Psalm 92
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 92[a]
Praise of God’s Just Rule
1 A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath.[b]
2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name,[c] O Most High,
3 to proclaim your kindness[d] in the morning
and your faithfulness during the night,
4 with the ten-stringed harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
5 [e]Your deeds, O Lord, have caused me to exult;
at the works of your hands I shout for joy:
6 How great are your deeds, O Lord!
How profound are your thoughts!
7 [f]A senseless person cannot grasp this;
a fool[g] is unable to comprehend it.
8 Even though the wicked may sprout like grass
and all evildoers may prosper,
they are doomed to eternal destruction,[h]
9 whereas you, O Lord, are exalted forever.[i]
10 Surely your enemies, O Lord,
surely your enemies will perish,
and all evildoers will be scattered.
11 [j]You have given me the strength of a wild bull
and anointed me with fresh oil.
12 My eyes have witnessed the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
13 [k]The righteous will flourish like the palm tree;
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.
14 They are planted in the house of the Lord[l]
and will flourish in the courts of our God.
15 They still will bear fruit, in their old age,
and they will remain fresh and green,
16 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, in whom no injustice can be found.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 92:1 This is a didactic psalm, that is, both a praise of the Lord and an instruction for the faithful. The psalmist meditates on God’s way of acting. His love and faithfulness are reflected in everything he does, but they must be comprehended. Ultimately the happiness of the wicked will fade like seasonal grass, whereas the lot of the righteous will be like the great trees whose roots are planted in solid ground. For the latter, new seasons are promised in the courts of God. God’s joy is like a new spring in the life of believers.
We can make use of this psalm in following Christ’s lead to praise the triune God, to sing of the wondrous divine work that delivers us from our spiritual enemies and mysteriously introduces us into eternal life. - Psalm 92:1 For the Sabbath: these words indicate that in the post-Exilic temple liturgy this psalm was sung at the time of the morning sacrifice on the Sabbath or seventh day. Psalms sung on the other days were: Ps 24, first day; Ps 48, second day; Ps 82, third day; Ps 94, fourth day; Ps 81, fifth day; and Ps 93, sixth day.
- Psalm 92:2 Human beings have the duty to praise the Lord Most High (see note on Ps 7:18). Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
- Psalm 92:3 Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
- Psalm 92:5 God’s great deeds (of creating, redeeming, and ruling human beings) bring joy to the psalmist and all who have understanding through his grace.
- Psalm 92:7 Evildoers have no knowledge of the Lord’s deeds or his dispensing of justice; they are seemingly happy and prosperous now, but they will soon perish under the just judgment of the Lord.
- Psalm 92:7 Senseless person . . . fool: enemies of God and his faithful (see notes on Pss 14:1-2; see also Pss 37:33ff; 68:3; 83:4; 94:8-11).
- Psalm 92:8 This verse summarizes the fuller description concerning the wicked in Ps 73. See notes on Ps 90:4, 5.
- Psalm 92:9 Exalted forever: since God reigns forever, there is no hope of escape for the senseless.
- Psalm 92:11 The psalmist has experienced victory over his enemies thanks to the Lord’s doing. He is overjoyed with God’s favors (see vv. 5-6). Strength: literally, “horn” (see Ps 75:11; Deut 33:17; Lk 1:69). The Lord has enabled him to gain the victory (see Ps 89:23-26) and anointed him with fresh oil, i.e., “the oil of gladness” (Ps 45:8; see also Ps 23:5).
- Psalm 92:13 In contrast to the lot of the wicked, the righteous are exalted and renewed in their strength and happiness.
- Psalm 92:14 Planted in the house of the Lord: the righteous are likened to trees growing in the temple itself, which is a source of life and fertility because of the divine presence (see Ps 36:8-10; Ezek 47:1-12).
