"The Righteous Shall Flourish"

Psalm 92:11-15

(12-15) God makes the righteous flourish.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

a. The righteous shall flourish: The wicked have their season of flourishing (Psalm 92:7), but the righteous shall flourish like the ever-green palm tree. The wicked should understand that this world provides the best they will ever experience, and the righteous should know that this world provides the worst they will experience.

i. Like a palm tree: “When we see a noble palm standing erect, sending all its strength upward in one bold column, and growing amid the dearth and drought of the desert, we have a fine picture of the godly man, who in his uprightness aims alone at the glory of God; and, independent of outward circumstances, is made by divine grace to live and thrive where all things else perish.” (Spurgeon)

b. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon: The cedar trees of Lebanon were known for their size, strength, durability, beauty, and usefulness. The blessings to come upon the righteous bring the same attributes.

i. “The cedar gives us the idea of majesty, stability, durableness, and incorruptibility.” (Clarke)

c. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God: God’s house, the place of His presence, is the place where believers are both planted and where they continually live and flourish. One might say that they are in the presence of the LORD from beginning to end, and they still bear fruit in old age – even as Moses did (Deuteronomy 34:7).

i. Planted in the house of the LORD: “It is questionable whether there are trees planted in the courts of the Temple; but the psalmist’s thought is that the righteous will surely be found there, and that it is their native soil, in which rooted, they are permanent.” (Maclaren)

ii. Still bear fruit in old age: “It is not the greenness of perpetual youth, but the freshness of age without sterility, like that of Moses whose ‘eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated’ (Deut. 34:7); whose wisdom was mature and his memory invaluably rich.” (Trapp)

iii. As 2 Corinthians 4:16 indicates, it is possible to be outwardly wasting away, yet inwardly renewed day by day. “When their natural strength decayeth, it shall be renewed; their last days shall be their best days, wherein as they shall grow in grace, so they shall increase in comfort and blessedness.” (Meyer)

iv. “I once heard a good Christian man say that he was confessing a fault. He said, ‘I am afraid that the fruit of my old age is peevishness.’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘that is not a fruit of your old age; it is a fruit of your old nature.’ But the fruit of old age, where there is grace in old age, should be patience.” (Spurgeon)

d. To declare that the LORD is upright: This is why the people of God live in a blessed way that gives honor and attention to God (bear fruit). It isn’t to draw attention to themselves as wonderful people, but to shout out that the LORD is upright.

i. “‘That the Lord is upright.’ Well, how does the fruit-bearing of an aged Christian show that? Why, it shows that God has kept his promise. He has promised that he will never leave them nor forsake them. There you see it. He has promised that when they are weak they shall be strong. There you see it. He has promised that if they seek him they shall not lack any good thing. There you see it.” (Spurgeon)

e. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him: This was the confident, proven experience of the psalmist. He knew from both understanding and life experience that God could be trusted and did all things in goodness.

(c) 2020 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – [e-mail]