And yet, and yet he has but one song, and he must sing it out in defiance of his generation. No dishonour shall defeat it, no darkness shall choke it, no doubt or hesitation, no soreness or anger shall cloud his upward look or hold down the outpouring of his soul. The old words shall sing out from his lips which have never yet failed down all the long years. We would turn to this singer of long ago to ask him how it was that he retained his heroic confidence. What was his secret, in the thick of those old-world troubles, by force of which he still sang on this unswerving chant of victory? Can he pass the secret on to us who need it so sorely?

1. First, he relies absolutely on a word that God has once uttered, on a pledge that God has given to him (Psa_89:3-4). God has said it, God has sworn it. That is what he relies on! This looks so simple, but to estimate it aright let us recall that we touch here on that elementary conception of God which differentiated the Jews religion from all others. The Jew laid hold of God by this primary title, that He was a God who kept His word. A righteous God, so he called Him, and by righteousness he meant a God whose word can be trusted, and a God who never failed His pledge. This is the vital significance of the Jew that he was the first who took God seriously, the first to believe that God meant what He said, that what He spoke He spoke with a real and fixed purpose, and having spoken He held Himself bound by His own pronouncement.

2. Secondly, to justify his own confident assurance, he corroborates his belief in the verbal consistency of God by looking to that other handiwork of His, the vast fabric of ordered Nature. There it moves in its superb persistence, the immovable witness to the unchanging loyalty of God. Everywhere among the sequence of infinite changes Gods original creative word holds on changeless and true (Psa_89:8-11). Surely if a Jew had been allowed to know what we know of all that science tells us of the uniformities of Nature, of the persistence and conservation of force, he would have seen in these disclosures, not as we so stupidly do, the terms of a godless mechanism, but exactly the phrase that would best report his assurance of an imminent God. Everything that told him of the immutable permanence of a natural law beneath and through all change spoke to him directly of God Himself. Uniformity, persistence, conservation, yes, that is what he desires to find with all his soul in the world that God has made. That is the evidence he clings to of a God who keepeth His promise, whose word never faileth, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

3. Thirdly, he finds the like witness yielded by the solid securities of history. Thou hast subdued Egypt--God has done it, and if He has done it, surely not in vain, surely not without a fixed and final purpose! A historic act like that is a pledge put down by God: Hath He begun and shall He not finish? Here again it is the faithfulness of God to which the appeal is made. He keepeth His promise for ever, the promise sealed by His deeds; He will prove Himself consistent; if He take one step He will follow it by another; if He gives a decision He will hold to it. That is the significance of the actual deeds done in history. They are stakes laid versesown which cannot be withdrawn. They lay the honour and the power under obligation, and He cannot afford to retract. And God is honourable; He has a reputation which lie will keep clear at all hazards. And God has made His choice; He has laid down His stakes, He has taken His side, He has ventured His honour, He did it when He brought up Israel out of Egypt. He has done it since throughout the long story of His people whom He had fathered and shepherded, on whom He set His name; He has consummated this by the further steps taken when He went to give Israel a king and chose David for the kingdom. Thou spakest, our psalm goes on, Thou spakest sometimes in visions and said, I have found David, etc. All this has been done--it is down in the pages recorded in history which cannot be blotted out. What is done cannot be undone, and what God has done binds God as it binds a man. His will has gone out of it, He will never gainsay. That is the Divine freedom, that He binds Himself by His own deeds and His own words. His truth once more is His troth, His righteousness is the assurance that He will never fail to justify Himself. No, even if the witness of Nature were to fail, yet the witness of Gods own acts in history would abide. God is true, God keeps His word. We want nothing further wherewith to meet the year before us. There may be anxieties and the sense of social trouble and a cloudy outlook, but nothing shall rob us of our song. (Canon Scott Holland.)

