서론
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简体中文
英語原文
It is a groundless opinion of some of the Jewish writers (who are usually free of their conjectures) that this psalm was penned and sung by Adam in innocency, on the first sabbath. It is inconsistent with the psalm itself, which speaks of the workers of iniquity, when as yet sin had not entered. It is probable that it was penned by David, and, being calculated for the sabbath day, I. Praise, the business of the sabbath, is here recommended, Ps 92:1-3. II. God's works, which gave occasion for the sabbath, are here celebrated as great and unsearchable in general, Ps 92:4-6. In particular, with reference to the works both of providence and redemption, the psalmist sings unto God both of mercy and judgment, the ruin of sinners and the joy of saints, three times counterchanged. 1. The wicked shall perish (Ps 92:7), but God is eternal, Ps 92:8. 2. God's enemies shall be cut off, but David shall be exalted, Ps 92:9,10. 3. David's enemies shall be confounded (Ps 92:11), but all the righteous shall be fruitful and flourishing, Ps 92:12-15. In singing this psalm we must take pleasure in giving to God the glory due to his name, and triumph in his works.
1-6
Incitements to Praise of God
简体中文
称颂神的劝勉
安息日用的诗诗。
¹ 称谢耶和华，歌颂你至高者的名，这本为美事。
² 早晨传扬你的慈爱，每夜传扬你的信实，
³ 用十弦的乐器和瑟，用琴弹严肃的声音。
⁴ 耶和华啊，你藉你的工作使我喜乐；我要因你手所作的欢呼。
⁵ 耶和华啊，你的工作何其大！你的心思极其深！
⁶ 畜类人不晓得，愚顽人也不明白。
本诗被指定——至少通常如此——在圣所中于安息日歌唱；那安息之日是设立的记念，记念创造之工、神从那工的安息、以及他在护理中继续此工；因父直到如今做事。请注意，1. 安息日不但当为圣洁安息之日，也当为圣洁工作之日，而安息是为工作。2. 安息日合宜的工作是赞美神；每个安息日都当为感恩之日；当日的其他事奉都当为此而设，所以绝不可把这事奉挤到角落里去。有位犹太作者将其归于弥赛亚的国度，称之为来世的诗诗或诗歌——那将全是安息。信徒借基督得以享受那为神的子民所存留的安息（来 4:9）——永远安息日的开端。在这些经文中，
一、我们被劝勉、被鼓励赞美神（诗 92:1-3）：称谢耶和华……这本为美事。 赞美神是善工：本身善，对我们也好。这是我们的本分——是我们当向大主所纳的租、所献的贡；若扣留，便是不义。这是我们的特权——我们得以赞美神，并有望蒙悦纳。这是好的，因这是愉快而有 profit（益处）的，是本身即为工价的工；这是天使的工作，是天堂的工作。为我们所领受的怜悯感谢，本是好的，因为那是进一步取得怜悯之法；向那至高者——超乎一切称颂赞美之上——唱诗，正合宜。请在此留意，1. 我们当如何赞美神。我们当借传扬他的慈爱与信实来赞美。既确信他荣耀的属性与完全，便当将之显明——作为自己深被其感动、又愿使别人也同样受感之人。我们当显明的，不但是他的伟大威严、他的圣洁公义——这些高举他、使我们心生敬畏——更是他的慈爱与信实；因为他的良善就是他的荣耀（出 33:18,19），他也借此宣告他的名。他的怜悯与诚实是我们信心盼望的大支持，是我们爱神与顺服的大鼓励；所以我们当将这两样作为我们祷告中的恳求、并我们的喜乐内容来传扬。当时这事不但借歌唱行，也借乐器配合——用十弦的乐器（诗 92:3）；但要用严肃的声音——不是那轻浮容易涣散心灵的，而是那庄重容易使心灵凝聚的。2. 我们当何时赞美神——早晨和每夜，不但是在安息日，更是每日；这是每日之本分所要求的。我们当在公众聚会中赞美神，也当在隐秘处、在自己家中赞美，向自己和身边之人传扬他的慈爱与信实。我们当以赞美神开始并结束每日；每日早晨当感谢他——当我们在新鲜之中、在当日的事务涌入之前——每晚也当感谢他——当我们再得平静退隐、收拾心思之时；我们每日早晨当为夜的怜悯感谢，每晚当为日的怜悯感谢；出去进来都当称谢神。
二、诗人自己的榜样摆在我们面前，既为激励我们，也为指引我们作这工（诗 92:4）：耶和华啊，你借你的工作使我喜乐。 请注意，1. 那能最善于向别人推荐赞美本分的人，正是自己经历过其甘甜的人。「神的作为当受赞美，因它们多次使我心里喜乐；所以无论别人如何看待，我必视之为善、说之为善。」2. 神既以他工作的喜乐赐我们，我们便大有理由将其荣耀归他。他既使我们的心喜乐吗？让我们使他的赞美显为荣耀。神既借他为我们所作的护理之工、并他在我们里面所作的恩典之工——两者都借那伟大的救赎之工——使我们喜乐吗？（1）让我们由此为自己的信心盼望取得鼓励；诗人正是如此：我要因你手所作的欢呼。 从喜乐地记念神为我们所作的，我们可以提出对他将作之工的喜乐盼望，并在其确据中夸胜——胜过一切反对（帖后 2:13,14）。（2）让我们由此为圣洁的敬拜与希奇神取材（诗 92:5）：耶和华啊，你的工作何其大！——大得超乎想象、超乎言辞，是大能大智的产品，是极重大意义的产物！人的工作比起它就算不得什么。我们不能测透神作为的伟大，所以当怀着敬畏与惊惧地希奇它们，甚至在其宏伟之前愕然。「人的工作小而琐碎，因他们的心思肤浅；但主啊，你的工作何其大——无可度量；因你的心思极其深——无可测透。」神的谋略远超我们智慧的设计，正如他的作为远超我们能力的努力。他的心思高过我们的心思，正如他的道路高过我们的道路（赛 55:9）。深哉神的计谋！（罗 11:33）。神作为的伟大当引领我们思想他心思的深——他所按以行作万事之自己旨意的谋略——他的心思所涉的范畴何其广，所达的限度何其远！
三、我们被警告不可忽略神的作为，并借着那忽略之人的特征来警告，诗 92:6。那些不知道、不明白神的作为何其大的人——那些不愿认识它们、不愿将荣耀归他的人——是愚顽人、是畜类人；他们不顾耶和华的作为，也不思他手所作的（诗 28:5）；特别地，他们不明白自己兴旺之意（这在诗 92:7 论到）；他们以此为有福的凭据，其实那是为灭亡所作的准备。若有许多人不知护理的设计、又不愿知，那么那些蒙恩认识、又乐意认识的人，便更有理由感恩。
英語原文
Incitements to Praise of God
A psalm or song for the sabbath day.
¹ It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
² To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
³ Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
