Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 92:4
For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
4. hast made me glad through thy work ] The prayer of Psa 90:15-16 has been answered. God has wrought for Israel.
I will triumph ] Or, as in Psa 90:14, I will shout for joy. Not only joy but the expression of it is meant.
the works of thy hands ] Or, the doings of thy hands, a different word from that in the preceding line. The context makes it clear that God’s work and doings do not here mean the works of creation (Psa 8:3; Psa 8:6), but the dealings of His Providence (Psa 28:5; Psa 143:5; Isa 5:12). It is the victory of righteousness which has gladdened the Psalmist’s heart.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4 8. The special ground for praise in the manifestation of Jehovah’s sovereignty.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For thou, Lord, hast made me glad – Thou hast made me happy; thou hast given me such a state of feeling as finds an appropriate expression in praise.
Through thy work – Either the work of creation, the finishing of which the Sabbath was designed particularly to commemorate; or the works of God in general – the universe; or the general dealings of his providence; or some particular interpositions of Providence in his behalf that called for special praise. All these are appropriately combined in the celebrations – the praises – of the Sabbath; to these should be added, as among the most marvelous of his works, and that which furnishes special occasion for praise on the Christian Sabbath, the wonderful work of redemption – that which of all the works of God makes a heart rightly affected most glad.
I will triumph – I will exult or rejoice.
In the works of thy hands – In all thy works; in all that thou hast done.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 92:4-6
For Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the works of Thy hands.
Delight in Gods works
The Hebrew prophets and psalmists, when their minds were in the most exalted and inspired state, saw God in everything; in the mightiest and in the meanest movements of the universe, in all the events of history and in all the incidents of the individual experience. They were all and everywhere the works of God. To them the universe was no self-propelling machine, but a living organism of which God was the ever present soul.
1. Religious people are often afraid of science, and denounce it as an enemy to faith and piety. But what is science, and what is its aim? Its aim is to know and understand Gods work in nature. Why should such an aim be construed as antagonistic to religion or detrimental to piety? God has not sent us into the world blindfolded to the wonder and glory of His works, as if He did not mean us to unriddle the secrets of His workmanship.
2. Then there are rich poetic reasons for a closer communion with the Divine works of nature. God has endowed the meanest nature among us with the susceptibility of being pleased and delighted with the scenes of beauty and grandeur with which the world is filled. We were made for very sweet and pure enjoyments, and not only to grind in the mill of our daily work. This must have been partly what the psalmist meant (Psa 92:4).
3. Then there is the religious motive to a more intimate acquaintance with the works of God. How great are Thy works, and Thy thoughts are very deep! The Divine thoughts are embodied and expressed in the Divine works. And if we wish to know God more perfectly, what ideas the Divine Being has been expressing in His creative acts–ideas of beauty, goodness, and power; to know something of the range of the infinite wisdom, and something of the sweep and compass of Almighty power, we must give ourselves with greater energy to the contemplation and study of His works. (C. Short, M.A.)
Divine workmanship
I. The work of the Lord.
1. Creation.
2. Providence.
3. Grace. The renovation of the heart of man, the removal of idolatry, the creation of the beauties of holiness, that is the work of God. And it is His chief work, His sublimest achievement.
II. Some reasons or grounds on which a contemplation of this work of grace is so eminently fitted to inspire the breasts of good men with sentiments of peculiar gladness.
1. Because it is a work of such beneficial character and tendency. Wherever you see a sinner converted from the error of his ways, you see the firstfruits of a most glorious state, the scene of a mighty harvest.
2. Because it contains the richest impress of the hand of its Author.
3. Because it is a work so surprising and unexpected. Eye hath not seen, etc.
4. On account of its permanency. This work shall advance and triumph, till there shall be unbelief nowhere, faith everywhere; hatred nowhere, love everywhere; confusion nowhere, order everywhere; darkness nowhere, light everywhere; Satan nowhere on earth, Christ everywhere.
5. Because of its necessary connection with still higher operations. The work is too much for one world to hold. When it has filled one world it will rush over into another, and fill the recesses of eternity when earth is a cinder and time a story. (W. Beaumont, D.D.)
