Carefully Examining the Text

This psalm gives far reaching promises to which few passages of the Bible compare.
While people will fall dead all around the righteous, it will not happen to God's people (vs. 7). "No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near you (vs. 10). God's angel will not even let us strick our foot against a stone (vs. 12).

Do these words mean that someone who suffers any of the difficulties described has been unfaithful to God? That seems to be the way that Eliphaz uses these kind of pictures when he presents the picture of the righteous in Job 5:17-27. He uses it to accuse Job of sin.

Satan quoted these words to Jesus in Matt. 4:6 believing the words exempted Jesus from suffering. I think the use of this passage in Matt. 4:6 shows that we must interpret Psalm 91:11-12 through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The words of Psalm 91 will be fulfilled but we may not see a full working out of this in this life. If we do not see them worked out in this life they will be fullfilled in the life to come in a deeper and richer way than we can imagine. 
 

The heading speaks of this as the prayer of Moses. 
Moses is mentioned 8 times in the Psalms and 7 of those 8 are in Psalms 90-106. 

Psalm 90 stresses 
The Eternity of God- 90:1-2, 4
The Sovereignty of God- 90:3, 5 God holds man's life in His hand
The Wrath of God against sin- 90:7, 9, 11. God is also a God of lovingkindness- 90:14

This Psalm stresses the brevity of man's life- 90:3, 5-6, 10, 12
It stresses that man is frail, weak, and dependent upon God

The link between sin and death is shown in the earliest chapters of the Bible- Gen. 2:17; 3:19.
Romans 5:12-21 and Romans 7:7-25 continually use the words sin and death. But Jesus' death for our sins and His resurrection have made it possible for us to be forgiven and to have eternal life- Romans 5:21; 6:23; 7:25. 

Verses 1-18 praised God and glorified HIm, especially for HIs lovingkindness and faithfulness

Verses 19-37 celebrated God's lovingkindness and faithfulness in the promises to David

Verses 38-51 But not introduces this section where it does not seem the promises of God have been fulfilled

It seems like what was promised the kings from the line of David has not been fulfilled.
89:42 is a good illustration of this.
Exalted- God is exalted in 89:13 and the people are exalted by God in 89:16, 17 and the king is exalted in 89:19, 24. But now the adversaries are exalted.
Right hand- God's right hand was exalted in 89:13 but right hand of the king is exalted in vs. 25. The right hand of the adversaries are exalted.  
Adversaries- The adversaries were to be crushed in vs. 23 but now they are exalted.

Jesus answers Psalm 89:38-52
He is God's anointed (38, 51), God's servant (39), and He was made an object of reproach (50-51).
89:49 The cross and resurrection are the ultimate answer to the questions "Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O LORD, which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?"
89:48 Jesus provides an answer to the problem of death.

This psalm is a poetic version of the account in II Sam. 7

89:1-18 Praised God as incomparable and full of lovingkindness and faithfulness

89:19-37 God's promises to David stress His lovingkindness and faithfulness

Many of the things said of the David/ His offspring are things similar to what was said in other royal psalms. 
89:23 He will crush His foes militarily- Ps. 2:8-9; 110:1-3
89:25 I shall also set His hand of the sea- His reign will be universal- Ps. 2:8-9; 72:8-11
89:26-27 The Father/Son relationship between God and the king- Ps. 2:7
89:35, 37 Sun and moon are pictures of the eternal dynasty of David- Ps. 72:5, 7, 17

Many of the things said are similar to David's career in Samuel, especially II Sam. 7.
Ps. 89:19 vision- II Sam. 7:17
89:19 one who is mighty- I Sam. 16:18
89:20 I have anointed him- I Sam. 16:1-13; II Sam. 2:1-7; 5:1-5
89:21 The Hebrew word established - II Sam. 7:12, 13, 16
89:24, 28, 33 God's lovingkindness- II Sam. 7:15
89:26-27 Father/Son relationship- II Sam. 7:14
89:30-32 If his sons are unfaithful then God will punish them but will not take HIs lovingkindness away from him- II Sam. 7:14-15

This Psalm ends Book 3 of the Psalms- Psalms 73-89
It is unique in that it moves from praise in vs. 1-18 to lament in vs. 38-52. Most psalms of lament move in the opposite direction- Pss. 13, 22, 31, 69 are examples. 

Lovingkindness- NASB or steadfast love- ESV is a key word in the Psalm appearing in vs. 1, 2, 14, 24, 28, 33, 49.

Faithfulness is also found 7 times in the Psalm- vs. 1, 2, 5, 8, 24, 33, 49.

The word forever appears in vs. 1, 2, 4, 28, 29, 36, 37

God's lovingkindess and faithfulness are forever displayed in His covenant with David. 

