THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

XCII: Praising God For His Grace Signified In The Sabbath Day

(Psalm 92:1-15)

I. Introduction

A. God called Israel to observe the Sabbath Day in one of His important Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:8-11.

B. Of note, that day was to be a day of rest and refreshment in contrast to the pagan world's view of the seventh day, so Israel's observance of it, as reflected in Psalm 92:1-15, was an important testimony of God's grace.

C. We view this psalm in light of this historical and cultural setting for insight and application for us (as follows):

II. Praising God For His Grace Signified In The Sabbath Day, Psalm 92:1-15.

A. The introductory remarks of this psalm comprise verse one in the Hebrew text (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1056), so for clarity, we stay with the verse numbering format of the English Bible in this lesson.

B. We thus translate Psalm 92:1-15 as follows:

1. "It is agreeable, wholesomely good (tob, Ibid.; B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 373-375) to give thanks to Jahweh, and to sing praises unto Your Name, O Most High," Psalm 92:1.

2. "To show forth in the morning Your loyal love and Your faithfulness in the evening," Psalm 92:2.

3. "upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the harp and with music on the lyre," Psalm 92:3.

4. "For You have made me glad, O Jahweh, through Your deeds (in history as opposed to works of creation, cf. the Hebrew word po'al, H. A. W., Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T., 1980, v. II, p. 730); I will triumph in the works of Your hands," Psalm 92:4.

5. "How great are Your works, O Jahweh! (How) very deep are Your thoughts!" (Psalm 92:5)

6. "A dull-hearted (spiritually insensitive) man doe not know (this); neither does a fool understand this," v. 6.

7. "that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be perpetually destroyed," Psalm 92:7.

8. "But You (emph. pron.), O Jahweh, are exalted eternally," Psalm 92:8.

9. "For, behold, Your enemies, O Jahweh, for behold Your enemies will perish; all doers of iniquity will be scattered (as when a military force retreats in disarray)," Psalm 92:9.

10. "You have exalted my horn (strength) like that of a wild ox; olive oil has been poured upon me (in honor or callings to ministries)," Psalm 92:10.

11. "My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes," v. 11.

12. "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Labanon;" Psalm 92:12.

13. "planted in the house of Jahweh, they will flourish in the courts of our Elohim," Psalm 92:13.

14. "They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay full of sap and luxuriant (with foilage)," Psalm 92:14.

15. "proclaiming that 'Jahweh is upright; He is my Rock Cliff (for high ground protection in warfare), and there is no injustice in Him,'" Psalm 92:15.

C. We note significant observations and applications regarding this psalm (as follows):

1. The psalm's introductory notes clarify this was a psalm for the Sabbath Day, the day God recalled resting and hallowing following His six days of creative work, so He directed Israel to observe it as a day of rest and refreshment, that Israel's people thus enter into God's rest, Exodus 31:17; Hebrews 4:1-10.

2. In view of its setting in the Ancient Near East, this observance testified of God's grace to man: pagan man in that region viewed the gods as his slavemasters and himself as a slave, with the seventh day being a day of "bad luck" when he was to "'afflict himself, eschew pleasures, and refrain from performing important work, for they would not prosper.'" (Bruce K. Waltke, Creation and Chaos, 1974, p. 65, citing James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 1969, p. 68 and Naburn M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis, 1972, p. 7) Thus, the psalmist's praise of God on the Sabbath for His loyal love and faithfulness to him act testify of Israel's God as gracious unto man versus the oppressive despotism of the pagan world's gods.

Lesson: The psalmist praised God on the Sabbath Day as the gracious God Who is able and dependable to help His people in their current lives meet the challenges they face in their lives from evil, oppressive parties they face. He is able and willing to give His people real "rest" on the day of "rest" by His goodness and His grace.

Application: (1) May we praise God for His grace to us and rely on His gracious provisions in our lives. (2) May we enter the spiritual "rest" promised in Hebrews 4:1-10 by ceasing from our self-help efforts to do God's will.