Bible Commentaries

Psalms 92:1 « A Psalm [or] Song for the sabbath day. » [It is a] good [thing] to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day] The sabbath in the Hebrew hath its name from resting ( שׁבת), and is near allied to two other words, the first whereof signifieth to sit still ( ישׁב), and the second to worship and give praise ( שׁבת). On this day they met for works of piety (as sacrificing, reading and expounding the Scriptures, praying, singing, as here, &c.) and of mercy, Matthew 12:2-8; Matthew 12:11-12. And this psalm, treating of God’s great works, was purposely set for a canon of sanctifying that day called by the Jews the queen of days; in praise whereof, before and after meat, they daily say certain verses.

Ver. 1.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord] And the sabbath day is a good time to do it in; for then (as Kimchi here noteth) men are at leisure and liberty to do it most solemnly; the better day the better deed.

And to sing praises unto thy name] The psalmist commends it, and presently sets upon the doing of it. So Psalms 122:6-7, he no sooner bids pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but himself prays, "Peace be within thy walls," &c.

Psalms 92:2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,

Ver. 2. To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning] Every morning, that God may have the firstfruits of the day, but especially on the sabbath morning, when we awake and rise, ad quietem et ad delicias animi et corporis, as Kimchi here hath it. The Jews bless God at the sabbath’s coming in and going out.

And thy faithfulness in the night] Breaking our sleep for that purpose; yea, we must be in the fear of the Lord all the day long, Proverbs 23:17, how much more on the sabbath day! then our whole work must be ravished in spirit, doing no work, but such as whereby we either bless God or look to receive a blessing from God; none but such as wherein we would the Lord should find us at his coming; which Lactantius saith will be on the sabbath day.

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

Ver. 3. Upon an instrument of ten strings, &c.] This was part of the Jewish pedagogy; and teacheth us to use all lawful means to enforce ourselves to that, whereunto we are so dull and backward.

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

Ver. 4. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad, &c.] And I will improve this cheerfulness to thankfulness, James 5:13. On the sabbath we ought solummodo spiritualibus gaudiis repleri, to be filled with spiritual joys only, saith the Council of Paris, held A.D. 820.

I will triumph in the works of thy hands] sc. The works of creation, administration, but especially of redemption.

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

Ver. 5. O Lord, how great are thy works!] Surely so great that I cannot utter them, and must, therefore, thus vent myself by an exclamation.

Expleri mentem nequeo, ardescoque tuendo

(Virgil.)

And thy thoughts are very deep] Here, then, we must do as those Romans did, who, when they found a lake the depth whereof was unknown, they dedicated it to Victory. Cry, O the depth! and there rest us.

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

Ver. 6. A brutish man knoweth not] A sottish sensualist, who hath his soul for salt only, to keep his body from putrefying (as we say of swine); he takes no knowledge of God’s great works, but grunts and goes his ways, contenting himself with a natural use of the creatures, as beasts do.

Psalms 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:

Ver. 7. When the wicked spring as the grass, &c.] This the fool admireth, calling the proud happy, &c., Malachi 3:15, and not considering that that proud grass shall be mown down, and that that flourish shall soon perish.

It is that they shall be destroyed for ever] Not grow again, as mown grass doth: Exoriuntur ut exurantur. It is but as Haman’s banquet before execution.

Psalms 92:8 But thou, LORD, [art most] high for evermore.

Ver. 8. But thou, Lord, art most high, &c.] q.d. Flourish the wicked never so much, shoot they up never so high, thou art higher, and in the thing wherein they deal proudly thou art above them, Exodus 18:11.

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

Ver. 9. For, lo, thine enemies, &c.] The psalmist, by this demonstrative particle "lo," points to it as it were with the finger, as a thing most evident and undoubted.

Shall be scattered] Disparant se, dissiliunt, dispart themselves.

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

Ver. 10. Like the horn of an unicorn] Which is very fair, hard, and well lifted up. See Numbers 23:26. I am in good plight.

I shall be anointed] It is well for the present, and it will be better hereafter.

Psalms 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.

Ver. 11. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies] Or, on mine observers, who watch for my halting.

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

Ver. 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm] A tree that groweth not in these cold climates, but where it doth is noted for tall, constantly green, long lived, sweet, firm, straight, &c., εμπεδοφυλλος (Theoph.).

Nititur in pondus palma et consurgit in altum;

Quo magis et premitur, hoc mage tollit onus.

Though it hath many weights at the top, and many snakes at the bottom, yet is still saith, Nec premor, nee perimor.

Like a cedar] Not like grass, as the wicked do, Psalms 92:7.

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

Ver. 13. Those that be planted] Having taken deep root there. Hypocrites are only thrust in, as a stake, into the earth. Mnason was an old disciple, Andronicus and Junia were in Christ before Paul, and therefore of note among the apostles for well-rooted and fruited, Romans 16:7.

In the courts of our God] In Christ, and under the ordinances.

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

Ver. 14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age] Quantumvis veteres, non veterascent, though old, yet shall they retain their former vigour and verdure, and be like that Persian tree in Theophrastus, that at the same time doth bud, blossom, and bear fruit, pullulantes et succulentae.

They shall be fat and flourishing] Vividi et vegeti (Bucholcer), not as the Brabanti or Flemings, qui quo magis senescunt, eo magis stultescunt, saith Erasmus, the elder the foolisher; nor as Trapezuntius, who outlived all his learning; but as Moses, whose sight failed not, his heat abated not; as wine, the older the better; as the sun, which shineth most amiably toward the descent.

Psalms 92:15 To shew that the LORD [is] upright: [he is] my rock, and [there is] no unrighteousness in him.

Ver. 15. To show that, &c.] This is one of their principal fruits, to give God a testimonial, such as good old Moses doth, Deuteronomy 32:4.