The continuation of our psalm deals with the great promise that the Holy One, blessed be He, made to David: a promise of eternal kingship for his descendants. The Holy One, blessed be He, establishes in advance that even if his sons stray from the path, and even if they are punished, the covenant itself will never be broken. From this, we will also arrive at the difficult part of the psalm, where the psalmist cries out over the length of the exile and the disappearance of the kingdom of the House of David.
לְעוֹלָם אֶשְׁמׇר־לוֹ חַסְדִּי וּבְרִיתִי נֶאֱמֶנֶת לוֹ׃ וְשַׂמְתִּי לָעַד זַרְעוֹ וְכִסְאוֹ כִּימֵי שָׁמָיִם׃ - Forever I will keep My lovingkindness for him, and My covenant will stand firm with him. And I will establish his seed forever, and his throne as the days of the heavens.
אִם־יַעַזְבוּ בָנָיו תּוֹרָתִי וּבְמִשְׁפָּטַי לֹא יֵלֵכוּן׃ אִם־חֻקֹּתַי יְחַלֵּלוּ וּמִצְוֺתַי לֹא יִשְׁמֹרוּ׃ - If his sons forsake My Torah and do not walk in My ordinances; if they profane My statutes and do not keep My commandments.
The Radak explains that Scripture mentions four categories here - Torah and ordinances, statutes and commandments - meaning that they will not observe them as written in the Torah of Moshe. "If they profane My statutes" - these are the commandments without an apparent rationale, which are termed chukkim. "And do not keep My commandments" - these are the mitzvos that appeal to human intellect.
The Malbim adds that this represents transgression out of rebellion: intellectually, a person believes in the Torah and the civil laws; he knows that they are logical and rationally sound, yet he still violates their details and practical application. In other words, this is not heresy - he believes that the Torah is from Hashem - but rebellion. He simply follows the lusts of his heart.
וּפָקַדְתִּי בְשֵׁבֶט פִּשְׁעָם וּבִנְגָעִים עֲוֺנָם׃ - Then I will punish their transgression with a rod, and their iniquity with plagues.
Rashi cites what the prophet said concerning Shlomo: "Whom, if he commits iniquity, I will chasten with the rod of men" - this refers to Rezon the son of Eliada, who became an adversary to him; "and with the plagues of the children of men" - this refers to Ashmedai. And why are demons called "the plagues of the children of men"? Because demons "are the sons of Adam HaRishon." As explained in the teachings on reincarnation (gilgulim), from the emissions that issued from Adam HaRishon, all those night-demons and spirits were created, which is why they are called "children of man" - the children of the first man.
The Radak explains the verse by comparing it to a father chastising his son with a rod, as it is written: "For if you strike him with the rod, he will not die," and "do not set your heart on his death." In the same way, the Holy One, blessed be He, chastises them with a rod that does not bring death but only affliction, with plagues and sicknesses, which also includes being handed over to their enemies - but the monarchy will never be taken from them.
The Malbim distinguishes between two types of punishment corresponding to two types of sin. If the sin is of the nature of pesha (transgression), which means rebellion, then "I will punish with a rod." But if the sin is of the nature of avon (iniquity), then "with plagues." What is the difference between avon and pesha? The Malbim consistently explains that avon denotes distortion of the intellect, and distortion of the intellect means heresy. To deny Hashem, one must distort one's intellect. A person can be a brilliant professor and yet possess a distorted intellect; for if he were truly a man of understanding, if he examined reality with honesty and fairness, he would arrive at the conclusion that there is a Creator to the world, that all this did not create itself, that he is here for a specific purpose - and he would begin investigating what is expected of him. If he does not do so, his intellect is distorted, even if he is renowned in other sciences.
Here we see measure for measure. Avon is more severe than pesha because it clings to the soul itself - it is an internal distortion. Therefore, its punishment is plagues, for a plague strikes within a person's very being; it is not a rod coming from the outside to strike, but rather the affliction erupts from within. In contrast, pesha, which is rebellion, has no root in the core of the soul; the person rebels through his physical body, and the body is not the essence. Often, rebellion stems from a desire to follow the stubbornness of one's heart, pursuing worldly cravings and pleasures - and this is an external distortion. Upon an external distortion comes an external punishment: a rod that comes from the outside and strikes.
