Psalms 89:37
It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
Study Note
Study Note
The Davidic covenant's assurance that the royal line 'shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven' uses celestial permanence as the measure of covenantal reliability. Psalm 89 is one of the most theologically complex psalms, oscillating between exaltation of the Davidic covenant (verses 1-37) and its apparent devastation (verses 38-51) — a structure that reflects the crisis of the Babylonian exile. The 'faithful witness in heaven' may refer to the moon itself as a perpetual sign of God's covenant word, or to the divine council who witnessed the original promise. Revelation 1:5's title for Jesus — 'the faithful witness' (ho martys ho pistos) — likely draws on this language, identifying Christ as the ultimate fulfilment of the promised Davidic faithfulness that Psalm 89 laments as apparently failed.
Other Translations
It shall be established for ever as the moon, Andasthe faithful witness in the sky. [Selah
As the moon it is established--to the age, And the witness in the sky is stedfast. Selah.
It will be fixed for ever like the moon; and the witness in heaven is true. (Selah.)
Cross References
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall …
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah …
If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being …
Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and …
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting …
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me …
And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God …
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; …
He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.