Let the Christian not fear the pride and power of evil men nor be in the least discouraged by their impotent menaces.
The impenitent workers of iniquity are counted and taken as God’s enemies and as such they shall perish and be scattered.
Psalm 1
1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
2 To shew 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.
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 shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 92 – Gladness and Growth
The inscription alludes to the suitability of this psalm for the Sabbath day. Psalm 92:1-3 contain the general statement of the desirability of praise and thanksgiving. Psalm 92:4-5 suggest that God’s work in creation, providence, and grace should elicit perpetual thanksgiving; but that the thoughts and purposes which underlie them are too deep for our fathoming.
Two classes of men are here mentioned: the brutish and wicked, Psalm 92:6-9; the servants of God, Psalm 92:10-15. The former are like grass, which soon grows to maturity and is then cut down; the latter are as the palm and cedar. There is no part of the palm which is not utilized in some way. The cedar is one of the largest of living trees. A thousand years is no uncommon duration, and its fiber is practically incorruptible.
The witness of an aged saint to the faithfulness of God is very delightful. When Charles H. Spurgeon was a young man, he was preaching upon this subject in his grandfather’s pulpit. Halfway through the sermon, the veteran man of God advanced to the front and said, “My grandson is preaching what he has read and heard about; but I have proved for eighty-four years that God is faithful to His servants and true to His Word.” —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 92:10—I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
There is perennial freshness in God—in the works of nature, in his love, and in the renewal of the soul. Does the eye ever tire of the changeful beauty of the clouds? Though we look out from childhood to old age on the same landscape, there is always something fresh to captivate the roving eye. Think of the unfailing freshness in love—love of woman to man, of mother to child. Think of the freshness of each returning day, of earth in her springtime robe, with the myriads of sweet children, whose laughter is as ringing and their eyes as bright as if the earth were young, instead of being old and weary. And if God can do this for the works of his hands, is there any limit in the freshness which He will communicate to his children?
Each morning bend your heads, ye priests of the Most High, for the fresh anointing for the new ministries that await you. The former grace and strength will not suffice; old texts must be rejuvenated and reminted; old vows must be respoken; the infilling of the Holy Spirit must be as vivid, and may be as definite, as at the first. See to it that you do not rise from your knees till you can say, “I have been, and am, anointed with the fresh oil.” And the anointing that ye receive from Him shall abide on you, teaching you how to abide in Him. So you shall bring forth fruit in old age, and in life’s winter be full of sap and fervor.
Pastor Harm used to say: Pray diligently. I do not mean your common prayer alone; but pray diligently in your room daily for the Holy Spirit. How their faces shine, who receive this daily unguent! —Our Daily Homily