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Psalm 89:38
But you have rejected and spurned. You have been angry with your anointed.
36His offspring will endure forever, his throne like the sun before me.
37It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah.
38But you have rejected and spurned. You have been angry with your anointed.
39You have renounced the covenant of your servant. You have defiled his crown in the dust.
40You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
Notice
“But” breaks the account of an enduring throne with a blunt accusation, exposing the distress of seeing God’s anointed rejected after hearing God’s promise.
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Where do you feel a gap between God’s promises and what you see, like the psalm’s abrupt “But”?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
1 Chronicles 28:9You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands …Both speak of rejection by God; Chronicles warns Solomon about forsaking him, while the psalm laments rejection without explaining its cause here.
Deuteronomy 32:19The LORD saw and abhorred, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.Both describe God’s displeasure toward people who belong to him, though Deuteronomy names provocation and this verse does not.
Psalm 55:20He raises his hands against his friends. He has violated his covenant.Both passages speak of a violated covenant, though Psalm 89 addresses God and Psalm 55 describes someone attacking friends.
Psalm 77:7“Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he be favorable no more?Rejection by God troubles both speakers: Psalm 77 asks whether it will last forever, while Psalm 89 declares that it has happened.
Psalm 78:62He also gave his people over to the sword, and was angry with his inheritance.Both name God’s anger toward those belonging to him: his anointed in Psalm 89 and his inheritance in Psalm 78.
Psalm 106:40Therefore the LORD burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance.Both describe God’s anger and rejection directed toward his own, whether his anointed king or his people.
2 Chronicles 12:1–12When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the LORD’s law, and all Israel with him.Both concern a king’s relationship with God; Rehoboam abandons God’s law, while the psalm laments God’s rejection of his anointed.
Hosea 9:17My God will cast them away, because they didn’t listen to him; and they will be wanderers among the nations.Both speak of God casting people away, though Hosea names their refusal to listen and Psalm 89:38 supplies no cause.
Lamentations 4:20The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits; of whom we said, under his shadow we will live among the nations.Both lament disaster for the LORD’s anointed: rejection and anger in the psalm, capture in Lamentations.
Jeremiah 12:1You are righteous, LORD, when I contend with you; yet I would like to plead a case with you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are they all at ease …Both speakers bring a complaint to God, naming circumstances that trouble their understanding of his rule.
2 Samuel 1:21You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you, and no fields of offerings; for there the shield of the mighty was defiled and cast away, the …Saul’s shield lies defiled in Samuel, while Psalm 89 describes God’s anointed spurned and his crown defiled.
2 Samuel 15:26but if he says, ‘I have no delight in you,’ behold, here I am. Let him do to me as seems good to him.”Both address the prospect of God’s displeasure: Samuel records acceptance of that possibility, while the psalm protests rejection as present reality.
Where this verse fits
Feeling distant from God. doubt. leadership weight.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The speaker addresses God even while accusing him of rejection. Your prayer need not force a cheerful ending; this lament leaves the king’s disgrace unresolved before God.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).