Psalms 92

Psalms 92:1-6

It is probable this psalm was opened by David. It is calculated for the Sabbath-day, 1. Praise, the business of the Sabbath, it has recommended, ver. 1—3. 2. God’s works, which gave occasion for the Sabbath, are here celebrated as great and unworthable, ver. 4—6. 3. God’s enemies shall be cut off, but David shall be serviled, ver. 9, 10. 4. David’s enemies shall be confounded, ver. 11. but all the righteous shall be fruitful and heartlong, ver. 12—15.

¶ A psalm or song for the Sabbath-day.

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 loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night; 3. Upon an instrument of ten things, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. 4. For thou, LORD, hath made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hand. 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.

This psalm is entitled, A song for the Sabbath, praise being the most becoming work of that holy-day. If, as some suppose, it refers to the eternal rest that remains for the people of God, under the reign of the Messiah, Heb. iv. 9. we know our happy labour then will be everlasting praise.

1. The psalmist encourages us to join heartily in the sacred song. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High; it is both our harp and privilege, the tribute of gratitude we owe, and the preparation for the service of heaven; and abundant matter we have for the blessed service, to shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, the various instances of it we have experienced in providential care, and especially in the spiritual blessings obtained by Christ Jesus, and thy faithfulness every night; not merely confining our grateful acknowledgment to one day, but day and night continually, as most bounden, ascribing to God the glory due unto his name, whose mercy and truth never fail, upon an instrument of ten things, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. Note, (1.) Whatever our engagements may be, we are bound at least to begin and end each day with prayer and praise. (2.) They who have themselves a deep experience of the Divine love and faithfulness, will delight to be telling of the salvation from day to day.

2. He sets before us his own example for our imitation. Thou, Lord, hath made me glad through thy work; the work of creation and providence, or rather of redemption and grace by Jesus Christ: an experimental knowledge of which is matter of the most redeemed joy: I will triumph in the works of thy hands, confident of the completion of that salvation God hath begun. O how great are thy works! when we contemplate the works of creation, providence, redemption, and grace, we are lost in admiration, and can only wonder and adore; and thy thoughts are very deep, unfathomable by the shallow line of human

man reason, and above our conception as the heaven is higher than the earth. Isa. lv. 9.

3. They who disregard the works of God, and neglect to praise him, are brutish and wicked. A brutish man demurde not a neither doth a fool understand this; by the indulgence of their appetites they degrade themselves unto health, and benefit in their knowledge, looking no higher than the earth, nor farther than the grave, they leave God far above out of their sight, in sensible all his mercies, and negligent of his service.

4. When ’the wicked spring as the grafs, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish: it is that they shall be destroyed for ever. 8. But thou, LORD, art my 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 shall 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 far and flourishing: 15. To shew that the LORD is upright: ‘he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalms 92:7-15

The psalmist triumphs over his enemies, and in God’s love and favour to him, and all his faithful ones.

1. He expects to see the ruin of the wicked, however prosperous and proud. When the wicked spring up at the grafs, so numerous and vigorous, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, in health, wealth, power, and every earthly pollination, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever: their prosperity becomes their ruin, and they are only fattened for the slaughter. But then, Lord, art my high for evermore, reigning over all, abusing the proud, and ever living to inflict on them their deserved punishment. For lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for lo, thine enemies shall perish; for such are all the workers of wickedness, who daringly oppose the most high, reject his government, and rebel against his crown and dignity; but vain their impotent malice, they must perish under his eternal wrath; and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered, their schemes frustrated, their combinations broken, their ruin irrecoverable and everlasting, when God shall say unto them, Duport mursed, &c. But my horn shall thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn, establishing his royal authority, and exalting his throne on high. This may be applied to the Messiah, who is the horn of salvation, called up from the house of David, Luke i. 69. And thus also will all the saints of God be at the last day for above their enemies. I shall be unnamed with fresh oil; every attack of his foes should only serve to bring renewed supplies of grace, strength, and divine combinations into his soul. Mine eye also shall for my desire of mine enemies: and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked who rise up against me, whose power to hurt should be broken, and God glorified in their punishment, which he could not but desire and rejoice in. Note, (1.) All the enemies of Christ and his people sage in vain; they who will not behold to his government must perish together and for ever under his vengeance. (2.) Though we may not wish evil to our bitterest enemies through any private revenge, we cannot but desire to see the power of the wicked restrained, and God’s glory manifested in his righteous judgments.