The Christian made glad
I. An interesting subject. It is the work of God–
1. To redeem the soul (Joh 3:16; Psa 89:19; Rom 8:3; Rom 5:6-8).
2. To regenerate the soul (Eph 2:1; 2Co 5:17; Joh 1:13; 1Pe 1:23).
3. To receive the soul to favours and privileges lost by sin (Eph 2:11-13).
4. To comfort the soul (Isa 40:1-2; 2Co 1:3-4; Psa 119:50; Rom 15:4; Act 9:31).
5. To protect and save His people to the end (Rom 8:31).
6. To glorify the soul (Joh 14:2-3; Joh 17:24).
II. An interesting statement: Thou hast made me glad through Thy works. This gladness is–
1. Divine (Psa 40:1-3).
2. The gladness of experience (Psa 4:7).
3. Social joy (Mal 3:16).
4. The gladness of faith and hope (Rom 15:4; Heb 6:16-19; Tit 1:2; Tit 2:13).
III. A judicious resolution: I will triumph in the work of Thy hands. This implies–
1. Grateful acknowledgment of Divine obligation (1Pe 1:3).
2. Intimate acquaintance and rapturous satisfaction with the works of Gods hands (1Co 2:2; Gal 6:14).
3. Expectation of an ultimate and complete triumph.
4. A determination to proclaim the works of Gods hands to others. (Helps for the Pulpit.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work] I am delighted with thy conduct towards me; with the work of thy providence, the works of thy grace, and thy works of creation.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Which thou didst create by thine almighty power, and dost still govern with infinite wisdom; one instance whereof we have in the following verses.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. thy workthat is, ofprovidence (Psa 90:16; Psa 90:17).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work,…. Either of creation, which work is mentioned in the precept of the sabbath, as an argument for it; and therefore a very proper work to be remembered and observed on that day; or of providence, which in general extends to all men, but especially to them that believe; or of the work of redemption wrought out by Christ, which is cause of great joy and gladness; or of the work of grace upon the soul, which when a man is satisfied of, gives him infinite pleasure, as knowing it will be performed until the day of Christ; and when a man is in such a joyful frame of spirit, he is in a very suitable one to sing the praises of God, Jas 5:13,
I will triumph in the works of thine hands; those before mentioned; or shout aloud for joy, on account of them; and also triumph over all enemies, as being out of the reach of them, so as to be hurt and ruined by them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Statement of the ground of this commendation of the praise of God. Whilst is the usual word for God’s historical rule (Psa 44:2; Psa 64:10; Psa 90:16, etc.), denotes the works of the Creator of the world, although not to the exclusion of those of the Ruler of the world (Psa 143:5). To be able to rejoice over the revelation of God in creation and the revelation of God in general is a gift from above, which the poet thankfully confesses that he has received. The Vulgate begins Psa 92:5 Quia delectasti me , and Dante in his Purgatorio , xxviii. 80, accordingly calls the Psalm il Salmo Delectasti ; a smiling female form, which represents the life of Paradise, says, as she gathers flowers, she is so happy because, with the Psalm Delectasti , she takes a delight in the glory of God’s works. The works of God are transcendently great; very deep are His thoughts, which mould human history and themselves gain from in it (cf. Psa 40:6; Psa 139:17., where infinite fulness is ascribed to them, and Isa 55:8, where infinite height is ascribed to them). Man can neither measure the greatness of the divine works nor fathom the depth of the divine thoughts; he who is enlightened, however, perceives the immeasurableness of the one and the unfathomableness of the other, whilst a , a man of animal nature, homo brutus (vid., Psa 73:22), does not come to the knowledge ( , used absolutely as in Psa 14:4), and , a blockhead, or one dull in mind, whose carnal nature outweighs his intellectual and spiritual nature, does not discern (cf. 2Sa 13:17), id ipsum , viz., how unsearchable are God’s judgments and untrackable His ways (Rom 11:33).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
4 Because thou, Jehovah, hast made me glad. The Psalmist repeats the truth that the Sabbath was not prescribed as a day of idleness, but a season when we should collect our whole energies for meditation upon the works of God. He intimates, at the same time, that those are best qualified for celebrating the praises of God who recognize and feel his fatherly goodness, and can undertake this service with willing and joyful minds. His language implies that the goodness and faithfulness of God, which he had already mentioned, are apparent in his works upon a due examination of them. What produces joy in our hearts is the exhibition which God gives of himself as a Father, and of his deep and watchful anxiety for our welfare; as, on the other hand, the cause of our brutish indifference is our inability to savor or relish the end designed in the works of God. (589) As the universe proclaims throughout that God is faithful and good, it becomes us to be diligently observant of these tokens, and to be excited by a holy joy to the celebration of his praise.
(589) “ Comme aussi la cause de nostre paresse brutale est, que nous avons perdu tout goust quand il est question dee savourer la fin des oeuvres de Dieu.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) The Vulgate rendering of this verse is quoted by Dante in a beautiful passage descriptive of the happiness which flows from delight in the beauty of the works of God in nature. But the reference is to the works in history, not in nature. The psalmist is really expressing his gladness at Gods wonders wrought for Israel. (Comp. Psa. 90:15-16, Make us glad . . . let thy work appear unto thy servants.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Glad through thy work “Work,” here, is used collectively for a series of providential acts. The pious heart is gladdened when faith sees the purposes of God unfolding.
