i. To sing Jehovah’s praise is a duty and delight. The proofs of His righteous government of the world fill the Psalmist’s heart with joy. Only unspiritual men fail to perceive that the prosperity of the wicked is but the prelude to their ruin, while Jehovah sits enthroned on high for ever (Psalm 92:1-8).

ii. His enemies perish, while His people are brought to honour. They rejoice in the discomfiture of the wicked and the triumph of the righteous as the proof of His sovereign power and faithfulness (Psalm 92:9-15).

Thus the first division of the Psalm leads up to the central thought of Psalm 92:8, the supreme sovereignty of Jehovah which makes for righteousness; and the second division further illustrates the exercise of that sovereignty in the judgement of the wicked and the advancement of the righteous. The problems which perplexed the authors of Psalms 37, 73 will ultimately receive a triumphant solution, of which an earnest has been already experienced.

It is clear that the Psalm is not merely an expression of individual gratitude for personal mercies. The Psalmist speaks on behalf of the community of Israel, as a representative of the true members of it. Such jubilant thanksgiving must surely have been prompted by some particular exhibition of Jehovah’s sovereign power on behalf of His people; and it is most natural to connect the Psalm with the judgement of Babylon and the Restoration from the Exile.

Do we feel Psalm 92:11 to be a jarring note in the midst of otherwise noble thoughts? Its harshness is mitigated if the triumph is national, not personal. The Psalmist felt intensely that Israel’s cause was the cause of Jehovah against idolatry, the cause of truth against falsehood, the cause of righteousness struggling for existence against dominant tyranny and violence. Who would not rejoice in the victory of the right? And the expression of that joy necessarily took a concrete form. The Israelite did not speak, as we do, of the defeat of evil and the triumph of good, but of the destruction of the wicked and the prosperity of the righteous. See notes on Psalm 58:10-11; and Introd. pp. lxxxviii ff.

The title, A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day, refers to the use of the Psalm in the services of the second Temple. (See Introd. p. xxvii.) We learn from the Talmud that it was sung at the libation of wine which accompanied the sacrifice of the first lamb of the Sabbath burnt-offering (Numbers 28:9-10). Possibly it was selected because Psalm 92:4 was supposed to refer to the works of creation. But whatever may have been the reason for the choice, it suggests a noble conception of the “day of the soul’s rest” as a day of joyous thanksgiving and devout meditation on the works of God. The Targum paraphrases the title curiously, “a Psalm of praise and song which the first man uttered upon the day of the Sabbath.”

1. It is a good thing] As a tribute due to God; as a salutary and delightful occupation for man.

to sing praises] To make melody or sing psalms; the word from which mizmôr, ‘a psalm,’ is derived.

unto thy name, O Most High] To Jehovah as He has revealed Himself in His character of Supreme Governor of the world. Cp. Psalm 7:17; Psalm 9:2; Psalm 18:49.

1–3. Introduction: the joy and seemliness of praise and thanksgiving.

2. Morning and evening are natural times for prayer (Psalm 5:3; Psalm 63:6; Psalm 55:17, &c.); lovingkindness and faithfulness are the attributes which move God to make and keep His covenant with His people (Psalm 89:1, note). The division of the verse into two parallel clauses is rhythmical, not logical (cp. Psalm 90:16), but there is an appropriateness in the connexion of lovingkindness with the morning (Psalm 30:5; Psalm 59:16; Psalm 90:14; Lamentations 3:23), and faithfulness with the night.

3. With decachord and with psaltery,

With meditative music on the harp.

In Psalm 33:2; Psalm 144:9, ten-stringed is an epithet of psaltery, but here two instruments seem to be meant. Higgâyôn occurs in Psalm 9:16 as a technical term, denoting apparently an instrumental interlude. The word denotes musing or meditation in Psalm 19:14. See Introd. p. xxiv.

4. hast made me glad through thy work] The prayer of Psalm 90:15-16 has been answered. God has wrought for Israel.

I will triumph] Or, as in Psalm 90:14, I will shout for joy. Not only joy but the expression of it is meant.

the works of thy hands] Or, the doings of thy hands, a different word from that in the preceding line. The context makes it clear that God’s work and doings do not here mean the works of creation (Psalm 8:3; Psalm 8:6), but the dealings of His Providence (Psalm 28:5; Psalm 143:5; Isaiah 5:12). It is the victory of righteousness which has gladdened the Psalmist’s heart.

4–8. The special ground for praise in the manifestation of Jehovah’s sovereignty.

5. How great are thy doings, Jehovah!

Exceeding deep are thy thoughts.

The grandeur and profundity of Jehovah’s designs in the government of the world stir the Psalmist’s admiration. Cp. Psalm 36:6; Psalm 40:5; Psalm 139:17-18; Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-34.

“Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never-failing skill

He treasures up His bright designs,

And works His sovereign Will.”

