Psalms 92

General context

The psalm says it is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to the name of the most High, to show forth his lovingkindness in the morning and his faithfulness every night, on an instrument of ten strings, the psaltery and the harp with a solemn sound. The speaker says the Lord has made him glad through his work and he will triumph in the works of God's hands; God's works are great and his thoughts very deep. A brutish man does not know this and a fool does not understand it: when the wicked spring as the grass and the workers of iniquity flourish, it is so that they may be destroyed for ever, but the Lord is most high for evermore. The Lord's enemies shall perish and the workers of iniquity be scattered. The speaker says his horn will be exalted like the horn of an unicorn and he will be anointed with fresh oil; his eye will see his desire on his enemies and his ears hear it of the wicked who rise against him. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon; those planted in the house of the Lord flourish in the courts of our God and still bring forth fruit in old age, fat and flourishing, to show that the Lord is upright, the speaker's rock, in whom there is no unrighteousness.

Cited passages: Psalms 92:1, Psalms 92:2, Psalms 92:3, Psalms 92:4, Psalms 92:5, Psalms 92:6, Psalms 92:7, Psalms 92:8, Psalms 92:9, Psalms 92:10, Psalms 92:11, Psalms 92:12, Psalms 92:13, Psalms 92:14, Psalms 92:15

Psalms 92 (KJV)

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

This source prints no superscription; the psalm begins with It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. The speaker is a single voice, me, my horn, mine eye, who also says our God in verse 13. Three instruments are named, an instrument of ten strings, the psaltery and the harp, and the times named are morning and night. The enemies are called the wicked, the workers of iniquity and the wicked that rise up against me, without further identification, and no event is described; the speaker's gladness comes through thy work rather than a named deliverance. The unicorn in verse 10 is the printed word of this text, used for an image of a raised horn. Lebanon is named as the place of the cedar. There is no Selah. Verse 7 gives its own reason for the flourishing of the wicked, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever, which the psalm attributes to what a brutish man and a fool do not understand.

Cited passages: Psalms 92:4, Psalms 92:13, Psalms 92:3, Psalms 92:11, Psalms 92:10, Psalms 92:12, Psalms 92:7, Psalms 92:6

Literary context

Two kinds of growth are set against each other. The wicked spring as the grass, quick and short, while the righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar, and are still bearing fruit in old age. The verb flourish is used for both, in verse 7 for the workers of iniquity and in verses 12 to 14 for the righteous, so the same word marks opposite ends. The doubled cry, for, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies, slows the central verse. The psalm frames its praise by time, morning and night, and by place, the house and courts of the Lord where the righteous are planted. Bodily images carry the speaker's own hope, a horn lifted, oil on the head, an eye that sees and ears that hear. The final line gives the purpose of all the flourishing: to shew that the Lord is upright, and the poem ends on the speaker's own rock.

Cited passages: Psalms 92:7, Psalms 92:12, Psalms 92:14, Psalms 92:9, Psalms 92:2, Psalms 92:13, Psalms 92:10, Psalms 92:15

Key moments

1. Good to give thanks (Psalms 92:1). The psalm opens by calling thanksgiving and praise a good thing.
2. Morning and night (Psalms 92:2). Lovingkindness is to be shown in the morning and faithfulness every night.
3. Thoughts very deep (Psalms 92:5). The speaker marvels at the greatness of God's works and the depth of his thoughts.
4. Wicked spring as grass (Psalms 92:7). The flourishing of the wicked is said to lead to their destruction.
5. A horn like an unicorn (Psalms 92:10). The speaker expects to be exalted and anointed with fresh oil.
6. Fruit in old age (Psalms 92:14). Those planted in the Lord's house still bear fruit when old.

For reflection

The psalm says the wicked flourish so that they may be destroyed, and calls anyone who cannot see that a fool. What does it take to read prosperity that way while it is still happening, before the scattering the psalm expects?