⁴ For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
⁵ O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
⁶ A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
This psalm was appointed to be sung, at least it usually was sung, in the house of the sanctuary on the sabbath day, that day of rest, which was an instituted memorial of the work of creation, of God's rest from that work, and the continuance of it in his providence; for the Father worketh hitherto. Note, 1. The sabbath day must be a day, not only of holy rest, but of holy work, and the rest is in order to the work. 2. The proper work of the sabbath is praising God; every sabbath day must be a thanksgiving-day; and the other services of the day must be in order to this, and therefore must by no means thrust this into a corner. One of the Jewish writers refers it to the kingdom of the Messiah, and calls it, A psalm or song for the age to come, which shall be all sabbath. Believers, through Christ, enjoy that sabbatism which remains for the people of God (Heb 4:9), the beginning of the everlasting sabbath. In these verses,
I. We are called upon and encouraged to praise God (Ps 92:1-3): It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. Praising God is good work: it is good in itself and good for us. It is our duty, the rent, the tribute, we are to pay to our great Lord; we are unjust if we withhold it. It is our privilege that we are admitted to praise God, and have hope to be accepted in it. It is good, for it is pleasant and profitable, work that is its own wages; it is the work of angels, the work of heaven. It is good to give thanks for the mercies we have received, for that is the way of fetching in further mercy: it is fit to sing to his name who is Most High, exalted above all blessing and praise. Now observe here, 1. How we must praise God. We must do it by showing forth his lovingkindness and his faithfulness. Being convinced of his glorious attributes and perfections, we must show them forth, as those that are greatly affected with them ourselves and desire to affect others with them likewise. We must show forth, not only his greatness and majesty, his holiness and justice, which magnify him and strike an awe upon us, but his lovingkindness and his faithfulness; for his goodness is his glory (Ex 33:18,19), and by these he proclaims his name. His mercy and truth are the great supports of our faith and hope, and the great encouragements of our love and obedience; these therefore we must show forth as our pleas in prayer and the matter of our joy. This was then done, not only by singing, but by music joined with it, upon an instrument of ten strings (Ps 92:3); but then it was to be with a solemn sound, not that which was gay, and apt to dissipate the spirits, but that which was grave, and apt to fix them. 2. When we must praise God—in the morning and every night, not only on sabbath days, but every day; it is that which the duty of every day requires. We must praise God, not only in public assemblies, but in secret, and in our families, showing forth, to ourselves and those about us, his lovingkindness and faithfulness. We must begin and end every day with praising God, must give him thanks every morning, when we are fresh and before the business of the day comes in upon us, and every night, when we are again composed and retired, and are recollecting ourselves; we must give him thanks every morning for the mercies of the night and every night for the mercies of the day; going out and coming in we must bless God.
