Psalms 92:7 - Meaning and Application

The psalmist said earlier that he would take his lead from God’s works in order to rejoice (Psalm 92:4). Here he does that. He first rejoices over God’s enemies, looking ahead to their destruction. He does not take pleasure in their misery as fellow human beings, but as something that will show God’s justice and holiness.

He is sure that sinners will be ruined, even when they seem to be doing well. When the wicked spring up like grass in spring, so many, so green, and growing so quickly, and when all those who do wrong seem to prosper in power, wealth, and success, it may look as if God favors them. It may seem like their success is proof that better things are still ahead for them. But it is the opposite. Their very prosperity will destroy them, as Proverbs 1:32 says, “the prosperity of fools shall slay them.” Sheep meant for slaughter are often led into the fattest pasture.

He is also sure of their ruin, even when they are bold and openly against God. They are God’s enemies, and they proudly admit it. They oppose God and fight against him. They rebel against his rule and honor, so it is easy to see that they will perish. No one has ever hardened himself against God and truly prospered. All unrepentant workers of evil are counted as God’s enemies, and as enemies they will be destroyed and scattered. Christ counts as his enemies all who will not let him rule over them, and they will be brought before him and killed. Right now, workers of evil often join together and support one another in their fight against God and religion. But God’s judgment will break that alliance. In the world to come, they will be kept apart from the gathering of the righteous, as the Chaldee says on Psalm 1:5.

The psalmist is not only thinking of enemies in general, but also of those who hate him in particular. Even so, he is not afraid. “My eye shall see my desire on my enemies,” he says, meaning that he will live to see them stopped, judged, and either brought to repentance or ruined. The Hebrew wording is simpler: “My eye shall look on my enemies, and my ear shall hear of the wicked.” He does not say exactly what he will see or hear, only that he will see and hear what will honor God and satisfy him. This may point ahead to Christ, who triumphed over Satan, death, and hell, over those who persecuted and crucified him, and over those who opposed his gospel. It also points to the final ruin of the unrepentant at the last day. Those who rise up against Christ will fall before him and become his footstool.

He also rejoices in God himself, in his glory and grace. The Lord is most high forever. Evil people may rise high for a time and act as if they can sweep everything before them, but God is high forever. Their rise will be brought low, but his greatness never ends. So we should not fear the pride and power of wicked people, or lose heart because of their threats. They will fade like a moth-eaten garment, but God’s righteousness will last forever (Isaiah 51:7-8).

The psalmist also rejoices in God’s grace and its results, both for himself and for all the saints. God is the source of honor, and because he is high forever, he will lift up his people. The wicked are forbidden to lift up their horn, meaning their power or pride, (Psalm 75:4-5). But those who use their honor or strength for God’s kingdom, and leave it with him to guard, raise, use, and direct, may trust him to lift up their horn like the horn of a wild ox, to the highest point. That may happen in this life or the next. He says, “My horn shalt thou exalt, when thy enemies perish,” because then the righteous will shine like the sun, while the wicked will be shamed forever.

He also says, “I shall be anointed with fresh oil.” This may mean a fresh confirmation in the office to which he had been anointed. Or it may mean plenty and renewal, so that he will always have fresh oil at hand. It may also mean new comfort to revive him when his spirit grows weak. Grace is the Spirit’s anointing. When God gives that grace in times of need, and we receive it again and again from Christ’s fullness, we are anointed with fresh oil. Some read the line as, “When I grow old, you will anoint me with fresh oil.” That is, God will honor old age with rich mercy, as the Septuagint says. Compare Psalm 92:14, where the righteous still bear fruit in old age. The comforts of God’s Spirit, and the joy of his salvation, are a fresh oil for gray heads that are still walking in the way of righteousness.

This promise is also true for all the saints. They are pictured as trees of righteousness, like Isaiah 61:3 and Psalm 1:3 describe. The good place they stand in is that they are planted in the house of the Lord, Psalm 92:13. Trees of righteousness do not grow on their own. They are planted, not in common soil, but in God’s own house, like trees in paradise. Trees are not usually planted in a house, but God’s trees are said to be planted in his house because they receive life and strength from his grace, through his word and Spirit. They attach themselves to holy worship, take root in it, stay with it, place themselves under God’s protection, and bring forth fruit for his honor and glory.

They are also kept in a good condition. First, they will grow, Psalm 92:12. Where God gives true grace, he will give more grace. His trees will grow taller, like the cedars of Lebanon. They will grow nearer to heaven, with a holy desire for the world above. They will also grow stronger, like cedars, and become more useful. The one whose hands are clean will grow stronger and stronger. Second, they will flourish, both in how their faith is seen by others and in the comfort and joy of their own souls. They will be cheerful themselves and respected by those around them. They will flourish like the palm tree, which has a stately trunk and large branches, and which keeps its green leaves through the seasons. The wicked flourish like grass, Psalm 92:7, which quickly withers. The righteous flourish like the palm tree, which lives long and is not changed by winter.

It has been said of the palm tree, “The more it is pressed down, the more it grows.” In the same way, the righteous flourish under their burdens. The more they are afflicted, the more they increase. Planted in the house of the Lord, where their root is, they flourish in the courts of our God, where their branches spread out. Their life is hidden with Christ in God, yet their light also shines before people.

It is a good thing when those who have a place in God’s house also have a name there, as in Isaiah 56:5. Good Christians should aim to grow strong and stand out, so they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior, just as flourishing trees beautify the courts of a house. Those who flourish in God’s courts should give him the glory for it. This comes by the promise, “They shall be fat and flourishing.” Their outward growth comes from inward richness, from the root and fatness of the good olive tree (Romans 11:17). Without a living principle of grace in the heart, a profession of faith will not stay healthy for long. But where that grace is present, “the leaf also shall not wither” (Psalm 1:3). “The trees of the Lord are full of sap” (Psalm 104:16). See also Hosea 14:5, Hosea 14:6.

Third, they shall be fruitful. If there were only leaves on them, they would not be trees of much worth. But they will still bring forth fruit. The results of sanctification, meaning the growth of a holy life, include all the acts of real devotion and useful living, good works by which God is honored and others are helped. These are the fruits of righteousness, and it is both the privilege and duty of the righteous to abound in them. Their increase in these things is promised, as well as commanded.

It is promised that they shall bear fruit in old age. Other trees stop bearing when they grow old, but in God’s trees the strength of grace does not fail when the body grows weak. The last days of the saints are sometimes their best days, and their final work is their best work. This also shows that they are upright, because perseverance is the surest proof of true faith. But here it is said to show that the Lord is upright (Psalm 92:15), meaning that he is true to his promises and faithful to every word he has spoken. He keeps working steadily in what he has begun.

As believers first share in a divine nature through the promises, so they keep and maintain that divine life through the promises. Their living power is therefore proof that the Lord is upright, and he will show himself so with an upright person (Psalm 18:25). The psalmist rejoices in this: “He is my rock, and there is no wrong in him.” I have chosen him as my rock to build on, as my shelter in the rock’s clefts, and as the solid place where I stand. I have found him to be a strong and steady rock, and his word to be as firm as a rock. I have found, and let everyone say so from their own experience, that there is no unrighteousness in him. He is as able, and as kind, as his word says he is. All who have ever trusted in God have found him faithful and completely sufficient, and none have ever been disappointed in their hope in him.