Divine faithfulness

A learned minister, attending an aged Christian in humble life, when in his last illness, remarked that the passage in Heb_13:5, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, was much more emphatic in the original language than in our translation, inasmuch as it contained no fewer than five negatives in proof of the validity of the Divine promise, and not merely two, as it appears in the English version; intending by this remark to convey to him that, in consequence of the number of negatives, the promise was expressed with much greater force in the original language than in the English. The mans reply was very simple and striking: I have no doubt, sir, that you are quite right, but I can assure you that if God had only spoken once I should have believed Him just the same.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 2. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever. His heart was persuaded of it, and he had affirmed it as an indisputable truth. He was certain that upon a sure foundation the Lord intended to pile up a glorious palace of goodnessa house of refuge for all people, wherein the Son of David should for ever be glorified as the dispenser of heavenly grace.

Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. This divine edifice, he felt assured, would tower into the skies, and would be turreted with divine faithfulness even as its foundations were laid in eternal love. God's faithfulness is no thing of earth, for here nothing is firm, and all things savour of the changes of the moon and the fickleness of the sea: heaven is the birthplace of truth, and there it dwells in eternal vigour. As the blue arch above us remains unimpaired by age, so does the Lord's truth; as in the firmament he hangs his covenant bow, so in the upper heavens the faithfulness of God is enthroned in immutable glory. This Ethan said, and this we may say; come what will, mercy and faithfulness are built up by "the Eternal Builder", and his own nature is the guarantee for their perpetuity. This is to be called to mind whenever the church is in trouble, or our own spirits bowed down with grief.

Ver. 2. I have said. The word ytrma, "I have said", is used, in the Book of Psalms, to express two things; either a fixed purpose, or a settled opinion of the person speaking. The Psalmist, therefore, delivers the whole of this second verse in his own person, and introduces not God speaking till the next verse. Samuel Horsley.

Ver. 2. I have said, etc. The perpetuity of mercy is one eminent piece of this Psalm, for with that he begins: Mercy shall be built up for ever, etc. And they are the sure mercies of our spiritual David (Christ), he means. Now, to set forth the perpetuity hereof, he first useth words that express firmitude, as established, built up for ever, Ps 89:2, 4. Then he uses such similitudes as are taken from things which are held most firm and inviolable amongst men, as Ps 89:4, foedus incidi, I have cut or engraven my covenant (so in the Hebrew), alluding to what was then in use, when covenants were mutually to be made, such as they intended to be inviolate, and never to be broken; to signify so much, they did engrave and cut them into the most durable lasting matter, as marble, or brass, or the like. You may see this to have been the way of writing in use, as what was to last for ever: as Job 19:23-24. "Oh, that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!" And what is that rock or marble here? No other than the heart itself of our gracious and most merciful Jehovah, and his most unalterable and immovable purposes, truth and faithfulness. This is that foundation in the heavens, whereon mercy is built up for ever, as Ps 89:2, which (as the Apostle says) "remains for ever"; and so they become "the sure mercies of David", Isa 60:3. Again, solemn oaths amongst men serve to ratify and make things sworn to perpetual. This also is there specified as having been taken by God: "Once have I sworn by my holiness", etc., and sworn by him that cannot lie, and sworn to that end, "to show the immutability of his counsel", Heb 6:17. And not only is the immutability of his mercy illustrated by these things taken from what is firm on earth, but he ascends up to the heavens, and first into the very highest heavens: Ps 89:2, For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens: comparing them to an house built not on earth, or upon a foundation of earth, which thieves break through, and violence destroys, but in heaven, whither they cannot reach. Thomas Goodwin.

Ver. 2. Mercy shall be built up for ever. What is this "mercy" that is "built up for ever"? but the glorious and the gracious scheme, the glorious and the gracious fabric, of our salvation, founded in the eternal purpose of Godcarried into execution by the labours and the death of Jesus Christ and then applied and brought home to the heart by the illuminating and converting power of the Holy Ghost? This is that "mercy" which is "built up for ever." It was planned from everlasting, and will know no ruin or decay, through the illimitable line of eternity itself. Who is the builder of this fabric? Not man's free will. Not man's own righteousness or wisdom. Not human power nor human skill. Every true believer will here join issue with David, that it is God, and God alone, who builds up the temple of his Church; and who, as the builder of it, is alone entitled to all the glory.

