Read
(A psalm and a song for the Sabbath.)
Sing Praises
1It is wonderful to be grateful
and to sing your praises,
Lord Most High!
2It is wonderful each morning
to tell about your love
and at night to announce
how faithful you are.
3I enjoy praising your name
to the music of harps,
4because everything you do
makes me happy,
and I sing joyful songs.
5You do great things, Lord.
Your thoughts are too deep
6 for an ignorant fool
to know or understand.
7Though the wicked sprout
and spread like grass,
they will be pulled up
by their roots.
8But you will rule
over all of us forever,
9and your hateful enemies
will be scattered
and then destroyed.
10You have given me
the strength of a wild ox,
and you have chosen me
to be your very own.
11My eyes have seen,
and my ears have heard
the doom and destruction
of my evil enemies.
12Good people will prosper
like palm trees,
and they will grow strong
like the cedars of Lebanon.
13They will take root
in your house, Lord God,
and they will do well.
14They will be like trees
that stay healthy and fruitful,
even when they are old.
15And they will say about you,
“The Lord always does right!
God is our mighty rock.”
Reflect
The psalmist expresses his thanks to God with great joy and celebration. He knows that God destroys the evil people who threaten him. They are like short-lived grass that springs up but then is soon plucked out (vv 5-9). He has witnessed the destruction of his enemies and now he worships God with thankfulness (v 11).
The lives and the fate of the righteous contrast with that of the wicked. While the wicked are like grass that withers, the righteous are like trees that flourish. Specifically, they are like the palm and cedar trees. The palm tree produces dates and thus represents fertility and life, while the cedar tree is a tall, stately tree that produces strong wood that exudes a pleasant smell. It is interesting to note that the righteous, represented by these trees, are said to “take root in your (God’s) house” (v 13), which of course refers to the temple where God made his presence known in a special way during much of the period of the Old Testament. The cedar was used in the construction of the temple (1 Kings 5) and the palm was pictorially represented in the temple (1 Kings 6:29, 32, 35; 7:36), but this connection highlights the fact that the righteous themselves flourish in the presence of God. This God is a rock, referring to a rock formation in which a person can find protection from those who try to harm him.
Respond
O God, our mighty rock, who makes his presence known to us, we are grateful and worship you for your protection in a dangerous world. We thrive in your presence. Keep us faithful and confident when we are attacked or find ourselves in trouble. We pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tremper Longman III
Dr. Tremper Longman III (B.A. Ohio Wesleyan University; M.Div. Westminster Theological Seminary; M.Phil. and Ph.D. Yale University) is Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. He has written over 30 books which have been translated into seventeen different languages. In addition, as a Hebrew scholar, he is one of the main translators of the popular New Living Translation of the Bible. His most recent book is How to Read Daniel. Tremper and Alice currently reside in Alexandria, VA and have three sons (Tremper IV, Timothy, Andrew) and four granddaughters (Gabrielle, Mia, Ava, and Emerson). For exercise, he enjoys playing squash.