For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psalm 92

1 It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
    and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5 How great are your works, Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!
6 Senseless people do not know,
    fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed for ever.

8 But you, Lord, are for ever exalted.

9 For surely your enemies, Lord,
    surely your enemies will perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.
10 You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox;
    fine oils have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’

A. Find Out:

1. It is good to do what, and how? v.1-3
2. What causes the psalmist joy? v.4,5
3. Who don’t know or understand? v.6
4. What will happen to evil-doers? v.7,9
5. How does he see the Lord and what has the Lord done? v.8,10
6. What will happen to the righteous? v.12,13
7. For how long will they do what? v.14,15

B. Think:

1. What is the psalmist’s main cause for his joy?
2. What sense of goodness is conveyed for the believer?

C. Comment:

This is primarily a psalm of joy because the lord has dealt with the psalmist’s enemies. He expresses that joy through music (v.1-3) and it is joy because of what the Lord has done (v.4,5). He has an awareness of the Lord and His acts that others don’t have (v.6), that evil-doers are destined to eternal destruction (v.7). They will be pulled down (by implication) but the Lord will be exalted (v.8).

The enemies of God cannot prevail and will be dealt with by the Lord (v.9) and he himself has seen the Lord exalt him (v.10) and pull down his enemies (v.11).

This leads him to make a faith statement about the righteous, those who have a relationship with the Lord. Because they are part of God’s household, it is like they are palm trees or tall cedars (v.12) growing in the courts of the Lord (v.13). But it’s more than just growing – twice he says they ‘flourish’ – they grow abundantly bearing lots of fruit (implied by what follows).

Then comes a lovely reassurance – they will continue to bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and supple (v.14) and they will be able to testify right to then end that the lord is the cause of their security (Rock) and they have learned that there is no cause for complaint or criticism because He is upright and good (v.15).

D. Application:

1. Let the Lord be your source of strength into old age.
2. Look to bear fruit right through to the end!