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Psalm 89:49
Lord, where are your former loving kindnesses, which you swore to David in your faithfulness?
47Remember how short my time is, for what vanity you have created all the children of men!
48What man is he who shall live and not see death, who shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.
49Lord, where are your former loving kindnesses, which you swore to David in your faithfulness?
50Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the mighty peoples,
51With which your enemies have mocked, LORD, with which they have mocked the footsteps of your anointed one.
Notice
“Former loving kindnesses” names the strain of remembering God's past care while searching for it in the present, with his oath to David still in view.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What past kindness from God makes his present silence harder for you to understand?
Write on thisHow does the appeal to God's oath shape the way you hear this question?
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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
Psalm 54:5He will repay the evil to my enemies. Destroy them in your truth.Both prayers appeal to God's truthfulness, though one asks about promised kindness and the other asks for enemies' destruction.
2 Samuel 7:15but my loving kindness will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you.Both texts connect God's loving kindness with his promise; the psalm asks where that promised kindness is now.
Judges 6:13Gideon said to him, “Oh, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, …Both speakers ask where God's past acts of care are now, when present suffering makes those acts seem far away.
Psalm 89:1A contemplation by Ethan, the Ezrahite. I will sing of the loving kindness of the LORD forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all …Loving kindness and faithfulness appear in both verses, first as the subject of song and here as the ground of lament.
Hebrews 7:21(for they indeed have been made priests without an oath), but he with an oath by him that says of him, “The Lord swore and will not change his mind, ‘You are a …Both passages speak of an oath sworn by God, though the psalm names David and Hebrews speaks of a priest.
Isaiah 55:3Turn your ear, and come to me. Hear, and your soul will live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.Both passages connect God's pledged mercy with David, with Isaiah declaring a covenant and the psalm questioning kindness's apparent absence.
1 Kings 11:13However, I will not tear away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your son, for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have …Both passages name David as a reason for God's care, though Kings describes mercy in judgment and the psalm seeks it.
2 Chronicles 1:8Solomon said to God, “You have shown great loving kindness to David my father, and have made me king in his place.Solomon acknowledges loving kindness already shown to David, while the psalm asks where God's former loving kindnesses have gone.
Isaiah 63:7–15I will tell of the loving kindnesses of the LORD and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has given to us, and the great goodness toward the …Both passages recall the LORD's loving kindnesses, though Isaiah recounts his goodness and the psalm asks where that kindness is now.
Psalm 132:11–12The LORD has sworn to David in truth. He will not turn from it: “I will set the fruit of your body on your throne.Both verses name God's oath to David and its truthfulness; Psalm 132 specifies the promise of a descendant on his throne.
2 Samuel 3:9God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as the LORD has sworn to David, I don’t do even so to him:Both passages refer to what the LORD swore to David, with Abner pledging action and the psalm appealing for kindness.
Psalm 89:35Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David.God's sworn word to David grounds both verses: one declares that God will not lie, and the other appeals to his faithfulness.
Where this verse fits
Feeling distant from God. doubt. waiting.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Your unanswered questions can be spoken to the Lord. This prayer leaves the distress unresolved while appealing to something firm: God has sworn to David in his faithfulness.
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).