The elect constitute and form one grand house of mercy: an house, erected to display and to perpetuate the riches of the Father's free grace, of the Son's atoning merit, and of the Holy Ghost's efficacious agency. This house, contrary to the fate of all sublunary buildings, will never fall down, nor ever be taken down. As nothing can be added to it, so nothing can be diminished from it. Fire cannot injure it; storms cannot overthrow it; age cannot impair it. It stands on a rock, and is immovable as the rock on which it standsthe threefold rock of God's inviolable decree, of Christ's finished redemption, and of the Spirit's never failing faithfulness. Augustus Montague Toplady, 1740-1778.

Ver. 2. Built up. Mention of a building of mercy, presupposes miserable ruins, and denotes that this building is intended for the benefit of an elect world ruined by Adam's fall. Free grace and love set on foot this building for them, every stone in which, from the lowest to the highest, is mercy to them; from top to bottom, from the foundation stone to the top stone, all is free and rich mercy to thrum. And the ground of this glorious building is God's covenant with his chosen: I have made a covenant with my chosen. Thomas Boston.

Ver. 2. Built up. Former mercies are fundamental to later ones. The mercies that we enjoy this day are founded upon the mercies of former days, such as we ought joyfully and thankfully to recount with delight and praise; remembering the years of the right hand of the Most High. John Howe.

Ver. 2. (last clause). The meaning of this passage appears to be, that the constancy of the celestial motions, the regular vicissitudes of day and night, and alternations of the seasons, were emblems of God's own immutability. R. Warner, 1828.

Ver. 2.

For I have said, Thy mercies rise,

A deathless structure, to the skies:

The heavens were planted by thy hand,

And, as the heavens, Thy truth shall stand. Richard Mant.

Ver. 2.

1. The Testimony.

(a) To the constancy of Mercy.

(1) builds up its trophies every moment.

(2) It preserves them for ever.

(b) To the constancy of Faithfulness. It remains as the

ordinances of heaven.

2. Its Confirmation. "I have said", etc., said it,

(a) Upon the ground of Scripture.

(b) of experience.

(c) of reason.

(d) of observation of others.

Psalms 89:3*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. (Psa 89:2) For I have said, For ever shall mercy be built up. The heavens-- thou wilt fix thy faithfulness in them. The church will celebrate God's mercy and faithfulness for ever, because they will endure for ever. I have said, i.e. this is the view of the matter I have taken and expressed already. The scheme of God's gracious dispensations is conceived of as a building, already founded and hereafter to be carried up to its completion. The emphatic construction of the heavens as an absolute nominative (as to the heavens, thou wilt fix, &c.) is inadequately represented in the common version (shalt thou establish in the very heavens). For the proverbial use of the heavens and the heavenly bodies as a standard of permanence and immutability, see above, on Psa 72:5. The idea here is, thou shalt make thy faithfulness as fixed and stable as the frame of nature.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As he that surely believed in heart.

As thine invisible heaven is not subject to any alteration and change: so shall the truth of thy promise be unchangeable.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 2. Mercy shall be built up for ever] God's goodness is the foundation on which his mercy rests; and from that source, and on that foundation, acts of mercy shall flow and be built up for ever and ever.

Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish] What thou hast promised to do to the children of men on earth, thou dost register in heaven, and thy promise shall never fail.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever. He assigns the reason why he perseveres in singing the Divine praises in the midst of adversities; which is, that he does not despair of the manifestation of God’s loving-kindness towards his people, although at present they were under severe chastisement. Never will a man freely open his mouth to praise God, unless he is fully persuaded that God, even when he is angry with his people, never lays aside his fatherly affection towards them. The words I have said, imply that the truth which the inspired writer propounds was deeply fixed in his heart. Whatever, as if he had said, has hitherto happened, it has never had the effect of effacing from my heart the undoubted hope of experiencing the Divine favor as to the future, and I will always continue steadfastly to cherish the same feeling. It is to be observed, that it was not without a painful and arduous conflict that he succeeded in embracing by faith the goodness of God, which at that time had entirely vanished out of sight; — this we say is to be particularly noticed, in order that when God at any time withdraws from us all the tokens of his love, we may nevertheless learn to erect in our hearts that everlasting building of mercy, which is here spoken of, — a metaphor, by which is meant that the Divine mercy shall be extended, or shall continue till it reach its end or consummation. In the second clause of the verse something must be supplied. The sense, in short, is, that the Divine promise is no less stable than the settled course of the heavens, which is eternal and exempt from all change. By the word heavens I understand not only the visible skies, but the heavens which are above the whole frame of the world; for the truth of God, in the heavenly glory of his kingdom, is placed above all the elements of the world.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) Mercy . . . faithfulness.—These words, so often combined, express here, as commonly in the psalms, the attitude of the covenant God towards His people. The art of the poet is shown in this exordium. He strikes so strongly this note of the inviolability of the Divine promise only to make the deprecation of present neglect on God’s part presently more striking.