וְחַסְדִּי לֹא־אָפִיר מֵעִמּוֹ וְלֹא־אֲשַׁקֵּר בֶּאֱמוּנָתִי׃ - Yet My steadfast kindness I will not revoke from him, nor will I belie My faithfulness.
Radak explains: "My kindness I will not annul from him" - I will not remove the monarchy from him, for the monarchy itself is the act of kindness. Even if he, on his part, breaches the covenant and does not observe the commandments, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I, for My part, will not breach the contract. The Malbim adds that both the chesed and the faithfulness will remain intact: "My faithfulness" refers to the promise, and one who fails to fulfill his promise betrays the trust placed in him. Hashem says: I will not betray the trust placed in Me following the promise, but rather I will fulfill it - an eternal monarchy for the House of David.
לֹא־אֲחַלֵּל בְּרִיתִי וּמוֹצָא שְׂפָתַי לֹא אֲשַׁנֶּה׃ - I will not desecrate My covenant, nor alter the utterance of My lips.
Here too, Radak notes: Even though they desecrated My statutes, as stated earlier, "If they desecrate My statutes," I will not treat them measure for measure, and I will not desecrate My covenant. The Malbim notes a precise distinction: "I will not desecrate My covenant" corresponds to "I made a covenant with My chosen one," which stems from chesed (lovingkindness) - for there are two aspects regarding David: that which comes to him through chesed and that which is due to him by right (din). "Nor alter the utterance of My lips" corresponds to "I swore to David My servant," the oath being, as it were, the utterance of the lips. That is to say, even though I swore by virtue of his being My servant - according to what is earned by a servant - and now his descendants are no longer serving Me and have strayed from My commandments, nevertheless I will fulfill My side of the agreement, for the word has gone forth from My lips.
אַחַת נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי בְקׇדְשִׁי אִם־לְדָוִד אֲכַזֵּב׃ - Once have I sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.
Rashi explains "I will not lie (achazev) to David" in the sense of "a spring whose waters never fail (yechazvu)" - that is, something that ultimately does not materialize. This is the root of the Hebrew word achzavah (disappointment): a nachal achzav is a deceptive stream, which appears to flow but you know it will dry up. Likewise, a person who anticipated something and his hope was dashed (nichzevah) - what he hoped for did not arrive. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will not deceive or fail - what I have promised, I will fulfill.
And what is the meaning of "once" (achat)? Here the Malbim offers a wonderful explanation: When a person swears to another on a conditional basis, his oath consists of two elements: the oath itself and the condition. "I swear to you that I will do such-and-such, on condition that you take care." The oath takes effect only when the condition is fulfilled. But one who swears unconditionally has only one single thing in his oath. This is the meaning of "Once have I sworn by My holiness" - a single, absolute oath, without an attached condition, without fine print, and without clauses qualifying the contract. "I will not lie to David" - this oath will under no circumstances be broken.
זַרְעוֹ לְעוֹלָם יִהְיֶה וְכִסְאוֹ כַשֶּׁמֶשׁ נֶגְדִּי׃ - His descendants shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me.
Radak explains: "His descendants shall endure forever" - they will endure in kingship forever. "And his throne as the sun before Me" - just as the sun endures forever, so will his descendants endure in royalty forever, as it is stated in Psalm 72, "May his name endure before the sun." Another interpretation: "as the sun" - bright and luminous like the sun, referring to the worthy sons who would descend from David, who would be righteous and shine through their good deeds.
The Malbim explains: the seed will endure forever, while the throne - even though there will be periods of interruption - will never be terminated permanently. For one cannot say that the Davidic dynasty actually continued uninterrupted in practice; today we do not have the Davidic monarchy, but rather, to our sorrow, a different rule and all sorts of other troubles, and we still pray, "Speedily cause the sprout of David Your servant to flourish." Rather, the Malbim adds: the throne is indeed suspended at certain times when we are not worthy and deserving of the Davidic dynasty - had we been worthy, it would exist today - yet even so, know that it will never be permanently severed.
כְּיָרֵחַ יִכּוֹן עוֹלָם וְעֵד בַּשַּׁחַק נֶאֱמָן סֶלָה׃ - "Like the moon it shall be established forever, and a faithful witness in the sky, Selah."
