As narrated in Genesis, the Lord established a day of the week of rest, dedicated entirely to prayer. Do you want to know what the Old Testament Sabbath was originally like? In Psalm 92 you will find the answer!
Psalm 92 kjv
Psalm 92 of the Bible is a profound and beautiful reflection on what the Sabbath was in Old Testament times. In addition, Christians should learn that we should dedicate time to the Lord more frequently and not only when it is convenient for us.
We will also make a biblical commentary on Psalm 92 as usual to guide you in your reflection and share with you some profitable moments of prayer. You will be able to know the psalm in video and text, as well as all the information surrounding it so that you can understand its meaning perfectly.
Psalm 92 in English and large print
Below, you will find Psalm 92 in English and large print so that you can read it at your own pace and without any pressure. Enjoy the Word of the Lord from the King James Version of the Bible!
Praise for God’s goodness
Psalm. Song for the Sabbath.
1 It is good to praise you, O Jehovah,
And sing psalms to your name, O Most High;
2 Announce in the morning thy mercy,
And your faithfulness every night,
3 In the decacord and psaltery,
In a soft tone with the harp.
4 For thou hast made me glad, O Jehovah, by thy works;
In the works of your hands I rejoice.
5 How great are your works, O Jehovah!
Very deep are your thoughts.
6 A foolish man does not know,
And the foolish do not understand this.
7 When the wicked spring up like grass,
And all the workers of iniquity flourish,
It is to be destroyed eternally.
8 But you, Jehovah, are the Most High forever.
9 For behold your enemies, O Jehovah,
For behold, your enemies shall perish;
All evildoers will be scattered.
10 But you will increase my strength like that of the buffalo;
I will be anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eyes shall look upon my enemies;
They shall hear my ears of those who rose up against me, of the wicked.
12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree;
It will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the house of Jehovah,
In the courts of our God they shall flourish.
14 Even in old age they shall be fruitful;
They will be vigorous and green,
15 To proclaim that Jehovah my strength is upright,
And that there is no injustice in it.
Psalm 92 with explanation and meaning
The Sabbath is something that has been established among the Judeo-Christian denominations since the writing of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus by Moses, around 1250 BC.
In them the following commandment, longer than the others so as not to be downplayed, is set forth:
“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor, and do all your work;
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: thou shalt not do any work therein, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8-11)
Thus, as this commandment states, the seventh day of the week should be dedicated to the Lord and no other action involving anything material should be done.
For Jews and some Christian denominations, the Sabbath day corresponds to Saturday or Sabbath, since they start counting the days of the week on Sunday. On the other hand, for most Christian denominations, including Catholics and Evangelicals, the Sabbath is celebrated on Sunday.
Thus, Psalm 92 is meant to be recited on the Sabbath days and is something that we can adopt as the Jews do, to have a prayer set up for the weekend.
We will now analyze Psalm 92 in detail, grouping its verses into blocks of meaning and explaining everything you need to know. Here we go!
- Psalm 92:1-3
“It is good to praise you, O Jehovah,
And sing psalms to your name, O Most High;
Announce in the morning your mercy,
And your faithfulness every night,
In the decacord and in the psaltery,
In a soft tone with the harp.”
The psalm begins in a poetic and pleasant way for the readers and the faithful, expressing the joy felt in praising the Lord.
Prayer brings happiness to our lives, and this is the simple, but important message at the top of Psalm 92. In addition, verses 2 and 3 complement it in a beautiful way, giving thanks to the Lord not only in the good moments, but in every action we perform in our lives.
It is important to highlight the phrase “And your faithfulness every night”. The Lord will never leave our side, so it is important to constantly thank Him.
- Psalm 92:4-6
“Because thou hast made me glad, O Jehovah, by thy works;
In the works of your hands I rejoice.
How great are your works, O Lord!
Very profound are your thoughts.
The foolish man does not know,
And the foolish do not understand this.”
Here the author wants us to see the reasons why we should be grateful. The Lord is our main source of joy, knowledge and what is more, he is the motor of our lives.
There is no greater miracle in this world than the life the Lord has given us and the home in this world He offers us. His works go beyond any human action, and our mind will never comprehend their magnitude.
This block of verses ends by reminding us that many people live oblivious to this admiration for God’s works and fall into the evil path of selfishness and stubbornness.
- Psalm 92:7-9
“When the wicked spring up like grass,
And all the workers of iniquity flourish,
It is to be destroyed eternally.
But you, O LORD, are the Most High forever.
For behold your enemies, O LORD,
For behold, your enemies shall perish;
They shall be scattered all who do wickedness.”
These three verses are dedicated to all those people who live far from the Lord’s message and dedicate themselves to harming others, perhaps unintentionally, but with actions based on obtaining material wealth.
As they rightly emphasize, sinners can come to have a false happiness with all the earthly goods and pleasures they pursue; but this happiness fades very easily and there is no salvation outside the arms of God.
We must be firm in our path and avoid falling into the temptation of material things, since the final reward will be much greater.
- Psalm 92:10-11
“But you will increase my strength like the buffalo’s;
I will be anointed with fresh oil.
And my eyes shall look upon my enemies;
They shall hear my ears of those who rose up against me, of the wicked.”
The Lord empowers all our faculties through prayer and love, making us better in all aspects. The triumph of the righteous over sinners is imminent.
The righteous are those who truly move the world with small actions and find happiness in what they do. God’s way brings us freshness and a renewed heart that will never shrink in the face of difficulties.
- Psalm 92:12-13
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree;
It will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Planted in the house of Jehovah,
In the courts of our God they shall flourish.”
Here the psalmist continues to praise the righteous who hear and keep God’s Word. In this case, he uses a botanical metaphor to refer to the eternal happiness of people of faith.
The palm trees are green all year round, and the cedars of Lebanon were world renowned for their incredible longevity and beauty. We Christians will flourish eternally, always showing ourselves strong and happy like palm trees and cedars.
Moreover, in the last two verses a great truth is added: it is near the temple of God and the Holy Scriptures where this eternal flowering is found, as if the Lord’s message were water for our roots.
- Psalm 92:14-15
“Even in old age they will bear fruit;
They will be vigorous and green,
To proclaim that Jehovah my strength is upright,
And that in him there is no injustice.”
In these last two verses of the psalm, the author continues with the metaphor of the plants, telling us that until the last days of our lives we will continue to bear fruit if we stay close to God.
The most important thing here is that it means to bear fruit. As it says in the last verse, the fruit that we Christians bear is the spreading of the Word of God throughout the world, either by preaching or by our daily actions.
Our duty as Christians is to act with justice and love as our standard, and never be guided by greed. Prayer is a fundamental part of our lives to understand the Word of the Lord, but it must always be accompanied by actions in which it is applied.
¿Who wrote Psalm 92?
There is not much information about who wrote Psalm 92, although its author was probably King David.
David wrote most of the psalms found in the Old Testament Book of Psalms. These compositions were designed to spread the Word of God among his people in a more pleasant and musical way.
These texts are intended to educate the faithful by helping them to discern between good and bad actions, and by giving them guidelines for behavior that conform to the way of the Lord.
However, there is another hypothesis about the origin of this psalm. Some Jewish currents maintain that the psalm was recited by Adam in paradise on the first day after his creation, praising the wonders of the Lord. This hypothesis has some incongruity in itself, since it speaks of sinners before they even existed.
More information on Psalm 92
As we have already told you, Psalm 92 is very important for the Jews, since with its prayer they mark the beginning of their day of rest: the Sabbath. In fact, on Sabbath they recite this psalm 3 times during the day, making it one of the most recited psalms in their religion.
Due to its fame, many musical composers have dedicated a work to this psalm, as is the case of Franz Schubert. On the other hand, the composer Eric Zeisl created a beautiful work inspired by this psalm to commemorate the Jewish tragedy in Europe during the first half of the 20th century.
This composition is called Requiem Ebraico and we leave a beautiful interpretation of it for lovers of choral singing and classical music. There is no piece like it!
After this great and moving work of art, we bid farewell to this article. We hope you have enjoyed everything we have explained and that you have been able to spend a good time of prayer with your loved ones. That’s all for now, see you in the next article!