II. We have an example set before us in the psalmist himself, both to move us to and to direct us in this work (Ps 92:4): Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work. Note, 1. Those can best recommend to others the duty of praise who have themselves experienced the pleasantness of it. "God's works are to be praised, for they have many a time rejoiced my heart; and therefore, whatever others may think of them, I must think well and speak well of them." 2. If God has given us the joy of his works, there is all the reason in the world why we should give him the honour of them. Has he made our hearts glad? Let us then make his praises glorious. Has God made us glad through the works of his providence for us, and of his grace in us, and both through the great work of redemption? (1.) Let us thence fetch encouragement for our faith and hope; so the psalmist does: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. From a joyful remembrance of what God has done for us we may raise a joyful prospect of what he will do, and triumph in the assurance of it, triumph over all opposition, 2Th 2:13,14. (2.) Let us thence fetch matter for holy adorings and admirings of God (Ps 92:5): O Lord! how great are thy works—great beyond conception, beyond expression, the products of great power and wisdom, of great consequence and importance! men's works are nothing to them. We cannot comprehend the greatness of God's works, and therefore must reverently and awfully wonder at them, and even stand amazed at the magnificence of them. "Men's works are little and trifling, for their thoughts are shallow; but, Lord, thy works are great and such as cannot be measured; for thy thoughts are very deep and such as cannot be fathomed." God's counsels as much exceed the contrivances of our wisdom as his works do the efforts of our power. His thoughts are above our thoughts, as his ways are above our ways, Isa 55:9. O the depth of God's designs! Ro 11:33. The greatness of God's works should lead us to consider the depth of his thoughts, that counsel of his own will according to which he does all things—what a compass his thoughts fetch and to what a length they reach!
III. We are admonished not to neglect the works of God, by the character of those who do so, Ps 92:6. Those are fools, they are brutish, who do not know, who do not understand, how great God's works are, who will not acquaint themselves with them, nor give him the glory of them; they regard not the work of the Lord nor consider the operation of his hands (Ps 28:5); particularly, they understand not the meaning of their own prosperity (which is spoken of Ps 92:7); they take it as a pledge of their happiness, whereas it is a preparative for their ruin. If there are so many who know not the designs of Providence, nor care to know them, those who through grace are acquainted with them, and love to be so, have the more reason to be thankful.