Shall be built up for ever—Better, is for ever being built up. Elsewhere figured as a “place of shelter,” a “tower of refuge,” God’s faithfulness is here presented as an edifice for ever rising on foundations laid in the heavens. (Comp. Psa_119:89.) The heavens are at once the type of unchangeableness and of splendour and height. Mant’s paraphrase brings out the power of the verse:—

“For I have said, Thy mercies rise,

A deathless structure, to the skies;

The heavens were planted by Thy hand,

And as the heavens Thy truth shall stand.”

And Wordsworth has sung of Him:—

“Who fixed immovably the frame

Of the round world, and built by laws as strong

The solid refuge for distress,

The towers of righteousness.”

(Comp. Psa_36:6.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For I have said,.... That is, in his heart he had said, he had thought of it, was assured of it, strongly concluded it, from the Spirit and word of God; he believed it, and therefore he spoke it; having it from the Lord, it was all one as if he had spoke it:

For I have said,.... That is, in his heart he had said, he had thought of it, was assured of it, strongly concluded it, from the Spirit and word of God; he believed it, and therefore he spoke it; having it from the Lord, it was all one as if he had spoke it:

Psalms 89:3

psa 89:3

psa 89:3

psa 89:3I have made a covenant with my chosen,.... Not with Abraham, as the Targum expresses it: but with David, as in the following clause; not David, literally understood, though he was chosen of the Lord to be his servant, and a covenant was made with him, and a promise made to him of the perpetuity of his throne and kingdom in his family, Psa 78:70 but mystical David, the Messiah, David's son and antitype; after, on this account, called David in Scripture, Eze 34:23 and who is the Lord's "chosen" One, foreordained to be the Redeemer of lost sinners, chosen to be the Mediator between God and them, to be the head of the church, and Saviour of the body; and his human nature was chosen to the grace of union to the Son of God, Psa 89:19, hence he is called God's elect, Isa 43:1 and with him the covenant of grace was made from all eternity, and all the blessings and promises of it were put into his hands; he is the Mediator, surety, and messenger of it, and by his blood it is ratified and confirmed: the Septuagint render it, in the plural number, "with mine elect ones"; and it is a truth, that the covenant of grace is made with all the elect, considered in Christ, and is made with them as such, and not as believers, converted persons, &c. election is the foundation of the covenant, and the source of all covenant blessings:

I have sworn unto David my servant: to the Messiah, called David, as before observed, and who is the Lord's servant, as man and Mediator, of his choosing, calling, sending, and supporting, Isa 42:1, to whom he swore, and he will not repent; and which oath of his, joined to his covenant and promise, makes for the strong consolation of the heirs of promise; see Psa 89:35, the sum and substance of which covenant and oath follow.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For I have said - The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate render this, “Thou hast said,” which is more in accordance with what the connection seems to demand; but the Hebrew will not admit of this construction. The true meaning seems to be, that the psalmist had said; that is, he had said in his mind; he had firmly believed; he had so received it as a truth that it might be spoken of as firmly settled, or as an indisputable reality. It was in his mind one of the things whose truthfulness did not admit of a doubt.

Mercy shall be built up for ever - The mercy referred to; the mercy manifested in the promise made to David. The idea is, that the promise would be fully carried out or verified. It would not be like the foundation of a building, which, after being laid, was abandoned; it would be as if the building, for which the foundation was designed, were carried up and completed. It would not be a forsaken, half-finished edifice, but an edifice fully erected.

Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish - In the matter referred to - the promise made to David.