Triumph in the works of thy hands In this second hemistich a different word for “work” is used; one of more comprehensive import, and expressive of acts of creation as well as providence.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 657
GOD ADMIRED IN HIS WORKS
Psa 92:4-5. Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
TO man, in this vale of tears, God has opened many sources of happiness; many in his intercourse with his fellow-man, but more and greater in communion with his God. In truth, if it be not his own fault, he may have in a measure the felicity of the Paradisiacal state restored to him: for though, through the weakness of the flesh, he is in heaviness through manifold temptations, he has a God to go unto, a God ever at hand, in whom it is his privilege always to rejoice: Rejoice in the Lord alway, says the Apostle; and again, he adds, Rejoice.
The frame of Davids mind, in the psalm before us, (for we can scarcely doubt but that the composition was his,) being that which we should cultivate, we will consider,
I.
The works which he contemplated
It is probable that the writer of this psalm had primarily in his view the wonders of creation; because the psalm was written for the Sabbath-day [Note: See the title to the Psalm.], which was instituted to commemorate Gods rest from his creating work. Yet, in the body of the psalm, much is spoken respecting the dispensations of God in his providence: and David, whom I consider as the author of it, had experienced the most wonderful interpositions in his behalf; so that, amongst all the children of men, there was not one who had more cause than he to sing of the loving-kindness and the faithfulness of Jehovah; of his loving-kindness, in selecting him to such high destinies; and his faithfulness, in accomplishing to him his promises in their full extent. But the language of my text necessarily leads our minds to that greatest and most stupendous of all Gods works, the work of Redemption
[This may be treated either in reference to Redemption generally, as wrought out for us by the incarnation, and death, and resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ; or with a special reference to any one of these topics which may be suited to a particular season. But, in whatever way it be treated, the greatness of the work must be the point chiefly insisted on.]
II.
His experience in the contemplation of them
He was filled,
1.
With triumphant joy
[It is not possible to view these wonders of Redeeming Love, and not feel the reasonableness of that command: Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice [Note: Php 4:4.]. Well does the Psalmist say, It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. It is indeed good, at all times [Note: ver. 2.], and in every possible way [Note: ver. 3.]. In this holy exercise should every faculty of our souls be engaged [Note: Psa 103:1.].]
2.
With adoring gratitude
[This, after all, is the fittest expression of our joy. The wonders of Gods love are so stupendous, that all attempts to celebrate them aright must fail; and silence, the profoundest silence, on such a subject, if proceeding from an overwhelming sense of it, may justly be accounted the sublimest eloquence. The Psalmists experience was of this kind [Note: ver. 5,]; as were St. Pauls also, when he exclaimed, O the depth [Note: Rom 11:33.]!]
Address
1.
Those who are strangers to this frame
[Alas! how little is this state of mind experienced by the generality of Christians! and in what humiliating terms is their insensibility described in the words following my text! I would not speak offensively, or wound the feelings of any: but I would ask you, whether David speaks too strongly, when he characterizes such persons as brutish and fools [Note: ver. 6.]? You well know that the prophets often speak the same language [Note: Isa 1:3 and Jer 8:7.]; and I pray you to repent of your insensibility, that these characters may no longer attach to you.]
2.
Those who aspire after it
[Let your thoughts soar to high and heavenly things; and especially let them be occupied on the works of God, and on his perfections as displayed in the great mystery of Redemption. Surely you shall not long meditate on these things in vain. Your God will cause you to triumph in Christ Jesus. But never rest, till you have those overwhelming views of Christ which characterize the worship of heaven. The glorified saints and angels all fall upon their faces before the throne: seek ye the same frame of mind with them; and soon you shall join with them in everlasting hallelujahs to God and to the Lamb.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
What work, I would ask my soul, hath the Lord made me glad through? Oh! what innumerable subjects may I find for gratitude and joy through the whole kingdoms of his word, his providence, and his grace? And, my soul, wilt thou not chiefly praise him, and shall not thy sabbath-day song, and thy every-day song, be of his work of grace upon thy heart? Dost thou not cry out here, O Lord! how great are thy works!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 92:4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
Ver. 4. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad, &c. ] And I will improve this cheerfulness to thankfulness, Jas 5:13 . On the sabbath we ought solummodo spiritualibus gaudiis repleri, to be filled with spiritual joys only, saith the Council of Paris, held A.D. 820.
I will triumph in the works of thy hands
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
work = act. Hebrew. pa’al Some codices, with two early printed editions and Syriac, read “acts” (plural)
works = labours. Hebrew. ‘asah.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 92:4-6
Psa 92:4-6
THE GREAT WORKS OF GOD
“For thou, Jehovah, hast made me glad through thy work:
I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
How great are thy works, O Jehovah!