7-15
The Triumph of the Righteous; The Happiness of the Righteous
简体中文
义人夸胜；义人之福
⁷ 恶人茂盛好像草，一切作孽之人发旺的时候，正是他们要灭亡，直到永远。
⁸ 惟你耶和华至高，直到永远。
⁹ 耶和华啊，你的仇敌都要灭亡；一切作孽的也要离散。
¹⁰ 你却高举了我的角，如独角兽的角；我是被新油膏了的。
¹¹ 我眼睛看见仇敌遭报；我耳朵听见那起来攻击我的恶人受罚。
¹² 义人要发旺如棕树，生长如黎巴嫩的香柏树。
¹³ 他们栽于耶和华的殿中，发旺在我们神的院里。
¹⁴ 他们年老的时候仍要结果子，要满了汁浆而常发青；
¹⁵ 好显明耶和华是正直的。他是我的磐石，在他毫无不义。
诗人曾说过（诗 92:4），他要从神的作为中得着夸胜的机会；此处他便如此行。
一、他夸胜过神的仇敌（诗 92:7、9、11）——在预见他们的毁灭中夸胜，不是作为同类受苦之人的苦难而夸胜，而是作为彰显神公义与圣洁的凭据而夸胜。他对罪人的灭亡充满确信：1. 即便他们兴旺（诗 92:7）：当恶人茂盛好像草——春日的草（如此众多、如此密布、如此青绿、生长如此迅速），一切作孽之人发旺——在气派、权势并一切外在兴旺的记号上都发旺，安逸、顺遂，事业成功；人必以为这一切是为了使他们快乐，是神恩惠的确据，是更美之物的凭据；其实不然——正是他们要灭亡，直到永远。愚顽人的兴旺必成为他们的网罗，把他们杀灭（箴 1:32）。设计要宰杀的羊，被放在最肥美的草场。2. 即便他们胆大妄为（诗 92:9）。他们是你的仇敌，并放肆地自认如此。他们与神相背，又与神争战。他们背叛他的冠冕与尊严，所以他们必灭亡，这是易于预见的；因为*谁向神硬着颈项而亨通呢？*请注意：一切不悔改的作孽之人，必被算为、被当作神的仇敌，他们也必如此灭亡，如此被分散。基督把那些不要他作王的，看作他的仇敌；他们必被带出来，在他面前被杀。作孽之人如今彼此结盟，紧密相联，共谋反对神和宗教；但他们必被分散，不能再彼此相护，抵挡神公义的审判。在来世，他们要与义人的会分离——迦勒底意译本如此解诗 1:5。3. 即使他们特别与诗人为仇，并因此他可能受试探惧怕他们，他仍夸胜过他们（诗 92:11）：「我眼睛看见仇敌遭报……我耳朵听见那起来攻击我的恶人受罚——我必看见他们不仅不能再害我，更因他们已害我的事受报，被带到悔改或败亡之中」；这就是他对他们的心愿。希伯来原文不过是：*我的眼要看我的仇敌，我的耳要听那恶人。*他没说他要看什么、听什么，但他要看要听的，是那叫神得荣耀、又因此叫他得满足的事。这话或许指基督——指他胜过撒但、死亡和阴间的胜利，指他毁灭那些逼迫、钉他十字架、反对他福音之人的事，并指末世不悔改之人最终的败亡。凡起来反对基督的，必倒在他面前，作他的脚凳。
二、他在神里夸胜——在他的荣耀与恩典里。1. 在神的荣耀里（诗 92:8）：「惟你耶和华至高，直到永远。那些攻击我们的作孽之人或许一时高升，以为能以高压横行一切，但你至高，至高，直到永远。他们的高处必被降卑，你的却是永远。」所以我们不要惧怕恶人的骄傲与权势，也不要因他们无力的威吓而灰心；因为蛀虫必如吃衣服一样把他们吃掉，但神的公义必永远长存（赛 51:7-8）。2. 在神的恩典里——在他的恩惠和其果子之中：（1）对他自己（诗 92:10）：「耶和华啊，你你自己至高，却要高举我的角。」伟大的神是尊荣的源头；他永远至高，自己也必永远高举他的百姓，因为他是他一切圣徒的赞美（诗 148:14）。恶人被禁止高举其角（诗 75:4-5），但凡以自己的尊荣或权势事奉神和他国度的事业，又把它交托他保管、提升、使用、随意处置的人，都可盼望他必高举他们的角如独角兽的角——升到极高点，或在今世或在来世：你却高举了我的角——当你的仇敌灭亡之时；因为那时义人必发光如太阳，恶人却被定为羞辱永远被憎恶。他加上一句：我是被新油膏了的——表明他在所受膏的职分上得着新的坚立，或表明丰足有余，他可随己意随时得新油，或表明当他灵性下沉之时得着更新的安慰，使他复苏。恩典是圣灵的膏抹；当这膏抹在急需之时赐下，又照所需从基督耶稣的丰满中领受，我们便被新油所膏。有人读作：当我年老之时，你要用新油膏我。我年老之时，你要以丰盛的怜悯高举我——七十士译本如此。比较诗 92:14：他们年老之时仍要结果子。神之灵的安慰，和他救恩的喜乐，对那在义路上找到的白发是令人清爽的油。（2）对一切圣徒。他们在此被描绘为公义之树（赛 61:3；诗 1:3）。请看：〔1〕他们所栽之处——他们栽于耶和华的殿中（诗 92:13）。