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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Psalm 92 Pulpit Commentary</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/psalms/92.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/psalms/92-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">Pulpit Commentary</a> > Psalm 92</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../psalms/91.htm" title="Psalm 91">◄</a> Psalm 92 <a href="../psalms/93.htm" title="Psalm 93">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Pulpit Commentary</div><div class="chap"><div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-1.htm">Psalm 92:1</a></div><div class="verse"><<A Psalm <i>or</i> Song for the sabbath day.>> <i>It is a</i> good <i>thing</i> to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 1.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/147-1.htm">Psalm 147:1</a>). By "a good thing" is meant that which is at ones right and pleasant. <span class="cmt_word">And to sing praises unto thy Name, O Most High.</span> Israel's Lord, Jehovah, is also "the Most High over all the earth" (<a href="/psalms/83-18.htm">Psalm 83:18</a>), and should at all times be thought of as both. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-2.htm">Psalm 92:2</a></div><div class="verse">To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 2.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">To show forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.</span> The suitableness of worship every morning and evening has been almost universally felt. The Mosaic Law provided for it by the establishment of the morning and evening sacrifice (<a href="/exodus/29-38.htm">Exodus 29:38, 39</a>), with the accompanying ritual. Jewish piety added a noonday prayer (<a href="/psalms/55-17.htm">Psalm 55:17</a>; <a href="/daniel/6-10.htm">Daniel 6:10</a>), and Christian zeal established the "seven hours of prayer." Morning and evening still, however, remain, by common acknowledgment, the most appropriate times for worship. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-3.htm">Psalm 92:3</a></div><div class="verse">Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 3.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery.</span> Some think that only one instrument is intended here, and translate, "Upon an instrument of ten strings, <span class="accented">even</span> upon the psaltery" (or, "the lute"). (On the character of the psaltery, see the comment on Psalm 33:2.) <span class="cmt_word">Upon the harp with a solemn sound.</span> The reference is clearly to the public service of the temple, since in the private devotions of the faithful instruments were not likely to be used. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-4.htm">Psalm 92:4</a></div><div class="verse">For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work.</span> It is difficult to say what "work" is intended. Some have supposed "the work of creation," as the psalm is one "for the sabbath" (see title); but perhaps the general "working" of God's providence in the world is more probable. (So Hengstenberg, Kay, and Cheyne.) <span class="cmt_word">I will triumph in the works of thy hands.</span> A repetition for the sake of emphasis. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-5.htm">Psalm 92:5</a></div><div class="verse">O LORD, how great are thy works! <i>and</i> thy thoughts are very deep.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">O Lord, how great are thy works!</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/40-5.htm">Psalm 40:5</a>). Mighty and wonderful, <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, are the ways of Providence. <span class="cmt_word">And thy thoughts are very deep</span> (comp. <a href="/job/11-8.htm">Job 11:8</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-6.htm">Psalm 92:6</a></div><div class="verse">A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.</span> A rude, uncultivated man has no conception of the wonderful depth of God's thoughts - the marvellousness of those counsels which underlie the general scheme of things, and make it what it is (comp. <a href="/romans/11-33.htm">Romans 11:33, 34</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-7.htm">Psalm 92:7</a></div><div class="verse">When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; <i>it is</i> that they shall be destroyed for ever:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 7.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">When the wicked spring as the grass</span>; <span class="accented">i.e.</span> "spring up" - "flourish" (see ver. 12). The difficulty is that which disturbed Job (Job 21:7-21) and Asaph (<a href="/psalms/73-2.htm">Psalm 73:2-15</a>), viz. the prosperity of the wicked. The present writer, however, is not disturbed - he sees in their prosperous condition nothing but a prelude to their overthrow. <span class="cmt_word">And when all the workers of iniquity do flourish;</span> or, "do blossom." <span class="cmt_word">It is that they shall be destroyed forever;</span> literally, <span class="accented">it is for their destruction forever</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/73-18.htm">Psalm 73:18-20</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-8.htm">Psalm 92:8</a></div><div class="verse">But thou, LORD, <i>art most</i> high for evermore.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 8.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">But thou, Lord, art most high forevermore;</span> rather, <span class="accented">art on high</span>; <span class="accented">i.e.</span> remainest seated upon thy throne, unaffected either by their efforts or by their fall. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-9.htm">Psalm 92:9</a></div><div class="verse">For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish</span>. Whatever else is uncertain, this at least is sure, that ultimately God's enemies will perish. The repetition adds the greatest force to the passage. <span class="cmt_word">All the workers of iniquity</span> (comp. ver. 7) <span class="cmt_word">shall</span> <span class="cmt_word">be scattered.</span> <span class="accented">All</span> of them - <span class="accented">every one</span> (comp. <a href="/matthew/7-23.htm">Matthew 7:23</a>, "Depart from me, ye that work iniquity"). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-10.htm">Psalm 92:10</a></div><div class="verse">But my horn shalt thou exalt like <i>the horn of</i> an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn;</span> rather, <span class="accented">of a wild ox.</span> The Hebrew, like the Assyrian, <span class="accented">reym</span>, is certainly a species of wild cattle, whether the aurochs, or the bison, or the buffalo, may be doubted. The psalmist speaks in the name of Israel, or of God's faithful ones generally, and confidently predicts their exaltation to glory and honour simultaneously with the destruction of God's enemies. <span class="cmt_word">I shall be anointed with fresh oil</span>. Oil was supposed to give vigour to the frame; and "fresh oil," or "green oil," would be the most efficient and the best. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-11.htm">Psalm 92:11</a></div><div class="verse">Mine eye also shall see <i>my desire</i> on mine enemies, <i>and</i> mine ears shall hear <i>my desire</i> of the wicked that rise up against me.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine</span> enemies (comp. <a href="/psalms/54-7.htm">Psalm 54:7</a>; <a href="/psalms/59-10.htm">Psalm 59:10</a>). The "desire" is probably that expressed in <a href="/psalms/91-13.htm">Psalm 91:13</a>. <span class="cmt_word">And mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.</span> This is an unusual phrase, but sufficiently intelligible. Triumph over enemies is perceived both by the eye and by the ear. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-12.htm">Psalm 92:12</a></div><div class="verse">The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.</span> To an Oriental the palm is the queen of trees. "Of all vegetable forms," says Humboldt, "the palm is that to which the prize of beauty has been assigned by the concurrent voice of nations in all ages" ('Aspects of Nature,' vol. 2. p. 20, Engl. trans.). Its stately growth, and graceful form, its perpetual verdure, its lovely and luxuriant fruit, together with its manifold uses (Strabo, 16:1, § 14), give it precedence over all other vegetable growths in the eyes that are accustomed to rest upon it. It is rather remarkable that, in the Old Testament, it is used as a figure for beauty only here and in <a href="/songs/7-7.htm">Song of Solomon 7:7</a>. Man, in his most flourishing growth, is ordinarily compared either to the cedar (<a href="/2_kings/14-9.htm">2 Kings 14:9</a>; <a href="/songs/5-15.htm">Song of Solomon 5:15</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/31-3.htm">Ezekiel 31:3-9</a>; <a href="/amos/2-9.htm">Amos 2:9</a>, etc.)or the olive tree (<a href="/judges/9-8.htm">Judges 9:8, 9</a>; <a href="/psalms/52-8.htm">Psalm 52:8</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/11-16.htm">Jeremiah 11:16</a>; <a href="/hosea/14-6.htm">Hosea 14:6</a>, etc.). <span class="cmt_word">He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon</span> (see, besides the passages already quoted, <a href="/2_kings/19-23.htm">2 Kings 19:23</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/2-8.htm">2 Chronicles 2:8</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/22-23.htm">Jeremiah 22:23</a>; <a href="/zechariah/11-1.htm">Zechariah 11:1</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-13.htm">Psalm 92:13</a></div><div class="verse">Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 13.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Those that be planted in the house of the Lord;</span> rather, <span class="accented">Planted</span> (or, <span class="accented">Being planted</span>) <span class="accented">in the house of the Lord, they.</span> This does not refer to the "trees" of the preceding verse, but to the "righteous," who are viewed as passing their days almost continually in the temple courts, and so as (in a certain sense) "planted" there. The passage has no bearing on the question whether the temple courts were or were not planted with trees. <span class="cmt_word">Shall flourish in the courts of our God</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/84-2.htm">Psalm 84:2, 10</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-14.htm">Psalm 92:14</a></div><div class="verse">They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 14.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;</span> <span class="accented">i.e.</span> "<span class="accented">even</span> when they are old, they shall <span class="accented">still</span> bring forth fruit" - they shall still glorify God by their good works. <span class="cmt_word">They shall be fat and fiourishing;</span> literally, <span class="accented">fat and green.</span> The metaphor of ver. 12 is still kept up. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/92-15.htm">Psalm 92:15</a></div><div class="verse">To shew that the LORD <i>is</i> upright: <i>he is</i> my rock, and <i>there is</i> no unrighteousness in him.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 15.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">To show that the Lord is upright.</span> The happy and flourishing old age of the righteous (ver. 14; comp. <a href="/psalms/91-16.htm">Psalm 91:16</a>) is a strong indication of God's faithfulness and truth, showing, as its does, that he keeps his promises, and never forsakes those that put their trust in him (comp. <a href="/psalms/27-10.htm">Psalm 27:10</a>; <a href="/psalms/37-25.htm">Psalm 37:25</a>; <a href="/isaiah/41-17.htm">Isaiah 41:17</a>, etc.). <span class="cmt_word">He is my Rock</span> - rather, <span class="accented">that he is my Rock</span> - <span class="cmt_word">and that there is no unrighteousness in him.</span> Both clauses depend on the "show" of the preceding hemistich. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> </div></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. 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