It Is Good to Give Thanks to the Lord
Psalm 92
1 A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
3 On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute,
And on the harp, With harmonious sound.
4 For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
5 O LORD, how great are Your works!
Your thoughts are very deep.
6 A senseless man does not know,
Nor does a fool understand this.
7 When the wicked spring up like grass,
And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever.
8 But You, LORD, are on high forevermore.
9 For behold, Your enemies, O LORD,
For behold, Your enemies shall perish;
All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
10 But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox;
I have been anointed with fresh oil.
11 My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies;
My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me.
12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. (Psalm 92:1-15)
How many of you know what it’s like to come here on the Lord’s Day with a heart full of worship, rejoicing in the goodness of God, wanting to sing praises, hungry to hear the word of God preached, longing to know and love your Savior more? Most of us also probably know what it’s like to come to a Sunday gathering out of routine when your heart doesn’t seem to be in it.
For those of us who may be inclined to “go through the motions” week in and week out, Psalm 92 is a helpful reminder. The title given to the psalm is “A Song for the Sabbath.” It was designed for and used in the weekly synagogue worship of the Jews.
This Psalm gives three main reasons to give thanks and sing praises to the Lord.[1] First, it is good to give thanks to the Lord because of who He is and what He has done for us. Secondly, it is good to give thanks to the Lord because the world will eventually be judged. Third, it is good to give thanks to the Lord because He causes His people to flourish. This “Sabbath psalm” is a good reminder of who God is, who we are as His people, and how worthy He is of our praise on the Lord’s Day and every day.
1. It is Good to Praise the Lord because of who He is and what He has done (92:1-5)
The psalmist begins by expressing his delight in giving thanks to the Lord and singing praises to His name, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,” (Ps. 92:1). C. H. Spurgeon said, “It is good ethically, for it is the Lord’s right; it is good emotionally, for it is pleasant to the heart; it is good practically, for it leads others to render the same homage.”[2]
We give thanks and praise because God is the LORD, Yahweh, the covenant-keeping Lord. Yahweh is used seven times in this psalm for the seventh day (Ps. 92:1,4,5,8,9,13,15). He is also the “Most High” (Ps. 92:1). He is ultimate and He is sovereign. He is the God of lovingkindness and faithfulness (Ps. 92:2), so we praise Him continually (morning and evening). If you think daily about the Lord’s loyal love and His faithfulness toward you, you will have abundant reasons to praise Him.
God’s mighty works make us glad (Ps. 92:4,5)—works like creation, providence, and salvation—great works that stem from God’s deep thoughts. As Paul exclaims (Rom. 11:33), “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” So, we praise Him with music and instruments (Ps. 92:3).
2. It is good to give thanks and praise to the Lord because He will judge the wicked (92:6-9).
In the middle of this Psalm of praise and thanksgiving, the writer refers to the godless, who flourish in this life for a time. The psalmist is not looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. He knows he lives in a world full of evil and temptations. These verses make two points, that the wicked will perish and that they in no way threaten the Lord, who reigns on high. The wicked will not stand and God will reign forever (and we will reign with Him).
3. It is good to give thanks to the Lord because He causes His people to flourish. (92:10-15)
The psalmist uses a lot of imagery to convey the point that God will give strength, stability, and longevity to those who are His. While the wicked are described as grass that will fade, the righteous are strong trees that will remain.
The psalm ends just as it began: with praise of God, “To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” (Psa. 92:15). He is righteous and good and strong.
As we live in this world it can be so easy to see things through a narrow lens. We are often tempted to lose hope or to lack passion for God. Let God’s word in this psalm be a reminder of who God is and of the hope we have as those who know Him. We have been given sight to see God rightly and we know that in the end, He will reign. Our response is to give thanks and sing praises.
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[1] Steven Cole, Psalm 92: It Is Good to Give Thanks to the Lord, https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-92-it-good-give-thanks-lord. I adapted this outline from Cole.
[2] Charles H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Psalm 92. https://gracegems.org/Spurgeon/092.htm