Here the Malbim compares the Davidic dynasty to the sun and the moon. The sun's light is continuous and never wanes, because it does not receive its light from an external source, but shines from within itself. The moon, on the other hand, does not possess its own light - it is like a mirror reflecting the light of the sun - and it gradually wanes until it disappears at the end of the month. Yet precisely as its diminution intensifies, therein lies the guarantee of its renewal: when the moon begins to wane on the sixteenth and seventeenth of the month, its renewal is still distant, but once it reaches its greatest absence, it is a sign that its rebirth is imminent.
Thus is the Davidic dynasty allegorized. "His throne like the sun before Me" - Above, before the Holy One, blessed be He, the monarchy is always in its full radiance and never diminishes. But in its manifestation down here in the physical world, it is like the moon: dependent on merits and good deeds. When the sun's light falls upon the moon, it shines; when it does not, it does not shine. When there are good deeds, there is light; and when there are no good deeds, the moon does not shine. And this is "Like the moon it shall be established forever": the kingdom is firmly established in the lower world like the moon, which is also established in its place forever, and even when its light is darkened at the end of the month, it is instantly renewed at the beginning of the next month. Know, therefore: even though the Davidic monarchy is currently shrouded in darkness, it will shine once again and renew its days as of old.
"And a faithful witness in the sky, Selah" - after describing how the chesed and faithfulness in David's covenant mirror the chesed and faithfulness in the world at large, and how David's throne is likened to the sun and the moon, Scripture draws the parable from general reality to the specific reality of the Davidic dynasty. This can be explained in two ways. According to its plain meaning: the witness that the Holy One, blessed be He, provided for the fulfillment of the covenant is the sun and the moon, and behold, these witnesses still endure in the heavens - the proof is clear, the sun endures and the moon endures. Alternatively, it can be understood as an expression of lament and grievance: the witnesses in the sky, the sun and moon, remain faithful and enduring, whereas the chesed and faithfulness promised to the House of David seem absent. Hence the cry: why does the reality not endure just as the parable does?
וְאַתָּה זָנַחְתָּ וַתִּמְאָס הִתְעַבַּרְתָּ עִם־מְשִׁיחֶךָ׃ - "Yet You have cast off and abhorred, You have become enraged with Your anointed."
נֵאַרְתָּה בְּרִית עַבְדֶּךָ חִלַּלְתָּ לָאָרֶץ נִזְרוֹ׃ - "You have spurned the covenant of Your servant; You have defiled his crown to the ground."
Rashi explains "Yet You have cast off": You scrutinized his descendants strictly to count their iniquities, until You cast them off and abhorred them in the days of Tzidkiyahu. That is to say, as it were, the entire tragedy began when Hashem held them to an exacting standard of judgment.
The Radak notes the formidable difficulty in this verse: many wondered about the Psalmist, how could he speak toward God in such terms - like a person saying to his fellow, "You swore an oath and failed to uphold it"? After all the oaths and promises, he comes and asks: where is it, Master of the Universe, where is the fulfillment of the promissory note? The Ibn Ezra writes that there was a great sage in Spain who found this psalm so agonizing that he would neither recite it nor bear to hear it. In other words, he had only 149 psalms in his Tehillim, skipping Psalm 89 entirely. Evidently, he did not skip only these verses, but the whole psalm. Note that Ibn Ezra refers to him as a "great sage" - meaning one of the towering Torah scholars of the generation, not simply an ordinary person reciting Tehillim in shul.
The Ibn Ezra himself, as cited by the Radak, explains that these are not the Psalmist's own words, but the taunts of the enemies: it is they who blaspheme, taunt, and fabricate, claiming that Hashem has abandoned His people, abhorred them, and vented His fury upon His anointed. One does not speak this way toward Hashem, and this is certainly not what we ourselves are asserting. Proof of this can be found later in the psalm:
זְכֹר אֲדֹנָי חֶרְפַּת עֲבָדֶיךָ שְׂאֵתִי בְחֵיקִי כׇּל־רַבִּים עַמִּים׃ אֲשֶׁר חֵרְפוּ אוֹיְבֶיךָ יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר חֵרְפוּ עִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחֶךָ׃ - "Remember, My Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I bear in my bosom from all the many nations; with which Your enemies have taunted, Hashem, with which they have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed."
Later in the psalm, we see that there is taunting from the enemies, and therefore "But You have cast off and spurned" are the words of the nations, not words that we ourselves utter.
