In two previous posts, I noted how book four of the Psalms (90–106) instructs God’s people how to respond to hardship. Psalm 90 reveals the response of God’s people to the crisis of their exile, which included praying to the Lord for his ever-present help. Psalm 91 then details God’s promise in response to his people’s prayer.
Psalm 92 then follows by revealing how God keeps his promise to his people. That is, if Psalm 90 is the prayer of God’s people facing hardship, and Psalm 91 is the promise they receive in answer to their prayer, then Psalm 92 details God’s provision in the midst of their hardship.
From Lament to Rejoicing
The beginning of Psalm 92 shows that a transformation has occurred within God’s people. Their troubled disposition from Psalm 90 has given way to rejoicing. Whereas in Psalm 90 they pray desperately for the Lord to make them glad and joyful (Ps 90:14–15), in Psalm 92 they demonstrate that such joy and gladness has come to fruition in their lives.
The author declares, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy” (Ps 92:1–4).
In other words, what God’s people sought from him in response to their exile, he has now provided them. Even in the face of trial and hardship, they have found gladness and joy in God’s presence (Ps 92:13).
From Seeking Wisdom to Expressing Wisdom
Further, we see in Psalm 92 that God’s people have gained the wisdom which they sought from him.
In Psalm 90:12, they pray, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Here and elsewhere in Psalm 90, we see that wisdom is tied to a right understanding of our own mortality and the Lord’s immortality. God’s people thus pray for the ability to number their days—to comprehend human finitude—that they may grow in wisdom.
Then in Psalm 92, we see that God has provided his people this wisdom which they sought. For in wisdom, the author expresses a clear conviction concerning the mortality of humanity and immortality of the Lord. He proclaims, “Though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O Lord, are on high forever. For behold, your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered” (Ps 92:7–9).
Fortunately for God’s people though, the wisdom they have gained has transformed their future. Though they remain exiled, they now understand that their fate—if they continue seeking and trusting in the Lord—diverges from the fate of the wicked. While evildoers shall perish, “the righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God” (Ps. 92:12–13).
These are not the words of someone struggling to comprehend life in the midst of hardship; these are the words of a people who now understand God’s ways and rejoice in him even as they walk through trials.
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For those of us in need of renewal, the details of God’s provision in Psalm 92 should bring great comfort and hope. Though we face adversity and walk through various trials, if we truly seek the Lord, we will find in him the renewal we seek.
For as Psalm 92 shows, the Lord himself can and will renew his people in praise (v. 1–4), in perspective (v. 5–11) and in his presence (v. 12–15).
