Psalms 92:1-15
1 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 harpa 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;b
15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Psalms 92:3. Ten strings. Stringed instruments, as in Psalms 150:4. These are four, the asur, the nebal, the higgaion, and the kinnor or harp: a full band for singing in the courts of the Lord. This is a psalm of David; and it would seem from the language, that the enemies were his enemies: Psalms 92:9. The horn of the unicorn, Psalms 92:10, designates regal power. Seeing his desire on his enemies, is equivalent to confidence of victory; and flourishing in the courts of the Lord, Psalms 92:13, gives assurance that the psalm was composed, not in Babylon, as Arian critics would suggest, but while religion was under the splendour of a devout king.
Psalms 92:10. An unicorn. Designating strength, as described on Numbers 23:22.
Psalms 92:12. The palmtree, now called the date tree, described in Exodus 15:27.
REFLECTIONS.
This psalm, as denoted in the title, is very proper for a sabbath morning, being calculated to raise the soul to heaven by the study of the works of nature, and the wonders of providence and grace. These are contemplations which cause the heart to burn and the tongue to sing.
Happy ourselves, we pity the brutish man who has no relish for spiritual delights; for when the wicked spring up and flourish as the grass, and elsewhere, as grass on the house top, they presently engage in sedition, mischief and war, and perish for ever.
The righteous, on the contrary, are like the palmtree and like the cedar, which retain their beauty and verdure throughout the whole year. The date was the favourite tree to surround villas and synagogues, the most pleasing ornament of inviting abodes for its shadow and beauty. Leviticus 23:40; Song of Solomon 7:7; Judges 4:5. Its fruits were salubrious. Song of Solomon 7:8. Its branches were emblems of joy, and were carved on the doors of the temple, to designate the ever-flourishing state of the church. 1 Kings 6:29; Ezekiel 40; Revelation 7:9. It never had a barren year. Lamentations 4:20. The cedar was tall and spiral, the ornament of the hills, as the palm adorned the vales. Amos 2:9. It was fragrant and durable, in allusion to which it is added, that those who are planted in the house of the Lord, as the palm trees which surrounded it, should grow and not wither, and bring forth fruit in old age.
We should next remark, that as the harvest crowns the year with the golden fruits of autumn, so religion is the glory of hoary age. We often see the wicked, when infirmities come, sit in their chair, and doze away the evening of life, while the righteous have their minds stored with celestial knowledge, and their hearts enriched with consummate piety. We see a Moses reciting his Deuteronomy, a Samuel going his circuit to teach and to judge, a Paul going as a missionary to Rome, and a Polycarp facing the lion. The grace and glory conferred on the hoary head of saints, demonstrates that the Lord is upright, keeping covenant and promise with his people.