All things bear record · Psalms
13 witnesses of Christ here.
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. Psalms 89:1–2
The psalm praises Jehovah's mercy and faithfulness in keeping covenant. Jehovah is the premortal Christ, and His faithful covenant keeping leads to the promise of an everlasting King.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Psalms 89:3–4
God swears that David's seed and throne will last forever. No mortal king could fulfill that. Peter and the angel Gabriel both teach that it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of David, whose kingdom has no end.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
Lord of Hosts — Jehovah, commander of the armies of heaven
For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? Psalms 89:6–8
No one in heaven compares to Jehovah, the LORD God of hosts, who is honored in the council of the holy ones. Latter-day Saints know Him as the premortal Christ.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Psalms 89:9
Only God rules the raging sea and stills its waves. When Jesus rebuked the storm on Galilee, His amazed disciples asked what manner of man even the winds and sea obey. He was doing what this psalm says Jehovah does.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. Psalms 89:11–13
Jehovah founded the heavens, the earth, and all its fulness. Scripture teaches that the Father created all things through His Son, so the Creator praised here is Jesus Christ before His birth.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Holy One of Israel — the holy God who binds Himself to Israel by covenant
For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. Psalms 89:18
The Holy One of Israel is one of Christ's titles, used especially by Isaiah and the Book of Mormon prophets. Here He is Israel's true King and defender.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a Church study aid lists it
Anointed — Messiah, Christ
Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. Psalms 89:19–21
God chooses and anoints David as a mighty helper for His people. Paul quotes this when preaching that from David's seed God raised up the Savior, Jesus. David the anointed king is a type of the Anointed One.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Firstborn — the heir with the birthright and preeminence
He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Psalms 89:26–27
God promises that David's heir will call Him Father and be His firstborn, higher than all earthly kings. That is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Firstborn of the Father, whom John calls 'the prince of the kings of the earth.'
How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. Psalms 89:28–29
The covenant with David's line stands forever, with a throne as lasting as heaven. Only the eternal reign of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, fulfills a throne that endures 'as the days of heaven.'
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. Psalms 89:35–37
God swears by His holiness that David's throne will last like the sun and moon. John calls Jesus 'the faithful witness' who reigns as King, the One in whom this oath comes true.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. Psalms 89:38–45
The anointed king is cast down, mocked by passers-by, covered with shame, and cut off young. That pattern points to the Messiah, who was rejected, reproached, and killed in the prime of His life before being raised to His eternal throne.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. Psalms 89:48
No mortal can save himself from the grave. Only Jesus Christ had power to lay down His life and take it up again, and through His Resurrection He delivers everyone from the hand of the grave.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Anointed — Messiah, Christ
Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; Psalms 89:50–51
The people bear the reproach heaped on the steps of God's anointed. Hebrews says Moses chose 'the reproach of Christ' (the Anointed) over Egypt's treasures, language echoing this verse. Following the Anointed One means sharing His reproach.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him