公义之树不是自己长出来的；他们是栽种的——不是栽在寻常的土壤上，而是栽在乐园中——在耶和华的殿中。树通常不栽在房屋里；但神的树被说成栽在他的殿中，因为是借他的恩典、借他的道与圣灵，他们得着维持生命、使之结果的一切汁液和力量。他们扎根于圣洁的典章，在其中生根，恒常遵守，把自己置于神的保护之下，并结出一切果子归神的尊荣与荣耀。〔2〕他们所蒙保守的状态。此处应许：第一，他们必生长（诗 92:12）。神在哪里赐下真恩典，他也必赐下更多恩典。神的树必长得更高，如香柏树——如黎巴嫩那些高大的香柏树；他们必更近天，并以圣洁的志向向上界 aspirations；他们必更强壮，如香柏树，更合乎使用。手洁心清的人必力上加力。第二，他们必发旺——既在他们承认的尊荣上，又在自己心灵的安慰与喜乐上。他们必自己快乐，又受周围一切人的尊重。他们要发旺如棕树——树身雄壮（歌 7:7）、枝叶繁茂（利 23:40；士 4:5）。椰枣为其果子，甚为甘美；但此处特别以其常青为喻。恶人发旺如草（诗 92:7）——草易枯萎；义人却如棕树——寿长，且寒冬不改其色。论到棕树，有人说：Sub pondere crescit——越被压下，它越发增长；照样义人在重担之下越发旺；他们越受苦，越增多。他们栽于耶和华的殿中（其根在那里），他们就在我们神的院里发旺——枝条在那里伸展。他们的生命与基督一同藏在神里面。但他们的光也照在人前。那在神殿中有分的，也愿在神殿中、在他墙内有名号，是可慕的（赛 56:5）。愿基督徒以卓越为目标，得以显赫发旺，这样便如发旺的树装饰房屋的庭院一般，装饰我们救主神的道理。凡在神院中发旺的，当把荣耀归神；这是借这应许而有的：他们要满了汁浆而常发青。他们外面的发旺，来自里面的肥美——来自好橄榄树的根和肥美（罗 11:17）。心里若没有活的恩典之原则，承认必不能长久发旺；但在有这原则之处，叶子也不枯干（诗 1:3）。耶和华的树满了汁浆（诗 104:16）。参何 14:5-6。第三，他们必结果子。若仅有叶子，便不是有价值的树；但他们仍要结果子。成圣的出品——一切活泼敬虔与有用言行的表现、一切荣耀神又造就人的善工——这些都是义的果子，是义人的特权，也是本分，要在此丰盈；他们在此丰盈既是应许之事，也是命令之事。这里应许他们年老之时仍要结果子。别的树老了便不结果，但神的树，恩典之力并不因天然之力衰竭而衰竭。圣徒末后的日子，有时是他们最好的日子；他们末后的工，有时是他们最好的工。这确是显明他们正直——恒忍是真诚最确的证据。但此处说是好显明耶和华是正直的（诗 92:15）——他对自己的应许信实，对他所说的一切话忠心，又对他所开始的工坚定不移。信徒既借应许初尝属神的性情，照样也借应许得蒙保守、得以维持；因此它所发的能力，便是耶和华是正直的之证据，他也必如此向正直人显明自己（诗 18:25）。诗人正是以此夸胜：「*他是我的磐石，在他毫无不义。*我已选择他作我所建造其上的磐石、我所躲避其裂罅的磐石、我设足其顶的磐石。我发现他是磐石——坚固而稳定，他的话也如磐石一样稳。「我发现」（人人都当照自己所见的说）在他毫无不义。」他既有他的话那样大能，也必那样慈爱。一切曾倚靠神的，都发现他信实而全足，没有人曾因在他里面的盼望而羞愧。
英語原文
The Triumph of the Righteous; The Happiness of the Righteous
⁷ When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
⁸ But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.
⁹ For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
¹⁰ But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
¹¹ Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
¹² The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
¹⁵ To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
The psalmist had said (Ps 92:4) that from the works of God he would take occasion to triumph; and here he does so.