In the very heavens - literally, “The heavens - thou wilt establish thy faithfulness in them.” That is the heavens - the heavenly bodies - so regular, so fixed, so enduring, are looked upon as the emblem of stability. The psalmist brings them thus before his mind, and he says that God had, as it were, made his promise a part of the very heavens; he had given to his faithfulness a place among the most secure, and fixed, and settled objects in nature. The sun in its regular rising; the stars in their certain course; the constellations, the same from age to age, were an emblem of the stability and security of the promises of God. Compare Jer 33:20-21.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

I have said within myself. I have been assured in my own mind.

Mercy shall be built up for ever: as thou hast laid a sure foundation of mercy to David’s family, by that everlasting covenant which thou hast made and established with it; so I concluded that thou wouldst carry on the same project of mercy towards it; that thou wouldst build it up, and not destroy it.

Thy faithfuless shalt thou establish in the very heavens: so the sense may be this. Thou sittest in the heavens, and there thou didst make this everlasting and unchangeable decree and covenant concerning David and his house, and from thence thou beholdest and orderest all the affairs of this lower world, and therefore, I doubt not, thou wilt so order these matters as to accomplish thine own counsel and word. But thee Hebrew words are by some others, and may very well be, translated thus, with (as the Hebrew prefix beth is oft rendered) the very heavens, i.e. as firmly and durably as the heavens themselves; as with the sun, in the Hebrew text, Psa 72:5, is by most interpreters rendered, as long as the sun endureth, as our translation hath it. And so this phrase in the last branch of this verse answers to for ever in the former; as it is also in the foregoing verse, and so in Psa 89:4; in both which verses for ever in the first clause is explained thus in the latter, to all generations.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. For I… said—Faith said, on the authority of the word of promise. The Septuagint changes to the second person: “For thou [Lord] hast said.”

Mercy shall be built up—The work of mercy shall go steadily forward, though much may appear to hinder.

Establish in the… heavens—Or, As to the heavens, thou wilt establish thy faithfulness in them. The “heavens” may be mentioned as the seat of authority, and for settling the divine counsels, or as illustrating the faithfulness of God by the order and harmony of the celestial bodies. Psa_119:89-91; Psa_36:5

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever. A time shall come when, out of whatever ruins, mercy shall be "built up raised from the ground like a solid edifice, and, when once raised up, shall stand firm forever. Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. At the same time, God"s faithfulness to his promises will be established "in the very heavens," i.e. conspicuously (see ver. 37).

Mercy built up forever.

The psalmist seems to have before his mind the picture of some glorious palace, whose foundation, laid broad and deep and strong, was now uprising in majesty and beauty before him. He seems to see it rising tier on tier, and course on course, and as he beholds it being gradually and gloriously up built, his adoration and Praise burst forth, and he exclaims, "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever." What did he mean? Probably the remembrance of God"s mercy to Israel was present to his thought how that had been "built up;" more and more added; new favours, new enlargements, new communications of the Divine bounty continually given, until Israel had risen to the height of her national glory; so had God"s mercy gone on, building up their state and filling them with good. In their own history the text had been shown to be true. But it has other illustrations. Take

I THE SALVATION OF THE HUMAN RACE. It is the supreme instance of mercy being built up forever.

1. It began in the nature of God. For God is love, and love longs for objects on which to lavish itself. Hence came creation, and then redemption in all its successive stages of mercy.

2. The first promise after man had fallen.

3. The preservation of a righteous seed in such as Seth, Enoch, and those who, called on the Name of the Lord.

4. The call of Abraham, the father of the faithful, in whose seed all the families of the earth should be blessed.

5. The multiplication and redemption of his seed.

6. The giving of the Law. This was to be for the nations as "a child leader to lead us to Christ." And in spite of all corruptions, this knowledge of God was preserved, and by the providence of God spread abroad widely.

7. Then the coming of Christ, of whom all the Law and the prophets did testify.

8. The baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the creation of the Christian Church. Thus step by step the glorious fabric of redeemed humanity has been thus far built up; and the building is still going on, and will go on "Till the whole ransomed Church of God Be saved, to sin no more.