2. He expects to see the exaltation of the saints of God, however now depressed and low. The righteous shall flourish as a palm-tree; whatever burdens are laid on him, he shall not only be enabled to support them, but prosper in his soul under the head. Gryllus sub pundere vertus. He shall grace like a cedar in Lebanon, strong and high, reaching to the heavens, unmoved by stormy blasts, and incorruptible. Such is the believer, going from strength to strength, having his affections set on heaven and heavenly things, rooted on Christ, never to be moved, and more durable than the cedar, even possessed of life eternal. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, removed from the wilderness of the world, grafted into Christ, and thus transplanted into his church, where they partake of the heavenly dew of Divine benediction, and in the word and ordinances are watered day by day, these shall flourish in the courts of our God, being full of sap, derived from Christ the living root; adorning the doctrine of God the Saviour is all things, and continuing, not merely for a while, as the grafs to which the wicked are compared, but to eternity; their leaf shall never wither, nor there fruit fail; for they shall bring forth fruit in old age, grace being often most vigorous and fruitful when nature’s strength decays: they shall be far and flourishing, not withered or decayed by time, as other trees, but partaking of the fateses of the root, Rom. xi. 17. walking in the most enlivened exercise of Divine grace, and abounding in every good work. To shew that the

Lord is upright, faithful to all his promises, carrying his people on to hoary hairs, and never leaving or forsaking them till he hath brought them to his eternal glory: he is my rock, firm and stable; such the psalmist had by experience proved him to be, and so will every soul that truly trusts upon him; and there is no unrighteousness in him: he never raises expectations to disappointment them, what he promises he fully performs; he never leaves nor forsakes his people, nor fails to punish the workers of iniquity, for just and right is he.

Psalms 92:9-16

This psalm, though without a title, is generally afflicted to David, and is supposed to be written at the time of the pestilence, 2 Sam. xxiv. Observe, 1. The Psalms’ own legislature to take God for his deeper, ver. 2. From which he gives hell advection and encouragement to others, ver. 9. 2. The promises which are here made in God’s name to all those that do so insincerity. (1.) They shall be taken under the peculiar care of heaven, ver. 1—4. (2.) They shall be delivered from the matter of the powers of darkness, ver. 3—5, 6, and that by a distinguishing preservation, ver. 7, 8. (3.) They shall be the charge of the holy angels, ver. 10, 11. (4.) They shall triumph over their enemies, ver. 13. (5.) They shall be the special favourites of God himself, ver. 14—16. Many think, that to Christ, as mediator, their promises do primarily belong, [Is. xlix. 2.] our bounds to him the direct applied use of their promises, that, iv. 6. but because to him they were applicable, and coming through him, they are more fluent and sure to all believers.

1. HE that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, and my fortress; my God, in him will I trust. 3. Surely he will deliver thee from the share of the fowler: and from the nations pestilence. 4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shall thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckle. 5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by aight: nor for the arrow that flash by day: 6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness: nor for the destruction that walketh at noon-day. 7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and not thousand at thy right hand: nor it shall not come nigh thee. 8. Only with thine eyes shall thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked.

2. 1—8. The scripture abounds with great and precious promises, and God’s people who come to these sacred fountains, may ever draw waters of comfort.

3. The Psalms’ describes the safety and confidation of the gracious soul. He that dreaded to the great place of the most High, delights in his worship, and feels repole for his soul in the bosom of his grace, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered from every danger by Almighty power, comforted with a sense of everlasting love.

4. He professes his purpose to fly to this bled hiding-place. I will say of, as to the Lord, He is my refuge in every time of danger, my fortress, impregnable to the assaults of every enemy, spiritual or temporal, my God, in whose regard, by faith, I claim a sure interest, in him will I trust, confident of his never-failing protection, and expediting all felicity from his power, grace, and faithfulness, according to his promises. Note, They who make God their only trust, will never be disappointed of their hope.

5. He influences a great variety of particulars, wherein God’s care of his people would appear. Surely he will deliver thee from every evil and danger, temporal or spiritual.

(1.) From the fears of the fowler, and from the nations pestilence, either literally, from those who lie in wait to destroy our bodies, and from the pestilential diseases which endanger our lives, or from the sinners and temptations which Satan lays for our souls; from that most pestilential of all diseases, sin, and that worst of plagues, the plagues of our own hearts. Note, (1.) How often may every man reflect on seasons of danger, when he owed the preservation of his life purely to the divine providence? (2.) If God hath once given spiritual life to our souls, he will preserve them, that they shall never perish.

(2.) He shall never the with his feathers, expressive of God’s tender regard toward his people, as a hen covered her chickens calling them when danger threatens, protecting and cherishing them under her wings, 9. 1. His faithfulness and truth,

whereon

whereon the believer’s confidence is placed, shall be thy shield and beckler; his promises engaged for him, his power almighty to defend him. Note, Though we are weak and helpless, our God is able to save to the untermoth; blessed and happy are they whom he covers with his wings and shield.

