Psalm 92

Complete Praise

Psalm 92

I.                    We must praise God at all times because He’s always all we need; praising Him for who He is and what He does completes our joy (Vv. 1-5)

a.       We must offer thanksgiving and praise to God for His glory, because He is the Most High God, who alone is worthy of all worship and praise at all times, because of who He is and what He does. This isn’t only “a good” thing for us to do, it’s a necessity. The chief end of mankind is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. Ultimately our joy in life is found in orienting ourselves properly to God through praise of Him. So not praising God, robs Him of His glory, leaves us improperly oriented in life, and robs us of our joy. We must praise God for His amazing works, by which created all things, sustains all things, and through which He alone redeems all things. We must praise God because of His lovingkindness, which compels Him to extend forgiveness to us through Christ, to redeem us to Himself. We must praise Him for His faithfulness, which mercifully and graciously continues to hold us in relationship with Him and seek our greatest good. We must lift up praises to Him every day, from morning to night, and with every means we have. We must praise Him, even when we don’t understand all the events which unfold in our lives, because God’s thoughts and understanding are higher and grander than our own, and we know that He seeks His greatest glory and our greatest good. Praising God completes our joy, and grows our satisfaction and contentment in Him, adding purpose and fulfilment to every area of our lives, at all times. (Vv. 1-5; Ps. 22:3; 33:1; 36:5; 57:10; 89:1; 97:9; 147:1; Isa. 55:6-13; John 3:16; 11:25-26; 14:6; 15:11; Rom. 5:6-11; 6:23; 8:28; 10:8-13; 11:33-36;      2 Cor. 5:17-21; Eph. 2:1-9; Col. 1:11-18) 

II.                 We must praise God at all times because He’s always all we need; praising Him for His sovereignty completes our confidence (Vv. 6-9)

a.       But what about those who don’t know God and who don’t praise Him, but everything seems to work out for them? These wicked people are like grass, which shoots up quickly, withers away just as fast, and won’t grow again. They have no more perspective in life and eternity than an animal, because they don’t know God. To allow ourselves to be distracted by these wicked people is to allow envy, greed, and jealousy to creep in as idols in our lives. When we praise those idols, our joy, satisfaction, and purpose is left incomplete. The world calls us to look down, so as to exalt ourselves over others and find our confidence in comparing ourselves to others. But only in praising God, do we find our value, worth, and confidence in life aren’t fleeting with our accomplishments, tarnished by life’s difficulties, or attacked by the accomplishments or vitriol of the wicked; our confidence is in the unchanging Lord of all. (Vv. 6-9; Ps. 1:4-6; 2:1-6; 49:10-12; 90:5-6; 94:8-11; Isa. 40:6-8, 28; Dan. 4:35; Luke 6:19-46; Rom. 1:21-25; 8:18; Jas. 4:13-15; 1 Pet. 5:6-11)

III.              We must praise God at all times because He’s always all we need; Praising Him for His perfect provision completes our hope (Vv. 10-15)

a.       Unlike the wicked, God causes His righteous ones to flourish in this life and forever. The psalmist is faithful to praise the Lord, and God is faithful to strengthen and refresh him. The Good Shepherd is faithful to feed His sheep and give us strength, He’s faithful to refresh us in the midst of life’s challenges, He’s faithful to give us rest in Him when we’re weary, take our load when we’re tired, and teach us how to persevere in His strength when we’re exhausted. The psalmist is able to look exultantly on his foes, because his eye is continually on the One who gives him all he needs to overcome them. We face many enemies in life, but our enemies of sin and death always prove to be too overwhelming for us to conquer. We must praise the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep, to protect us and give us victory over these otherwise unconquerable enemies. When we praise Him, even in the storms, He renews our strength, refreshes our souls, and completes our hope. Those who are rooted in Him are evergreen, flourish and bear fruit at all times, even into old age. They are rooted in the Rock, cannot be shaken, and endure all storms through God’s perfect provision. Our continual praise of Him, roots us in the Rock, completes our hope in Him, and enables us not only to endure life’s difficult circumstances, but to live abundantly through His provision, be more than overcomers, and continually bear fruit of blessing. (Vv. 10-15; Deut. 32:4-5; 1 Sam. 2:2; 22:1-4, 32, 47; Ps. 1:3; 18:1-3; 23:1-6; 31:1-4; 40:2; 45:7; 52:5, 8; 62:2, 7; 74:10; Prov. 11:30; Isa. 26:4; 28:16; 40:28-31; Jer. 17:7-8; Luke 1:69; Matt. 6:19-21, 33-34; 7:24-25; 11:28-30; John 10:10-11, 14-18, 27-30; 16:33; Rom. 5:1-5; 8:31-39; 9:33; 12:21; 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:4-5; Rev. 21:1-7)