II THE PERFECTING OF THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL. Trace the history of any one of those whom God has redeemed, and in that individual"s experience of the ways of God there will be found further illustration of how "mercy is built up forever.

1. In the circumstances, whatever they were, which led the soul to realize its deep need. The Holy Spirit uses all manner of means to bring this about.

2. In the surrender of the will to Christ. Faith, believing, coming to Christ, are all, with other such expressions, only different forms of stating that the soul has given up its will to God.

3. Then the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. From this results that sanctification which is the "being changed into Christ"s image, from glory to glory,

4. The disciplines of God"s providence. All these are parts of the building process, unsightly, unlovely, repellant, having no form nor comeliness in them, and yet in and through them mercy is being built up, the work of God in the soul is advanced.

5. The means of grace prayers, sacraments, Scriptures, work for God, to which he calls us all are for our perfecting.

III THE RECOMPENSES OF MERCY. "Blessed are the merciful," said our Lord, and it is so. Take as a historic illustration the founding of Pennsylvania, and the way in which the Quakers dealt with the Indians. Other methods are but demonstrations of the truth that they that take the sword perish by the sword. And it is so with individuals. God loves mercy, and recompenses it; he will build it up forever.

CONCLUSION.

1. Render praise to the Lord. For mercy is ever needed by us all.

2. Hope continually. For mercy is to be built up forever: it wearies not; it will, it must, have its way at length. Hope, then, for the myriads yet unsaved; God knows how to build them in. And never despair of yourselves.

3. Get employed in this blessed building work. There is room for us all.

4. Weary not in showing mercy. It is to go on forever. If we meet with rude rebuff, still go on with the sacred toil. God"s mercy is built up forever: be ours likewise! S.C.

Vers. 2-4. The security of God"s pledged word.

"Thy seed will I establish forever." The keynote of the psalm is the "faithfulness" of God to his word. "God had entered into "an everlasting covenant" with David, and had confirmed that covenant with an oath. In the most absolute and unconditional form, God had pledged himself to establish the kingdom of David and his seed forever, to beat down all their adversaries under their feet, and to maintain their throne as long as the sun and moon should endure". (see 2Sa_7:8-16 Isa_55:3) The psalmist lived when men were tempted to think God was forgetting his word, or failing to fulfil it. But he persisted in it that, whatever appearances might suggest, God never forgot his word, never failed to fulfil his word, and the covenant with David was being kept, in the fullest and best sense, though it might prove to be a spiritual rather than a material sense.

I GOD"S WORD MUST ALWAYS BE TAKEN WITH GOD"S MEANING. So often men fix their own meanings to what God says or promises, and then they are surprised and disheartened because that does not happen which they expect. Take two illustrations. Men said that God"s covenant with David meant that there should always be a Davidic kingdom, and always a member of David"s house on its throne. That was man"s meaning put on God"s words; that was not God"s meaning put into his own words. So the Jews read into the prophecies their expectations of a temporal, delivering Messiah, and the Messiah who came was no fulfilment of their dreams. We need to learn that, whatever God says, using material terms and figures, is but illustrative of spiritual fact or truth. David"s perpetual kingdom is Messiah"s spiritual kingdom. Head with God"s meaning, God"s word stands eternally true. And if spiritual sensibilities are duly awakened and cultured, the spiritual meanings and spiritual fulfilments come to be regarded as really the only important ones.

II GOD"S WORD TO SOME MUST BE TAKEN TO REPRESENT GOD"S PURPOSE FOR ALL. Much mistake has been made by regarding God"s covenants with individuals as mere privileges of the individual. God puts his covenant into a form for some, that all men may be helped to understand what his covenant with all men is. The illustrative character of all local covenants needs to be more fully apprehended, and more clearly pointed out. "Every Divine promise is but a limited expression of a general principle; every Divine covenant, even if it be made with a few, is nevertheless made for the benefit of the many, and can only be an instance of his ways, an illustration of a mercy as wide as the heavens, and of a faithfulness which extends to all generations of man kind. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Establish - As firmly and durably as the heavens themselves.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

I shall make known Your faithfulness, with my mouth What I know of You: that You keep Your promise and fulfill Your words.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.