89:5-7 Even though people feared death when they saw an angel- Gen. 16:13; 32:3; Exodus 24:9-11; Judges 6:22-24; 13:19-22- the angels are overwhelmed with the presence of God

89:8-10 He is incomparable and He rules the seas- Ps. 65:7; 107:29

89:14 His throne is built on righteousness and justice and lovingkindness and faithfulness are fundamental to who He is

There is not sadder psalm that Psalm 88

it gives an extensive vocabulary of death
Sheol- 88:3; Pit- 88:4, 6; Dead/ death- 88:5, 10, 15;  Grave- 88:5, 11; Dark/ darkness- 88:6, 12, 18; shades- 88:10; Abaddon- 88:11; land of forgetfulness- 88:12

He describes God as being behind his problems- 88;6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 18

Lessons from Psalm 88
1. Some suffering in this life may never end
2. He does not give up on God and continues to pray
3. It makes us long for God's blessings and eternity

Jesus as an answer to Psalm 88
While Psalm 88 is not quoted in the NT and applied to Jesus, in many ways Jesus lived out the experiences of the author of Psalm 88.  
88:3 He is full of troubles- Mark 14:33-34
88:5 He was cut off from the land of the living- Isaiah 53:8
88:8, 18 He was shunned by those closest to Him- Mark 14:50-52
88:18 Darkness was his companion- Mark 15:33
88:10-12 The resurrection of Jesus transforms the questions expecting a no answer to a yes answer. 

It is a psalm of the sons of Korah
87:3 The psalm emphasizes the city of God as does Psalm 46:4 and 48:1, 2, 8, 8.

Notice the emphasis on those who were born in the city in 87:4, 5, 6. This city also clearly refers to a people who know God- 87:4

87:4 Rahab in this verse is tied to Egypt and proof of that word used is found in Isaiah 27:1; 51:9-11. God's people will include people from far away superpowers like Egypt and Babylon. God's people will include people from persistent enemies like the Philistines and trading powers like Tyre. Cush or Ethiopia was viewed as the most distant of nations and they will be among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

87:5 The LXX speaks of Zion as "my mother" in Gal. 4:26 contrast the "the Jerusalem above" with "the present Jerusalem" in Gal. 4:25.

87:6 God will write down the name of the citizens of the city- Isa. 4:3; Ezek. 13:9

Book III of the Psalms (73-89) have often pictured Jerusalem in ruins after the 587 BC destruction. Notice especially Ps. 74:1-7 and Ps. 79:1-4. The physical Jerusalem was sometimes destroyed because of her sin, but the spiritual ideal of a city built by God still existed- Hebrews 11:10; 13:14.

Babel is a picture of men seeking to build a city without God- Gen. 11:1-9- in contrast to God's city build by Him for His people. Revelation 17-22 ends as a tale of two cities, contrasting Babylon the harlot with Jerusalem the bride.

Zion in the New Testament
Matt. 21:5
John 12:15
Romans 9:33; 11:26
Hebrews 12:22
I Peter 2:6 
Revelation 14:1

This psalm focuses on God

The name Adonai is used and translated Lord in 86:3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15.

The name Yahweh is used and translated LORD in 86:1, 6, 11, 17.

The word Elohim is used and translated God in 86:2, 10, 12, 14 and gods in 86:8.

The word El is used and translated God in 86:15.

The personal pronoun You is used of God in 86:2, 5, 10, 10, 15, 17.

Whatever else Psalm 86 is about, it is first and foremost about God.

86:1-7 He cries and begs for God to hear
86:8-13 There is no one like God
86:14-17 He pours out his crisis and begs God's deliverance.

The description of God in 86:5 and in a fuller way in 86:15 is one of the most frequently repeated statements about God in the OT- Exodus 34:6-7; Num. 14:18; Neh. 9:17, 31;  Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2

How does Jesus fulfill Psalm 86?

Notice what the Psalm says about the nature of God-
85:3-5 speaks of God's fury, burning anger, indignation, angry, anger
85:7, 10 God's lovingkindness
85:10, 11 God's truth or faithfulness
85:10, 11, 13 God's righteousness
85:8, 10 speaks of God's peace

The word   שוב in Hebrew used twice in vs. 1 and translated in the NASB "restore of captivty." It is used in vs. 3 and translated "turned away." In vs. 4 it is translated "Restore" and "again" in vs. 6 and in vs. 8 "turned back."

How does Jesus fulfill the words of Psalm 85?
85:9 Through Jesus God's glory dwelt among men- John 1:14
85:2 Through the cross God's forgives our iniquity and covers all our sins and 85:7 grants us salvation
85:8 Peace was spoken at His birth- Luke 2:14- at His resurrection- John 20:19, 21, 26
85:10 God's lovingkindness and fatihfulness meet in Christ and the cross
85:10 God's righteousness and peace kiss in Christ and the cross

What does the Psalm say about God?
LORD of hosts- 84:1, 3, 8, 12
the living God- 84:2
my King and my God- 84:3
O God of Jacob- 84:8
LORD is a sun and shield- 84:11

How does the Psalm describe the temple?
84:1 Your dwelling place
84:2 the courts of the LORD; 84:10 Your courts
84:4, 10 the house of the LORD 
84:3 Your altars

What are the motivations and results of public worship?
1. It is an expression of a deep longing for God- 84:2, 10
2.It reminds us God is our strength-84:5-7 and our trust- 84:12
3. It is a place God hears prayer- 84:8; Isaiah 56:7

How does Jesus fulfill Psalm 84?
John 1:14 God has come near in the person of Jesus
84:1 The word "lovely" is the term for Jesus as the "beloved" Son- Matt. 3:17; 17:5 etc.
84:9 Jesus is God's anointed
84:11 The LORD is a sun- Rev. 21:23
84:11 The cross shows He will withhold no good thing from us- Rom. 8:32