Psalms 92:1-15

Psalms 90:106

Gordon Churchyard

A Song for Saturday

Psalms 92

Jesus said, "Thank you, Father". (Matthew 11:25)

Psalms 92

(This) psalm (is a) song (to sing) on Saturday.

v1 It is good to tell the *LORD that he is great,
and to make music to your name, Most High (God).

v2 (It is good) to talk about your kind love in the morning.
And (to talk) every night (about) how you do what you have promised.

v3 (It is good) to make music with *lutes and *harps.
And (it is good) to sing with the *lyre.

v4 Because, *LORD, the things that you have done make me so happy.
I want to tell you that you are great
because of the things that your hands have made!

v5 *LORD, how great are the things that you have done!
Your thoughts are (often) hard to understand!

v6 (Only) a silly man would not know this
and (only) a fool would not understand it.

v7 That:
• if bad people grow as grass
• and all the very bad people grow as weeds
(you) will destroy them and they will never (grow) again.

v8 But you, *LORD, will always be the Most High!

v9 Because your enemies, *LORD, your enemies will certainly die.
You will chase all the people that do bad things to different places.

v10 You have made me very strong, as strong as a big wild animal.
(You did this when) you poured fresh oil over me.

v11 Mine eyes have seen (you) beat mine enemies.
Mine ears have heard you beat the bad people that attack me.

v12 *Righteous people will grow as well as a *palm-tree.
They will grow as the *cedars in Lebanon.

v13 They are as (trees that someone) planted in the house of the *LORD.
They grow really well (near) the *temple of our God.

v14 When they are old, they will still give fruit!
They will always be fresh and green.

v15 They will show (everyone) that the *LORD is good.
He is my rock. There is nothing bad in him.

The Story of Psalms 92

The Jews (people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children) had a story that Adam sang this song the day after God made him. The Jews called that day the Sabbath, the 7^th day. We call it Saturday. Really, we do not know who the person was that wrote Psalms 92. We call the person that wrote a psalm the psalmist. Maybe it was after God had done something good for his people Judah or Israel. Many Bible students think that it was when King Cyrus of Persia beat King Belshazzar of Babylon. Cyrus then sent the Jews home to their own country. For 70 years, the Babylonians had made them live in Babylon. Now they were free!

The Meaning of Psalms 92

Study the psalm in 5 parts:

• Verses 1 - 3 say that it is good to tell the *LORD that he is great and to use music to do it.

• Verses 4 - 6 say that God has done something good. You would have to be silly not to see it.

• Verses 7 - 9 tell us that even if the enemy is strong, God will destroy them.

• Verses 10 - 11 tell us that God has made the *psalmist very strong. And also that God has destroyed his enemies.

• Verses 12 - 15 tell us that all *righteous people will be strong.

Verses 1 – 3: In this part there are two words for God and three words for things that make music. We call these things "musical instruments". They are the lute, harp and lyre. The psalm calls God "LORD" and "Most High". "LORD" means that he is always alive. "Most High" means that he is more important than anyone else is. In verse 2, "do what you have promised" suggests that God has done something good.

Verses 4 – 6: Now the *psalmist says that God has done something good. The *psalmist is now very happy. Only a silly man would not see what God has done. What God thinks is often hard to understand. Only fools would not agree that grass and weeds grow everywhere.

Verses 7 – 9: Grass and weeds grow everywhere! So do bad people. But God will destroy them and they will never come back again. Really, they destroy themselves, as Hosea 13:9 tells us. It says, "You have destroyed yourselves (yourselves means more than one yourself)".

Verses 10 – 11: Here Bible students think that the *psalmist was a leader of the people. If he wrote the psalm before Babylon beat the *Jews, then that leader was the king.

They made people king by pouring special oil over them. We are not sure what the wild animal was. Maybe it was a wild ox. An ox is a kind of cow.

Verses 12 – 15: Now the *psalmist talks about righteous people. Righteous is a word that means "very, very good". Only God is really righteous. But God makes people that love him righteous too. It does not mean that they are good. It means that they love God and want to obey him. They will not be as grass and weeds that do not live long, verse 7. Instead, they are as trees. They are as palm trees that produce fruit called "dates"; and as the cedar tree which lives for centuries. "The temple of our God" in verse 13 is the same as "the house of the *LORD". It was a special building where the people went to meet God.

Something to do

1. Count how many times me, my or mine come in the psalm.

2. How many times does "*LORD" come in the psalm?

3. If you have a Bible, read Ezekiel 18.

4. Learn to say Psalms 92:8 by heart. (This means without looking at the words.)

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ what God and his people agreed.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ as.
lute ~ a musical instrument.

musical instrument ~ something that makes music when you hit it (cymbals, drum), blow in it (flute, trumpet, horn, shofar) or touch it in a quiet way (harp, lute, lyre). Many of these are in Psalm 150 in Book 5 of The Psalms of David.
harp ~ a musical instrument.

musical instrument ~ something that makes music when you hit it (cymbals, drum), blow in it (flute, trumpet, horn, shofar) or touch it in a quiet way (harp, lute, lyre). Many of these are in Psalm 150 in Book 5 of The Psalms of David.
lyre ~ a musical instrument.

musical instrument ~ something that makes music when you hit it (cymbals, drum), blow in it (flute, trumpet, horn, shofar) or touch it in a quiet way (harp, lute, lyre). Many of these are in Psalm 150 in Book 5 of The Psalms of David.
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people that love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say that they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".'palm-tree ~ a tree that grows fruit (dates) that people can eat.
cedar ~ a tree with leaves that do not fall off in winter.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
worship ~ tell someone that they are very great and that you love them.
psalmist ~ the person that wrote a psalm (or psalms).
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people that love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say that they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.