6. A brutish man … a fool] Men who are mere sensuous animals, stupid and unreceptive, incapable of discerning spiritual things. Cp. Psalm 49:10; Psalm 73:22; Psalm 94:8.

this] Namely, the truth expressed in Psalm 92:7-8, that the wicked flourish only to perish, while Jehovah is eternally supreme. There should be a colon only at the end of Psalm 92:6.

7, 8. The tenses in Psalm 92:7 (cp. Psalm 92:10-11) do not merely express a general truth, but point to some particular event.

When the wicked did flourish as the herbage,

And all the workers of iniquity did blossom,

It was that they might be destroyed for ever:

But thou art on high for evermore, Jehovah.

The simile suggests the rapid growth and equally rapid ruin of the wicked. See note on Psalm 90:5. Their triumph is the preparation for their fall. Cp. Psalm 37:35 ff.; Psalm 73:18 ff.

The simple stately rhythm of Psalm 92:8—a single line—well expresses the contrast of the unchanging supremacy of Jehovah to the upstart pretentiousness of the wicked. They deify themselves, claiming all power in earth and heaven (Psalm 73:8-9), only to vanish and leave Jehovah’s sovereignty more openly manifested (Psalm 83:17-18).

There is an obvious reminiscence of this verse in 1Ma 9:23, “And it came to pass after the death of Judas that the lawless flourished and all the workers of iniquity sprang up.”

9. For lo] Pointing apparently to some recent actual example. ‘Anadiplosis’ or rhetorical repetition is a favourite figure in this group of Psalms. Cp. Psalm 90:17; Psalm 93:1; Psalm 93:3; Psalm 94:1; Psalm 94:3; Psalm 94:23; Psalm 96:13. The first two lines are a reminiscence of Jdg 5:31.

shall be scattered] Lit. shall scatter themselves. The seemingly solid phalanx of antagonism breaks up and disperses, disintegrated from within.

9–15. Further confirmation of the sovereignty of Jehovah: the wicked who are His foes perish, the righteous who are His friends flourish.

10. But my horn hast thou exalted like (the horn of) a wild ox:

I am anointed with fresh oil.

The poet speaks on behalf of Israel restored and glorified. The metaphor is derived from animals tossing their heads in the consciousness of vigour. God has restored to Israel a buoyant sense of life and power to repel its enemies. Cp. Psalm 89:17; Psalm 89:24. ‘Unicorn’ comes from the LXX through the Vulg.; but the now extinct wild ox (Bos primigenius) is doubtless the animal meant. Its strength and untameableness are described in Job 39:9 ff. Cp. Numbers 23:22; Deuteronomy 33:17. See Tristram’s Nat. Hist. of the Bible, pp. 146 ff.

The metaphor in the second line is taken from the use of oil on occasions of festivity (Psalm 23:5; Psalm 45:7; Isaiah 61:3), or as a restorative of strength. The rendering I am anointed is however doubtful. Some critics would follow the LXX and Symm. in reading the word with different vowels, and rendering, (and restored) my failing strength with fresh oil. “Israel is imagined as an old man, whose strength is restored through the use of oil” (Cheyne).

11. And mine eye hath seen (its desire) upon them that laid wait for me:

Mine ear heard (its pleasure) of them that rose up against me to do evil.

Cp. Psalm 54:7; Psalm 59:10, &c. Do the words grate upon our ears as we repeat the Psalm? Their form indeed belongs to the O.T., yet even the Christian is bidden to rejoice at the judgement of the enemies of God’s kingdom (Revelation 18:20).

12. The fruitfulness of the palm and the fragrance of the cedar, the stately growth and evergreen foliage of both trees, above all, their longevity in contrast to the ephemeral grass which is the emblem of the wicked, may be among the points of comparison intended. Cp. Psalm 92:14; Psalm 1:3; Hosea 14:5-6; Isaiah 65:22.

13. Planted in the house of Jehovah

They shall flourish in the courts of our God.

It is possible that trees had grown in the Temple courts, as they grow at the present day in the Haram area, and that the prosperity and security of the righteous are compared to the luxuriant growth of the carefully tended trees in the sacred precincts. But the expression may be merely figurative. The land was ‘Jehovah’s house.’ Replanted there, Israel will evermore flourish under the care and guardianship of Jehovah. Cp. Psalm 52:8; Isaiah 61:3; Jeremiah 32:41.

The addition in the P.B.V. ‘in the courts of the house of our God’ is from the Vulg.

14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age, like the palm-tree. Doughty (Arabia Deserta, i. 286) speaks of palms 90 feet high and 200 years old, in the oasis of Teyma. They shall be full of sap and green (R.V.), like the olive (Jdg 9:9).

15. To shew &c.] To witness by their prosperity to the faithfulness and justice of Jehovah. The verse is based on Deuteronomy 32:4.