Psalm 92 1 A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: 2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, 3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. 4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 5 O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. 6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. 7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever: 8 But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. 9 For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. 10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. 11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me. 12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (KJV) Commentary THEME: A psalm to contemplate the precious works of the hands of God. The superscription indicates that this is A psalm or song for the sabbath day. Beyond this, nothing is known of the author or occasion for the composition of this psalm. In the Mishnah (Tamid 6:4) it is recorded that this psalm was appointed to be used in the Temple service on the Sabbath. The inscription with regard to the Sabbath Day is preserved in the best Hebrew manuscripts, as well as the Chaldee, Arabic, Septuagint, Ethiopic, and Vulgate. The title in the Targum, “Of the First dam,” indicates the opinion of the older rabbis that this psalm may have been written by Adam himself. Although Adamic authorship is as well attested in the Chaldee version, nevertheless few Christian scholars give credence to this assertion. 92:1–3. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD. To praise God does our hearts good; it is right morally and ethically to do so. As the birds sing His praises, let us sing praises unto thy name, O Most High. It is appropriate that with the freshness of a new day we sing forth the loving-kindness of God in the morning. This prayer ought to continue throughout the day and come to a close with praise of thy faithfulness every night. Not only shall our voices be raised to God, but we praise Him as well upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp. Both vocal and instrumental praises to God are fitting in the Jewish Sabbath service. 4–6. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work. The mere contemplation of divine work, either creation or providence, floods the heart of the psalmist with joy. I will triumph in the works of thy hands. The word triumph (Heb ranan) is sometimes rendered cry or shout for joy. In the first sentence of this verse the psalmist expresses the unity of God’s work; in the second he praises the variety of God’s works. When he surveys all that God has done, he can but exclaim, O LORD, how great are thy works! The works of Jehovah are great in number, great in design, great in glory, and great in consequence. Thy thoughts are very deep is an expression reminiscent of St. Paul’s expression of praise to God, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Rom 11:33). What a sharp contrast is drawn between the one who praises God’s loving-kindness every morning and His faithfulness every night, and the brutish man, i.e., a rude, uncultivated, stupid man who never contemplates the wonderful depths of God’s love. Whether he is an intellectual philosopher or a menial laborer, he has no conception of Jehovah God and is blind and insensitive to the things of God. By divine appraisal he is thought to be a fool. 7–9. The wicked spring as the grass … all the workers of iniquity do flourish. Although this is a theme that disturbed both Job (Job 21:7–21) and Asaph (73:2–15), the prosperity of the wicked does not seem to trouble our psalmist here. He is convinced that when the wicked gather together in abundance and apparent strength, as the flourishing grass, they shall be destroyed for ever (cf. 73:18–20). On the other hand, thou, LORD art most high for evermore. God is consistently and gloriously exalted, seated upon His throne in the heavens and unaffected either by the efforts or by the fall of the wicked. Glory be to His name! For, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. The psalmist takes great comfort in the fact that although the workers of iniquity have gathered themselves together against God, nonetheless their: forces shall be dispersed, their evil designs destroyed, and themselves defeated. 10–11. But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn. The horn of an animal was used for protection and raised high in glorious victory (cf. Lk 1:69). The psalmist is confident that he will be victorious over the enemies of God and that he will have his horn, a figure of speech borrowed from the animals, exalted like the horn of a unicorn. Like the Assyrian, the Hebrew word for unicorn (Heb re’em) indicates a wild ox. With the vigor of one who had been anointed with fresh oil, and entering battle with certain divine aid, the psalmist could confidently say, Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies. 12–13. The psalmist now contrasts the life of the righteous with that of the wicked. Whereas the workers of iniquity are likened unto grass which flourisheth for a short time and then is destroyed forever, The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, the queen of all trees in antiquity. The palm was luxurious and lovely and would grow in those unlikely areas where others would not. To add to the figure, the righteous shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon (cf. II Kgs 14:9; Song 5:15; Ezk 31:3–9; Amos 2:9; Zech 11:1). Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. Referring to the righteous, the psalmist correctly concludes that the greater wisdom is shown in living righteously, rather than living wickedly. 14–15. Those who are righteous and flourish in the courts of God, making their habitation in the secret place of the Most High, shall still bring forth fruit in old age and be fat and flourishing. Aged believers are sweet testimonies to the constant presence and provision of God. They can truly say, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter it grows.” Of Jehovah the promise concludes, he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Even in the years of failing health, on the Sabbath day a Jew could come to the Temple and give praise to God for being the rock of his salvation. It is a good thing to give thanks … and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High (vs. 1). Commentary is sourced from: KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1102). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 23:37:38 +0000
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