Psalm 89:38-39
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This verse jolts us with its raw honesty, as the psalmist directly confronts God with the stark reality of his anointed king's downfall. The language isn't just about anger; "cast off and abhorred" suggests a feeling of utter rejection, as if God himself has found the chosen king offensive and worthless, directly contradicting his own promises.
But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed. You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.
English Standard Version (ESV)
After celebrating God's unfailing covenant with David and his descendants, the psalmist is now confronted by the harsh reality of their suffering. The faithful king, once God's anointed, appears utterly rejected and abandoned, leading the psalmist to passionately question how this could happen in light of God's sworn promises. This marked shift moves from confident praise to raw, bold lament, directly challenging God with the seeming contradiction between His word and the present plight.
Imagine seeing everything you thought God promised crumble. This verse isn't a whisper of doubt; it's a bold, almost shocking, confrontation. How can faith wrestle with apparent contradiction?
The psalmist has just laid out God's incredible promises – an everlasting dynasty, a covenant sealed with an oath. Then, BAM! Verse 38 hits like a thunderclap. The anointed king, the one meant to embody God's reign, is in ruins.
This isn't the despair of someone giving up. It’s the raw cry of someone believing God’s promises so deeply that when reality doesn't match, they turn to God Himself, asking, 'What gives?!'
God's 'wrath' is a powerful concept. When directed at His 'anointed,' it raises profound questions about judgment, covenant, and the king's role.
The phrase 'wroth with thine anointed' is startling. The anointed king was God's representative on earth, chosen and set apart. For God to be 'wroth' with him and 'cast him off' suggests a deep breach.
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Understand the original words
ebrah · Hebrew Noun
God's righteous and settled reaction against sin and rebellion. While it may involve judgment, it is always consistent with His holiness and justice, and in the Old Testament, it is often expressed toward His people when they break covenant.
mashiyach · Hebrew Noun/Adjective
Literarily 'the anointed one' (Messiah/Christ). It refers to a person—often a king or priest—consecrated with oil for a specific divine office and empowered by the Spirit to serve God's purposes for His people.
berit · Hebrew Noun
A solemn, binding agreement or promise between God and human beings. It establishes a formal relationship, often accompanied by stipulations, blessings for obedience, and curses for disobedience, grounded in God’s faithfulness.
nezer · Hebrew Noun
A symbol of royal dignity, authority, and kingly office. To 'defile' it represents the humiliation, loss of honor, or removal of the divine favor associated with the king's position.
This Psalm's lament about God 'casting off' and being 'wroth' with His 'anointed' King reflects the deep crisis and perceived abandonment during the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Davidic dynasty, starkly contrasting with earlier promises of perpetual rule.
c. 1015 BC
Davidic Covenant Established
God makes a foundational covenant with King David, promising that his descendant would rule on the throne of Israel forever.
975–931 BC
United Monarchy Splits
Following Solomon's reign, the united kingdom splits into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria
The Northern Kingdom of Israel is conquered by the Assyrian Empire, leading to the exile of its people.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon begins deporting Judean elites and skilled workers, including the prophet Daniel, to Babylon.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
More Judeans, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel, are exiled to Babylon after a revolt.
586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple
The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and its Temple, marking the end of the Davidic monarchy in practice and the main Babylonian exile.
This passage echoes the deep pain and bewilderment of feeling abandoned by God, mirroring the cry in Psalm 89 about God casting off His anointed.
Lamentations 1:1The lament over the fallen city and the forsaken people in Lamentations directly parallels the sense of God's wrath and rejection described against the anointed king in Psalms 89.
Isaiah 53:10While Psalm 89 speaks of God's wrath on His anointed king, Isaiah 53 points to the suffering Servant who bore that wrath, offering a prophetic glimpse of the ultimate solution to such abandonment.
Jeremiah 23:9The prophet Jeremiah expresses sorrow over the spiritual leaders who have caused God's people to err, a sentiment that resonates with the feeling of God's anger and rejection toward His designated representative, the anointed king.
bensonPsalms 89:38: "But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed."
Psalm 89:38-45 . But thou hast cast off — Having hitherto declared the certainty of God’s promises, he now proceeds to show the unsuitableness of the present dispensations of God’s providence thereunto, and humbly expostulates with God about it. Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed — That person and family that thou hast invested with the kingdom. Thou hast made void, &c. — Which seems contrary to…
clarkePsalms 89:38: "But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed."
But thou hast cast off - Hitherto the psalmist has spoken of the covenant of God with David and his family, which led them to expect all manner of prosperity, and a perpetuity of the Jewish throne; now he shews what appears to him a failure of the promise, and what he calls in the next verse the making void the covenant of his servant. God cannot lie to David; how is it then that his crown is profaned…
This verse jolts us with its raw honesty, as the psalmist directly confronts God with the stark reality of his anointed king's downfall. The language isn't just about anger; "cast off and abhorred" suggests a feeling of utter rejection, as if God himself has found the chosen king offensive and worthless, directly contradicting his own promises.
After celebrating God's unfailing covenant with David and his descendants, the psalmist is now confronted by the harsh reality of their suffering. The faithful king, once God's anointed, appears utterly rejected and abandoned, leading the psalmist to passionately question how this could happen in light of God's sworn promises. This marked shift moves from confident praise to raw, bold lament, directly challenging God with the seeming contradiction between His word and the present plight.
After celebrating God's unfailing covenant with David and his descendants, the psalmist is now confronted by the harsh reality of their suffering. The faithful king, once God's anointed, appears utterly rejected and abandoned, leading the psalmist to passionately question how this could happen in light of God's sworn promises. This marked shift moves from confident praise to raw, bold lament, directly challenging God with the seeming contradiction between His word and the present plight.
"But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed. You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust." — This verse jolts us with its raw honesty, as the psalmist directly confronts God with the stark reality of his anointed king's downfall. The language isn't just about anger; "cast off and abhorred" s…
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Last reviewed October 2026
