Ps. 89.22-23 (Yhwh's regent)

No enemy / will get the better of him
no evil person / will humiliate him.
I will beat to pieces / his foes before him
and strike down / those who hate him. 

One thing to note about the previous verse: the anointing immediately leads to the strengthening and empowerment of David. It does not lead, for example, to David being ‘blessed with wisdom’. David is empowered to be enemy-focused (we might say, ‘external-focused’). This coheres well with the first portion of the psalm that largely recounted Yhwh’s power over chaos in exerting his regal authority. And it coheres with the final lament—which originates not from an internal problem (a ‘failure of wisdom’) but from the external conquering of enemies. This emphasis continues in these lines. The first verse is in the passive voice—these things will not be ‘done to David’. The second verse portrays the same thing but in the active voice—I will beat to pieces and strike down. What we see here is not so much David as utterly grounded in Yhwh’s power but Yhwh as being utterly for David. The movement is one of a constant and abiding attention from Yhwh to David. Yhwh operates through David. That incredible power (that Rahab-power) that overcame the forces of chaos are now being instantiated on earth, through David. When David’s sword falls, it falls with Yhwh’s divine power. And, as this power is enacted it performs a totalizing effect—“no enemy…no evil person…beat to pieces…strike down…”. The power operates in a divine fashion, without remainder and without question. When one witnesses David’s accomplishments there will be no uncertainty about Yhwh’s working on his behalf; heaven will be making itself present on earth. There is a possible reference in the ‘breaking to pieces’ to verse 10 where Yhwh is portrayed as ‘crushing Rahab like a corpse’ and ‘scattering his enemies’. As we saw there, Yhwh’s authority is never in question. There does not appear to be any real battle but simply the stilling and utter defeat of the sea. Again, that heavenly and total authority is now to flow in and through David, Yhwh’s regent on earth. 

We need to look forward, however, to the lament. There, everything will be reversed. In verse 42 the psalmist will say, “You have raised the right hand of his foes; you made all his enemies rejoice”, and in verse 45, “You have robed him in shame.” These lines clearly operate as a direct counter to today’s verses where Yhwh makes an unqualified promise as to David’s enemies and foes and that no evil person will humiliate him. We will reflect on this more as we proceed, but we can note here is how today's first verse in the passive voice and the second in the active. 

What we witness in the concluding lament is David becoming completely passive, but now, not to Yhwh’s power but to his enemies. And, the active power of Yhwh is gone. David is abandoned in other words, forsaken (“my god, my god, why have you forsaken me…”).