I. He triumphs over God's enemies (Ps 92:7,9,11), triumphs in the foresight of their destruction, not as it would be the misery of his fellow-creatures, but as it would redound to the honour of God's justice and holiness. He is confident of the ruin of sinners, 1. Though they are flourishing (Ps 92:7): When the wicked spring as the grass in spring (so numerous, so thickly sown, so green, and growing so fast), and all the workers of iniquity do flourish in pomp, and power, and all the instances of outward prosperity, are easy and many, and succeed in their enterprises, one would think that all this was in order to their being happy, that it was a certain evidence of God's favour and an earnest of something as good or better in reserve: but it is quite otherwise; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever. The very prosperity of fools shall slay them, Pr 1:32. The sheep that are designed for the slaughter are put into the fattest pasture. 2. Though they are daring, Ps 92:9. They are thy enemies, and impudently avow themselves to be so. They are contrary to God, and they fight against God. They are in rebellion against his crown and dignity, and therefore it is easy to foresee that they shall perish; for who ever hardened his heart against God and prospered? Note, All the impenitent workers of iniquity shall be deemed and taken as God's enemies, and as such they shall perish and be scattered. Christ reckons those his enemies that will not have him to reign over them; and they shall be brought forth and slain before him. The workers of iniquity are now associated, and closely linked together, in a combination against God and religion; but they shall be scattered, and disabled to help one another against the just judgment of God. In the world to come they shall be separated from the congregation of the righteous; so the Chaldee, Ps 1:5. 3. Though they had a particular malice against the psalmist, and, upon that account, he might be tempted to fear them, yet he triumphs over them (Ps 92:11): "My eye shall see my desire on my enemies that rise up against me; I shall see them not only disabled from doing me any further mischief, but reckoned with for the mischief they have done me, and brought either to repentance or ruin:" and this was his desire concerning them. In the Hebrew it is no more than thus, My eye shall look on my enemies, and my ear shall hear of the wicked. He does not say what he shall see or what he shall hear, but he shall see and hear that in which God will be glorified and in which he will therefore be satisfied. This perhaps has reference to Christ, to his victory over Satan, death, and hell, the destruction of those that persecuted and crucified him, and opposed his gospel, and to the final ruin of the impenitent at the last day. Those that rise up against Christ will fall before him and be made his footstool.
II. He triumphs in God, and his glory and grace. 1. In the glory of God (Ps 92:8): "But thou, O Lord! art most high for evermore. The workers of iniquity who fight against us may be high for a time, and think to carry all before them with a high hand, but thou art high, most high, for evermore. Their height will be humbled and brought down, but thine is everlasting." Let us not therefore fear the pride and power of evil men, nor be discouraged by their impotent menaces, for the moth shall eat them up as a garment, but God's righteousness shall be for ever, Isa 51:7,8. 2. In the grace of God, his favour and the fruits of it, (1.) To himself (Ps 92:10): "Thou, O Lord! that art thyself most high, shalt exalt my horn." The great God is the fountain of honour, and he, being high for evermore, himself will exalt his people for ever, for he is the praise of all his saints, Ps 148:14. The wicked are forbidden to lift up the horn (Ps 75:4,5), but those that serve God and the interest of his kingdom with their honour or power, and commit it to him to keep it, to raise it, to use it, and to dispose of it, as he pleases, may hope that he will exalt their horn as the horn of a unicorn, to the greatest height, either in this world or the other: My horn shalt thou exalt, when thy enemies perish; for then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, when the wicked shall be doomed to shame and everlasting contempt. He adds, I shall be anointed with fresh oil, which denotes a fresh confirmation in his office to which he had been anointed, or abundance of plenty, so that he should have fresh oil as often as he pleased, or renewed comforts to revive him when his spirits drooped. Grace is the anointing of the Spirit; when this is given to help in the time of need, and is received, as there is occasion, from the fulness that is in Christ Jesus, we are then anointed with fresh oil. Some read it, When I grow old thou shalt anoint me with fresh oil. My old age shalt thou exalt with rich mercy; so the LXX. Compare Ps 92:14, They shall bring forth fruit in old age. The comforts of God's Spirit, and the joys of his salvation, shall be a refreshing oil to the hoary heads that are found in the way of righteousness. (2.) To all the saints. They are here represented as trees of