Thy thoughts are very deep.
A brutish man knoweth not;
Neither doth a fool understand this!”
“Made me glad through thy work” (Psa 92:4). It is not clear just which works of God gladdened the heart of the psalmist; perhaps the gladness was from “all” of the works of God. Rawlinson supposed that it was probably, “God’s work of providence in the world. The starry heavens alone are enough to inspire any thoughtful person with gladness and praise of God.
“Thy thoughts are very deep” (Psa 92:5). The thoughts of God are beyond the comprehension of any man, regardless of how learned and intelligent he may be. The universe in which we live with its thousands of galaxies arranged according to a pattern in outer space, deployed in an astounding arrangement featuring millions of light years between them, the quasars, the black holes, the jets of astounding energies, the speed of light, the particular attention of God to the tiny speck of matter called `earth,’ and a million other things stagger the imagination of the most intelligent man who ever lived.
Of course, it is also true in this connection, as stated by Addis, that, “God’s counsels are too deep for the stupid man.”[5]
“The evidence for the exalted nature of God’s works and thoughts is so great that a man who falls to acknowledge them, must be classified as a brute and a fool. We like Delitzsch’s word for such a man, “Homo brutus.
“Man can neither measure the greatness of God’s works nor fathom the depths of divine thought. The enlightened man, however, perceives the immeasurableness of the one and the unfathomableness of the other; but a man of animal nature, `homo brutus,’ a blockhead, or one dull in mind, whose carnal nature outweighs his intellectual and spiritual nature, cannot discern how unsearchable are God’s judgments and how untrackable are his ways.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 92:4. David had said (Psa 19:1) that the heavens declare the glory of God. By that same token the works of God would gladden the heart of mankind.
Psa 92:5. The works of God are as great as his thoughts. Isa 55:8-9 declares the thoughts of God are as high as the heavens, and the present verse states that they are deep. We thus. have the two extremes, height and depth, to compare the greatness of God’s mind and contrast it with that of man.
Psa 92:6. Brutish means dull or stupid, and a fool has about the same meaning. Such an individual will not be impressed by the greatness of God’s works.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Psa 64:10, Psa 104:31, Psa 104:34, Psa 106:47, Psa 106:48, Psa 126:3, Psa 145:6, Psa 145:7, Isa 61:2-11, Isa 65:13, Isa 65:14, Isa 66:10, Isa 66:11, Jer 31:7, Jer 31:11-13, Zep 3:14-16, Luk 1:47, Joh 16:22, 2Co 2:14, Rev 18:20
Reciprocal: 2Ch 7:10 – glad 2Ch 30:25 – rejoiced Neh 12:43 – God Job 36:24 – magnify Job 37:7 – that Psa 4:7 – put Psa 9:2 – I will be Psa 28:5 – Because Psa 46:8 – Come Psa 98:5 – General Psa 111:2 – that have Psa 139:14 – marvellous
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 92:4-5. For thou hast made me glad through thy work, &c. Which thou didst create by thine almighty power, and dost still govern with infinite wisdom. A prospect of creation, in the vernal season, says Dr. Horne, fallen as it is, inspires the mind with joy, which no words can express. But how doth the regenerate soul exult and triumph at beholding that work of Gods hands whereby he creates all things anew in Christ Jesus! If we can be pleased with such a world as this, where sin and death have fixed their habitation; shall we not much rather admire those other heavens and that other earth wherein dwell righteousness and life? What are we to think of the palace, since even the prison is not without its charms! O Lord, how great are thy works! Great beyond expression, beyond conception! The products of boundless power and unsearchable wisdom; mens works are nothing to them. We cannot comprehend the greatness of Gods works, and therefore must reverently and awfully wonder, and even stand amazed at the magnificence of them. Thy thoughts are very deep Here he assigns the reason of the inconceivable greatness and grandeur of Gods works. Mens works are little and trifling, for their thoughts are shallow: but Gods works are very great, and such as cannot be measured, because his thoughts are very deep, and such as cannot be fathomed. Or, he speaks of Gods counsels and methods in the government of the world and of his church. All his counsels, whether in creation or providence, as much exceed the contrivances of human wisdom as his works do the efforts of human power!
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
92:4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy {d} work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
(d) He shows the use of the Sabbath day: that is, to meditate God’s works.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The psalmist gloried in the Lord’s goodness to him, which was evident in His acts for him. God’s thoughts, as He revealed them to His prophets and in His Word, also drew the writer’s praise. These revelations helped him understand what God was doing. He understood, as those who do not benefit from God’s revelation cannot, that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary.