A Song for the Battle Weary

Don’t domesticate God’s grace. It is so much better than we realize. Look at how Psalm 92 describes the believer. Clearly this person has encountered good news: He’s giving thanks and singing (v. 1). He’s declaring God’s faithfulness morning and night (v. 2). He’s grabbing instruments (v. 3). He’s rejoicing and shouting for joy (v. 4). He’s talking about the greatness of God’s works and thoughts (v. 5). There’s an overflow of joy in the love and grace of God.

Our joy as believers runs deeper than circumstances. It doesn’t depend on happy events or emotional highs. Ours is a joy that drinks deeply from the fountain of the gospel—the perfect work of God on our behalf.

Remember the Way of Wisdom

Psalm 92:6-9

This psalm moves from a vision of how the past shapes present faith to how the present informs the future. The Psalms, in particular, sometimes go about this in a positive way, pointing out the blessings that await the believer in the future. However, at times they come at it from the warning angle. Wisdom sayings in the Bible often distinguish between the way things appear now and the way things finally turn out in the end. For example, Proverbs says, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death” (Prov 14:12). Further, in Proverbs the writer uses stories to bring this message across—for instance, a seductress who calls out to a naïve young man. Lacking understanding, he sees and follows her (thinking this is going to be a great experience), but the evening doesn’t turn out as he expected, for “her house sinks down to death and her ways to the land of the departed spirits. None return who go to her; none reach the paths of life” (Prov 2:18-19).

Similarly here, the psalmist is saying, things aren’t what they seem. It may look like the wicked sprout like grass (v. 7), and it may look like they are flourishing, but this psalm urges us: don’t ever forget that sin destroys.

Christian friend, sin deceives and destroys. When we coddle it, rather than turn from it, it dulls our senses. Secret sin in our lives is promising exciting life, but is actually killing us. If you’re married, secret sexual sin is ruining your marriage. You might say, “But she doesn’t know.” It is already doing its damage, even now.

This is why repentance is to be a way of life. Christians are always fighting against sin, walking toward light, confessing, and turning away from sin. Turn to the wisdom of God’s Word. Confess your sin to him. Invite others to keep you accountable and help you move toward freedom.

This psalm rejoices in grace. It’s a Sabbath psalm! However, it is not without warning. Verses 6-9 warn the believer, not convert the pagan. The pagans weren’t reading this. The primary purpose is similar to what Asaph did for the readers of Psalm 73: “But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my steps nearly went astray. For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (vv. 2-3). He speaks honestly about this struggle, then expresses his frustration: “Look at them—the wicked! They are always at ease, and they increase their wealth. Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?” (vv. 12-13). If you stop here, you’re left wondering if he is about to forsake the faith. But notice what turns him back toward God. “When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their destiny” (vv. 16-17). Then he says in verse 19, “How suddenly they become a desolation!”

Wisdom literature in the Bible is constantly saying, “Things aren’t always what they seem.” Sometimes God haters look like they’re flourishing, but it doesn’t end well. Sometimes the righteous look like they’re withering, but check them out later as they approach the end. That’s where the psalmist looks next. The endnote of this psalm is not gloomy. In fact, this is a powerful song of assurance. Despite its implicit warning about the way of the fool, it speaks of the future of the believer with total confidence.

Remember the Hope of the Gospel

Psalm 92:10-15

One of my favorite hymns is a lesser known lyric by Augustus Toplady. It’s about assurance.

The work which Your goodness began, The arm of Your strength will complete;

Your promise is Yes and Amen, And never was forfeited yet.

The future or things that are now, No power below or above,

Can make You Your purpose forego, Or sever my soul from Your love.

It finishes this way:

Yes! I to the end will endure, As sure as the promise is given;

More happy, but not more secure, The glorified spirits in heaven. (Toplady, “A Debtor to Mercy Alone”; emphasis added)

What God’s grace begins, God’s faithfulness completes. Psalm 92 is a sort of Old Testament preview of what Paul says in the New Testament: “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6). It’s a promise of future flourishing for the believer.

This psalm, if you will, fast-forwards through life. The one who was praising God in the opening verses is old in verses 12-15. This old man or woman is flourishing like a palm tree. She’s growing like a cedar in Lebanon. In other words, she’s strong in the faith! Early on she was planted in the house of the Lord, and she hasn’t withered. No, in fact she is flourishing in the courts of our God. Earlier it looked like the wicked were flourishing. It turns out they weren’t. And at various times in the life of the believer, it may have looked as though the righteous were not flourishing, but they were.

Look at her in verse 14, bearing fruit in old age; healthy and green, declaring that the Lord is just, he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him (v. 15). What a story she’s telling! This is the life of grace. This is what the gospel, working in our souls by God’s Spirit, produces.

How do we grow healthy and green? Psalm 92 tells us we look to God’s grace in the past to fuel perseverance in the present, toward the confident hope of flourishing in the future.

There are no imperatives in this passage. There’s no application to-do list. It is a Sabbath song through and through. It’s taken up not with evidences of our faithful love for God but his faithful love for us.

Christian, you’re not the author and the finisher of your faith. And it’s not that he’s the author and you’re the finisher. He’s the author and the finisher of your faith. Psalm 92 does a happy dance to that truth. This psalm describes the perseverance of the believer, but even more it highlights the preserving grace of God to keep us to the end. It’s a Sabbath song.

It’s a word to the joyless, the foolish, and the hopeless. It’s an invitation not to work but to believe, to remember, to rest in God’s work on our behalf!

Reflect and Discuss