righteousness, Isa 61:3, Ps 1:3. Observe, [1.] The good place they are fixed in; they are planted in the house of the Lord, Ps 92:13. The trees of righteousness do not grow of themselves; they are planted, not in common soil, but in paradise, in the house of the Lord. Trees are not usually planted in a house; but God's trees are said to be planted in his house because it is from his grace, by his word and Spirit, that they receive all the sap and virtue that keep them alive and make them fruitful. They fix themselves to holy ordinances, take root in them, abide by them, put themselves under the divine protection, and bring forth all their fruits to God's honour and glory. [2.] The good plight they shall be kept in. It is here promised, First, That they shall grow, Ps 92:12. Where God gives true grace he will give more grace. God's trees shall grow higher, like the cedars, the tall cedars in Lebanon; they shall grow nearer heaven, and with a holy ambition shall aspire towards the upper world; they shall grow stronger, like the cedars, and fitter for use. He that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. Secondly, That they shall flourish, both in the credit of their profession and in the comfort and joy of their own souls. They shall be cheerful themselves and respected by all about them. They shall flourish like the palm-tree, which has a stately body (So 7:7), and large boughs, Le 23:40, Jdg 4:5. Dates, the fruit of it, are very pleasant, but it is especially alluded to here as being ever green. The wicked flourish as the grass (Ps 92:7), which is soon withered, but the righteous as the palm-tree, which is long-lived and which the winter does not change. It has been said of the palm-tree, Sub pondere crescit—The more it is pressed down the more it grows; so the righteous flourish under their burdens; the more they are afflicted the more they multiply. Being planted in the house of the Lord (there their root is), they flourish in the courts of our God—there their branches spread. Their life is hid with Christ in God. But their light also shines before men. It is desirable that those who have a place should have a name in God's house, and within his walls, Isa 56:5. Let good Christians aim to excel, that they may be eminent and may flourish, and so may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, as flourishing trees adorn the courts of a house. And let those who flourish in God's courts give him the glory of it; it is by virtue of this promise, They shall be fat and flourishing. Their flourishing without is from a fatness within, from the root and fatness of the good olive, Ro 11:17. Without a living principle of grace in the heart the profession will not be long flourishing; but where that is the leaf also shall not wither, Ps 1:3. The trees of the Lord are full of sap, Ps 104:16. See Ho 14:5,6. Thirdly, That they shall be fruitful. Were there nothing but leaves upon them, they would not be trees of any value; but they shall still bring forth fruit. The products of sanctification, all the instances of a lively devotion and a useful conversation, good works, by which God is glorified and others are edified, these are the fruits of righteousness, in which it is the privilege, as well as the duty, of the righteous to abound; and their abounding in them is the matter of a promise as well as of a command. It is promised that they shall bring forth fruit in old age. Other trees, when they are old, leave off bearing, but in God's trees the strength of grace does not fail with the strength of nature. The last days of the saints are sometimes their best days, and their last work is their best work. This indeed shows that they are upright; perseverance is the surest evidence of sincerity. But it is here said to show that the Lord is upright (Ps 92:15), that he is true to his promises and faithful to every word that he has spoken, and that he is constant to the work which he has begun. As it is by the promises that believers first partake of a divine nature, so it is by the promises that that divine nature is preserved and kept up; and therefore the power it exerts is an evidence that the Lord is upright, and so he will show himself with an upright man, Ps 18:25. This the psalmist triumphs in: "He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him. I have chosen him for my rock on which to build, in the clefts of which to take shelter, on the top of which to set my feet. I have found him a rock, strong and stedfast, and his word as firm as a rock. I have found" (and let every one speak as he finds) "that there is no unrighteousness in him." He is as able, and will be as kind, as his word makes him to be. All that ever trusted in God found him faithful and all-sufficient, and none were ever made ashamed of their hope in him.
有些犹太作者(他们向来喜好臆测)以为本诗是亚当在无罪之时、于第一个安息日所作所唱,这看法毫无根据。这与诗篇本身相矛盾,因其中论及作孽之人,而当时罪尚未进入世界。本诗大概为大卫所作,既是为安息日而设,则:一、在此推荐赞美——这是安息日当尽的工夫(诗92:1-3);二、在此颂扬神的作为——这些作为正是安息日的缘由——总而言之其大其深无可测度(诗92:4-6)。特别关乎护理与救赎之工,诗人向神歌咏怜悯与审判,论罪人的败亡与圣徒的喜乐,三次彼此对照:1. 恶人必灭亡(诗92:7),惟神永恒(诗92:8);2. 神的仇敌必被剪除,大卫却必被高举(诗92:9,10);3. 大卫的仇敌必蒙羞(诗92:11),一切义人却必结果累累、繁茂青翠(诗92:12-15)。我们唱这首诗时,当以将神名当得的荣耀归给他为乐,并为他的作为夸胜。