The Radak himself writes: "And I wonder at their wonder." That is, he is not coming to resolve a difficulty, but says that he does not understand the question at all. The psalms were spoken with Ruach HaKodesh, and it is impossible for them to contain anything untrue. Nor did the psalmist ever say that God, blessed be He, violated His oath - such a thing never crossed his lips. Rather, he is wondering at the length of the exile. For in the Babylonian exile the kingdom of the House of David ceased, and yet the oath was not annulled, because the seed of David continued to exist and the monarchy returned and was renewed after seventy years. If so, over which exile is he wondering? Not over that seventy-year exile, but over our own exile, two thousand years of exile. He asks: But did You not swear to him, so how could it appear as though the monarchy has ceased for so many years, with the Jewish people in exile to the point where they have almost despaired of redemption? The psalmist comes by way of bewilderment: What was this great sin, and what was this great wrath? Master of the Universe, what did the Jewish people do that it was decreed upon them to spend so many years without a king?
The Radak adds that one should not be surprised by the sharp wording, for we find similar instances elsewhere. Moshe Rabbeinu says: "Remember Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yisrael, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself" - meaning, how can You seek to destroy them when You swore otherwise? Yeshayahu the prophet says: "Why do You make us stray, Hashem, from Your ways?" - a sharp expression, as if to say, You are leading us astray. And Eliyahu said: "For You have turned their heart backward." Would we say that all of them spoke improperly? Rather, says the Radak, they spoke only by way of perception, describing how things appear.
And this is the explanation of the matter: The psalmist says, You, who swore to him, have cast him off for so many years that it appears as though You will remember him no more. "But You have cast off and spurned" - it already looks as if You have cast off and rejected. The intention is not that Hashem has truly abandoned us, for He will certainly never withdraw His kindness from us, but rather that it seems as if You have cast off and spurned; it seems as though You have repudiated the covenant of Your servant and profaned his crown to the ground. When one looks at reality, this is how it appears: Where is the oath You swore? Where is what You commanded when anointing him as king? It appears as though You turned that great love into wrath and fury. The monarchy has ceased for so many years, and it seems as though Hashem has forsaken us.
And this is indeed the claim of the nations, which relies on mere appearances. They come and argue: Hashem has forsaken them - after all, you have been in exile for two thousand years. We have mentioned in the past the words of that Christian bishop, who claimed that the proof that the Holy One, blessed be He, abandoned the Jewish people and chose the Christians in their place is that the Jewish people would remain in exile forever and never return to their land. Years passed, and it turned out that the only prophecy found in Christianity collapsed as well: the Jewish people returned to their land. For this reason, the Pope was initially unwilling to visit here - he came as far as the Allenby Bridge and refused to enter, because he would not acknowledge that we had returned to our land, which posed a theological crisis for him. It took years before he agreed to come. At first they still argued: True, but they have not returned to Jerusalem. Then, in 5727 (1967), we returned to Jerusalem as well, and since then they simply ignore the reality, adopting the approach of an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
Thus, this is how reality is perceived from the outside: "You have cast off and spurned" - that is how it appears; "You have been furious with Your anointed," as if You no longer wish to redeem them. That is how it looks, but we certainly believe with complete faith that the Holy One, blessed be He, exercises providence, bestows His bounty, and will ultimately redeem us with a complete redemption - and of this we have no doubt whatsoever.
In these verses, the Holy One, blessed be He, makes known that even if the descendants of David abandon the Torah, profane the statutes, and do not observe the commandments, punishment will come, but not the annulment of the covenant: pesha (willful transgression), which is rebellion, is visited with an external rod, and avon (iniquity), which is a distortion of the intellect, is visited with plagues that emerge from the person's own bones, measure for measure. "Yet My lovingkindness I will not break," "I will not profane My covenant," and "Once have I sworn" - a single, unconditional oath that can never be terminated. The throne is like the sun from the perspective of Above, whose light is intrinsic and never wanes, and like the moon from the perspective of below, whose light depends on our merits and diminishes and renews. From here lies also the answer to the bewilderment of "But You have cast off and spurned": there is no claim here, Heaven forbid, that Hashem breached His oath, but rather an outcry over the length of the exile and over what meets the eye - and we believe with complete faith that the light will return and be renewed, and the kingdom of the House of David will renew its days as of old.