Psalm 89:27
And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,
the most exalted of the kings of the earth. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Psalm 89
Psalm 89 was written by Ethan the Ezrahite during the time of Israel’s exile in Babylon. In summarizing this psalm, it’s a cry out to God to fulfill His promise to David that his kingdom would last forever. The enemies are winning and the psalmist is asking God to restore David’s throne like He promised. When will God send the Promised One?
The first thirty seven verses are praises to God and references to the covenant He made with David to preserve his throne forever. However, I see a change in the focus at verse 24. Beginning with verse 19, the psalmist begins to remind us what God has done through His servant David. God gave David great strength and crushed all his enemies. But then he says, “Through my name his horn will be exalted” (vs. 24).
In Scripture, the “horn” is a symbol of strength and power. If you recall, the Temple altar had a horn on each corner and they were to be dipped with blood as part of each sacrifice. The horns of the temple also were a symbol of God’s salvation. When John the Baptist was born, his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and sang a song about the coming Messiah saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” (Luke 1:68-69). Jesus is the horn of David.
The entire psalm is essentially about Jesus just as is most every psalm. But we can clearly see Jesus in verses 25 through 29:
“I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.
He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, the Rock my Savior.’
And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,
the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
I will maintain my love to him forever,
and my covenant with him will never fail.
I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.”
The psalmist also tells us more about the reign of the Messiah is verses 36 and 37:
“his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;
it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.”
Let’s jump ahead so we can see what this psalmist is telling us about Jesus. The apostle John opens his book of Revelation with a greeting to the seven churches in Asia, “Grace and peace to you … from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev 1:4-5). Both John and the psalmist are telling us three things about Jesus – Jesus is the Prophet, Priest and King.
Jesus is the faithful witness. This essentially means that Jesus is the Prophet of truth. As certain and eternal are the sun and moon, so is the reliability of the Messiah. Jesus can be trusted because all his words are true. He tells us what the Father tells him because he is the faithful witness. We can trust his words.
Jesus is the firstborn. John adds that he is the firstborn from the dead. Jesus is the resurrected Priest who sacrificed his life for the sins of the world. Through Jesus’ resurrection, he gives eternal life to anyone who confesses their sins and places their trust in him.
Jesus is the king. The psalmist says that Jesus is the most exalted of the kings. John says that he is the ruler of the kings of earth. Jesus came to earth to establish his kingdom and he is ruling over his kingdom right now. Jesus rules over the whole world. We are living in his world and as Christ-followers, we live to serve the king. And he is a good and faithful king seeing all that we do “works for the good of those who love him” (Rom 8:28).
So let us respond like the psalmist:
“I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations” (vs. 1).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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