(3.) No fear shall dismay. Thus shall not be afraid for the terror by night, from fire, storm, robbers, or spirits of darkness, who would in frightful dreams disturb the mind, or inject distrustful fears of God’s care and protection: nor for the sorrow that flesh by day; the sudden and unexpected judgments of God: nor for the七月间ness that waileseth in darkness, when the dead are carried forth to their graves; or, as willing from hidden causes, and shalting terrible through the land: nor for the degradation that waileseth at noon, when the heat cauldeth the pathological vapour to be more fatal; or respect may be had to that suffocating wind, which, in some uniform countries, kills those who are exposed to it: none of these shall terrify the faithful, God can preserve him from death, or make him triumphant over it, he that he shall never know that fear which hath consent. Note, (1.) If we lie down in peace, and sleep undisturbed, if we awake refreshed, and pass the day in safety amidst the unnumbered dangers which surround our path, God’s hand is to be thankfully acknowledged. (2.) No arrow of death flies but God directs it unerring to the mark. (3.) Faith in God delivers from terrifying fear, and even death, to the believer, hath lost its fling.

(4.) In general desolations the faithful shall be safe. A thousand shall fall at thy fate, and ten thousand at thy right hand, such dreadful shaveful doth the plague often make, as David had seen, 2 Rous. xxiv. but it shall not come with thee; either a particular providence shall guard their houses, as when the destroying angel passed through Egypt; or at least they shall not be hurt by it if they fall, for to them death is gain. Only with thine eye shall thou behold, and for the reward of the wicked, in whose destruction God is glorified, and in his righteous judgments they rejoice and adore him.

9. Because thou hast made the LORD which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation: 12. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11. For the shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee be all thy ways. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, left thou daft thy foot against a stone. 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under foot. 14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15. He shall call upon me, and I will deliver him: I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him, and honour him. 16. With long life will I satisfy him, and throw him my salvation.

We have here many farther rich promises of God declared, and the character of his people described, to whom they are fore.

1. Their character. [1.] They make the Lord their refuge, trusting in him in every time of trial. [2.] The most High is their habitation, where their soul finds sweet rapots, and a comfortable provision of all good things, v. 9. The words may be rendered, Because thou, Lord, are my refuge, thou hast made the most High thy habitation; and thus they contain an apothrophe of the Psalms to his own soul, intimating the ground of his safety and confidence. [3.] They set their love on God, he is the grand object of it, and reigns in their hearts without a rival. [4.] They know his name; are acquainted with his word, where he hath made the most glorious displays of his protection, and with his Son the brightness of his glory, by whom alone the Father can be truly known, Met. xv. 27. [5.] They call upon him in ceaseless prayer for the relief of all their wants, and testify their continual dependence on his protection and care. Reader, is this thy character! then blessed art thou. For.

2. Great are the promised blessings which the Psalms, in God’s name, yea, which God himself, pronounces on all such.

(1.) No evil shall befall thee, nor any plague come nigh thy dwelling; either God will, by a distinguishing act of his providence, protect them, or whatever trouble comes it shall be cherished, in the wise produce their greatest good, and prove a real blessing in disguise.

(2.) Angelic guards shall attend their steps; they minister to the heirs of salvation, and from every unforeseen danger preserve and protect them with the most comforting tenderness and mighty power, v. 11, 12. Satan applied this passage to Christ, but with the omission of a material clause: they shall keep thee in all thy ways, into which by Divine providence thou art led, or by the Divine word directed; for out of the path of duty we may not expect the way of safety.

(3.) The powers of darkness shall be subdued under them. Then shall tread upon the lion and adder; literally, these noxious

animals being refrained from hurting; or, figuratively, wicked men and wicked devils, for power and futility, compared to these, shall be trodden down: the young lion and dragon shall thou trample under feet, even Satan, whose head shall shortly be bruised under the feet of God’s redeemed people.

(4.) God himself promises, to trouble to it with them, and out of trouble to deliver them, v. 15. Trouble we may expect, it is the lot of God’s people; but his presence, and a sense of his love, over-believers every affection, and living and dying he will deliver us, either from our trials, by giving us strength to support and overcome them, or by discharging us from the warfare, and admitting us to his eternal rest.

(5.) He will bear all their prayers, and give them answers of peace, v. 15. He gives the spirit of supplication, then grants the requirits his grace enables us to present before him, for the prayer of faith never returned empty.

(6.) He engages to set them on high, v. 14. on the rock Christ, against which all storms and tempests rage in vain, and from whence they can look down on all the unspent malice of their foes; and to honour them, not only with the title of his sons and daughters, with the robe of a Redeman’s righteousness, and the graces of his spirit here below, but with an inheritance eternal in the heavens, and with a throne of glory everlasting.

(7.) With length of days will I satisfy him; they shall live here as long as they desire to live, and God has work for them to do, and shew him my salvation; the fulness of it above, when all the unutterable birthfulness, which the Lord Jesus hath purchased, shall fully, freely, and eternally be bestowed on the faithful soul, and he shall be for ever satisfied with it.