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Psalms 92

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A Call to Worship and Thanksgiving 1–4

1
It is a good thing to give thanks unto Jehovah, And to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High; ​
2
To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, And thy faithfulness every night, ​
3
With an instrument of ten strings, and with the psaltery; With a solemn sound upon the harp.
4
For thou, Jehovah, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. ​

The Greatness of God and the Folly of the Wicked 5–9

5
How great are thy works, O Jehovah! 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, O Jehovah, art on high for evermore.
9
For, lo, thine enemies, O Jehovah, For, lo, thine enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

Assurance of Personal Vindication 10–11

10
But my horn hast thou exalted like the horn of the wild-ox: I am anointed with fresh oil. ​
11
Mine eye also hath seen my desireon mine enemies, Mine ears have heard my desire of the evil-doers that rise up against me.

The Enduring Fruitfulness of the Righteous 12–15

12
The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree: He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. ​
13
They are planted in the house of Jehovah; They shall flourish in the courts of our God. ​
14
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and green: ​
15
To show that Jehovah is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 92

Verse 1

for the sabbath day — This is the only psalm with that heading. 'Give thanks' is yadah and 'sing praises' zamar, both addressed to 'the LORD' and to his name as 'most High' (Elyon). 'It is good' (tov) is the opening of Ps 147:1, 'it is good to sing praises unto our God', and the day of rest is given here to thanksgiving.

Verse 2

lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night — Chesed is covenant mercy and emunah is faithfulness that holds firm. 'Shew forth' is nagad, to declare, the verb that returns in v.15, 'To shew that the LORD is upright'. Morning and night were the hours of the daily offering: 'The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb… at even' (Num 28:4).

Verse 4

thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work — Po'al, 'work', is what the LORD has done, and 'works' (maaseh) in the same verse and in v.5 are the things he has made. 'Glad' is samach and 'triumph' is ranan, to ring out with a cry. Moses prays in Ps 90:16, 'Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.'

Verse 5

thy thoughts are very deep — Machashabah is a thought or plan, and 'deep' is amaq, deep as water is. The LORD says, 'my thoughts are not your thoughts… as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways' (Isa 55:8–9). Paul closes the argument of Romans 9–11 with 'O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!' (Rom 11:33).

Verse 6

A brutish man knoweth not — Baar is one with the sense of cattle. Asaph says of himself in a like case, 'I was as a beast before thee' (Ps 73:22). 'Knoweth not' and 'understand' are the two verbs, yada and bin, of Ps 82:5, 'They know not, neither will they understand'. The thing they miss is v.7, that the wicked flourish only to be destroyed.

Verse 7

When the wicked spring as the grass — 'Spring' is parach, to bud or break out, the same verb as 'flourish' for the righteous in vv.12–13. The wicked bloom as grass does, and Ps 37:2 says of them, 'they shall soon be cut down like the grass'. 'Destroyed' is shamad, and 'for ever' (ad) fixes the end where the righteous have no end.

Verse 10

the horn of an unicorn — Reem, an animal known for the strength of its horns: 'he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn' (Num 23:22); Joseph's horns are 'like the horns of unicorns' (Deut 33:17). 'Horn' (qeren) is strength lifted high, as in 'exalt the horn of his anointed' (1 Sam 2:10). 'Fresh' oil is raanan, green, the word for 'flourishing' in v.14.

Verse 12

flourish like the palm tree — Tamar is the date palm; 'grow' is sagah, to become large, and the cedar is the cedar 'in Lebanon'. Palm trees were carved with cherubim on all the walls of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:29), which prepares for v.13, where the righteous are 'planted in the house of the LORD'. Ps 1:3 pictures the same man as a tree by the rivers.

Verse 13

planted in the house of the LORD — Shathal means to transplant and is used of Ps 1:3, 'a tree planted by the rivers of water', and Jer 17:8. The 'courts' (chatser) are the open areas of the sanctuary. Isaiah names the people the LORD restores in Zion 'trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified' (Isa 61:3).

Verse 14

bring forth fruit in old age — Nub is to put out fruit, and 'old age' (seybah) is the grey hair of age. 'Fat' (deshen) is rich with sap and 'flourishing' (raanan) green, the word of the fresh oil in v.10. Ps 71:18 prays 'when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not', and the LORD says, 'even to your old age I am he' (Isa 46:4).

Verse 15

the LORD is upright… my rock — Yashar is straight, tsur is a cliff or rock, and 'unrighteousness' is evel, injustice. Moses sang, 'He is the Rock, his work is perfect… without iniquity, just and right is he' (Deut 32:4). Paul asks, 'Is there unrighteousness with God?' and answers, 'God forbid' (Rom 9:14). The fruitful old age of v.14 is the witness.