Psalms 89:29

"His seed also will I make to endure forever,

And his throne as the days of heaven.

If his children forsake my law,

And walk not in mine ordinances;

If they break my statutes,

And keep not my commandments;

Then will I visit their transgressions with the rod,

And their iniquity with stripes.

But my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him,

Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

My covenant will I not break,

Nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips.

Once have I sworn by my holiness:

I will not lie unto David:

His seed shall endure forever,

And his throne as the sun before me.

It shall be established forever as the moon,

And as the faithful witness in the sky."

Leupold summarized this paragraph. God's promises to David applied to his descendants also (Psalms 89:29); if they disobey God, God will punish them (Psalms 89:32-33); but God will not cut them off or break his covenant (Psalms 89:33-35); God's covenant is an eternal covenant and will last as long as the created world lasts (Psalms 89:36-37).[11]

SPECIAL WORDS REGARDING THE THRONE OF DAVID

"His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as the faithful witness in the sky" (Psalms 89:36-37).

The teaching here is that the throne of David is eternal; it will last forever. It (the throne) shall be established forever "as God's faithful witness" in the sky, in heaven.

The KJV is more accurately translated, although our version does not change the meaning.

"His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven" (Psalms 89:36-37 KJV).

Men have diligently tried to get David's throne out of these verses; but it is impossible to do it. Dummelow did his best; "The meaning is uncertain; the faithful witness may be the moon"![12] Such a view cannot be accepted, because the moon never witnessed anything to mankind. Moreover, Briggs pointed out that the it in Psalms 89:37 here refers to the word `throne.'[13]

"As the sun ... as the moon" (Psalms 89:36-37). These words forever forbid the notion that the "ultimate" throne of David was to be on earth, because neither the sun nor the moon is "on earth." Call their location "heaven" as in KJV, or "sky" as in KJV, the meaning is the same either way; it means "Not on earth."

There is a complete discussion of this based upon the apostle Peter's Pentecostal sermon in Acts 2chapter, in which Peter flatly declared that the raising up of one of David's posterity to sit upon David's throne was a prophetic reference to "The resurrection of Jesus Christ." See Vol. 5 of our New Testament Commentaries (Acts) under Acts 2:32.

The psalmist, no doubt feeling that such promises as he had cited absolutely bound God to do something at once for Israel. However, God would make it clear enough to all Israel in the terrible seventy years lying just ahead of them that the earthly succession to David's throne was terminated, that God was absolutely through with it; and that their earthly kingdom in its totality was dying, never to live again.

THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION WITH REGARD TO DAVID'S EARTHLY DYNASTY

There is no need to elaborate this, the psalmist himself did it in these verses.