“Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 89:39 Mean?
"Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground." The accusation intensifies: God has voided (nullified, broken) his own covenant with David. He has profaned (desecrated, treated as common) the royal crown by throwing it to the ground. The crown that represented God's own anointing — the symbol of the covenant promise — is in the dirt. And the psalmist says: you did this.
The word "profaned" (chalal) is the opposite of "sanctified." What God consecrated, God has now desecrated. The crown he placed on David's head, he's thrown to the ground. The psalmist's language is deliberately shocking — accusing God of violating his own standards of holiness.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'crown' in your life has God apparently thrown to the ground — and how are you processing that?
- 2.How does blaming God (rather than just the enemy) reflect a consistent view of divine sovereignty?
- 3.What does the five-hundred-year gap between the voided covenant and Jesus' arrival teach about God's timing?
- 4.Can faith survive a crown in the dirt — and what does that faith look like during the wait?
Devotional
You made the covenant void. You threw the crown in the dirt. The psalmist accuses God of doing the two things he swore he'd never do: breaking his covenant and dishonoring his anointed.
The crown in the dirt is the most vivid image of the psalm's crisis. The crown represents everything: the Davidic dynasty, God's covenant, the anointing that said "this king is mine." And it's on the ground. Profaned — treated as common, as unholy, as disposable. The thing God consecrated, God has apparently desecrated.
The psalmist doesn't blame an enemy. He blames God. Thou hast. Not: the Babylonians threw the crown down. Thou hast. The theological claim is: whatever the human instrument, the divine hand is behind it. The sovereign God is responsible for what happens to the things he sovereignty over. And the crown — his crown, on his king — is in the dirt.
This is theology pushed to its logical extreme: if God is sovereign over everything, then God is responsible for this. The crown he placed, he removed. The covenant he swore, he voided. The psalmist isn't being irreverent. He's being consistent. If you believe God is sovereign, you have to bring the complaints to the sovereign.
The psalm doesn't get an answer. The crown stays on the ground for the rest of the Old Testament. The Davidic throne remains empty for centuries. And the answer — when it comes — comes in the form of a king born in David's city, whose crown is made of thorns before it becomes the crown of glory. The voided covenant is renewed. The profaned crown is restored. But the waiting between the question and the answer spans five hundred years.
Sometimes the crown is in the dirt for a long time before God picks it back up.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Thou hast broken down all his hedges,.... Round about his vine, the church; see Psa 80:12. A famous church was raised at…
Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant - Thou hast dealt with him as if there were no such covenant; as if no…
In these verses we have,
I. A very melancholy complaint of the present deplorable state of David's family, which the…
Thou hast abhorred the covenant of thy servant:
Thou hast cast his desecrated crown to the ground.
Thine anointed, thy…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture