Psalm Ninety Two

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

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A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day.

A Psalm or Song. This “psalm or song” is for “the Sabbath day.” The Sabbath is not only for “rest,” but also a time to “give thanks” and “sing praises” to God (Psalm 92:1), and also to “shew forth,” or give testimony, to His lovingkindness and faithfulness (Psalm 92:2).

Psalm 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

Psalm 92:2 To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,

Psalm 92:3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.

solemn sound. Although instrumental music was used in the ancient Jewish worship, it was “solemn” music. The Hebrew for “solemn sound” is higgaion, a word translated “meditation” in Psalm 19:14. See note in Psalm 9:16.

Psalm 92:4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.

Psalm 92:5 O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.

very deep. See notes on Psalm 139:6, 17, and note on Romans 11:33.

Psalm 92:6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

Psalm 92:7 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:

Psalm 92:8 But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.

Psalm 92:9 For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

Psalm 92:10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

unicorn. The unicorn (Hebrew reem) was not a mythical animal, but an extinct animal. Many commentators think it was the giant wild ox, or aurochs. This verse indicates, however, that it did have a “horn” (not two horns, that may have looked like one horn from a distance). Deuteronomy 33:17 speaks of the “horns of unicorns,” but this is ambiguous as to whether it meant one-horned or two-horned animals. Many ancient writers describe unicorns as large and fierce animals with one horn. An extinct type of rhinoceros or some other now-unknown extinct animal may be the best explanation.

Psalm 92:11 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.

Psalm 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

like the palm tree. Believers are often compared to trees in Scripture (Psalm 1:3; 52:8; Hosea 14:6). The palm here is the date palm, perhaps the most useful of all trees—producing dates, sugar, wine, honey, oil, resin, rope, thread, tannin and dyes. Its seeds are fed to cattle and its leaves are used for roofs, fences, mats, and baskets. Its fruit gets sweeter as the tree ages. Note the next verse, which says that true believers “shall still bring forth fruit in old age.”

Psalm 92:13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.

Psalm 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

fat and flourishing. Elderly believers who tend to become heavier as they grow older can perhaps take comfort from this promise!

Psalm 92:15 To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.