Psalm 92: A Psalm For The Sabbath (Part 4)

by on March 15, 2025 | Comment

This fourth part concludes our study on Psalm 92, which has considered how the Lord’s Day is an often neglected, yet crucial, component in the Christian’s arsenal. The superscription of Psalm 92, “for the Sabbath,” indicates that this psalm, broadly speaking, is especially appropriate to the Sabbath, or in the new covenant, the Lord’s Day. This psalm teaches that real, genuine spiritual blessing is to be found in communing with and delighting in God. In the assembly of the people, the Lord’s disciple really can experience God to the blessing of his soul.

We also noted that there are both present and eschatological dimensions to this psalm. Like Psalm 1, there is a sense in which this psalm is true of all God’s people, but also that it is supremely true of Christ. It is those dimensions to which we now turn in this final installment.

A Psalm of the Savior

Let us look again at verses 8–11. Here, through the unique accents and style of biblical Hebrew, we find a picture of struggle, of battle, and of God’s covenant faithfulness in giving his servant victory over his enemies. These words could have easily been written by David or Moses. Commentators tend to think that one of them is the likely author of Psalm 92.1

In this section, we see a common biblical theme—a biblical motif, really—being employed: salvation through judgment. A fuller articulation of this biblical-theological theme might be: God’s glory in giving salvation to his people through judgment and the destruction of his enemies. From Noah, to Moses, to Joshua, to David, to Christ—over and over again in the Scriptures we see God giving salvation to his people in this way. All over the Scriptures, there are instances of God’s glory being displayed as some parties receive judgment while the people of God receive salvation. Think of the Exodus event at the Red Sea: Pharoah’s armies? Wiped out; destroyed. God’s people? Delivered. Salvation-through-judgment. Think of Calvary: The wrath of God fell upon Christ. Christ was judged. The people of God received salvation through or out of the act of judgment that befell Christ. God’s glory is displayed in salvation-through-judgment.

In many ways, this psalm sets us up and points us to look ahead to another Sabbath victory that was to come.

8 But you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9 For behold, your enemies, O LORD . . . shall perish;
10 But you have exalted my horn . . . you have poured over me fresh oil. . .
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;

Can you think of another Sabbath, of a great battle, when the enemies of the Lord were scattered, when the servant of the Lord emerged vindicated and victorious? Of course you can. This biblical theme finds its most climactic instance in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Colossians 2:14–15, Paul says:

Nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

In 2 Timothy 1:10, Paul writes:

Our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Now, some readers may perhaps be thinking that we are stretching the boundaries of the calendar—that we are blurring the lines between Saturday and Sunday, between the old covenant Sabbath and the new covenant Lord’s Day. But such a perceived tension simply underscores the enormous ramifications that the resurrection of Jesus Christ had on the rhythm of life itself. Everything that was a believer’s delight and joy about an old covenant Sabbath Saturday now shifts to Sunday, for the Lord Jesus rose again early on that morning of the first day of the week (Luke 24:1).

The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) puts it like this:

[God] . . . has particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week: and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath. (WCF 21.7; emphasis added)

You see, there is real gospel here in Psalm 92. Recall that the “first matters” of the gospel Paul articulated thusly: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3–4). Moreover, this Christ who died and was buried the first day of the week was raised for our justification (Rom 4:25). Psalm 92 reveals a day at the crossroads of creation and re-creation where we see and get a taste of the power of the ages to come; in the triumph of Christ on the first day of the week, there is a first-fruit of the inbreaking of the age to come into the now. With that shift from Sabbath to Lord’s Day in this post-resurrection church age, the people of God get a weekly taste of the ages to come as they experience God on his day and enjoy the rest and salvation of his people together with all the saints.

As noted in our previous articles, Psalm 92 is arranged in the psalter deliberately and is intended to be read in tandem with Psalms 90 and 91. The sadness of Psalm 90 and the confidence of God’s sheltering protection in Psalm 91 give way to an anticipation of joy and deliverance in Psalm 92. Surely, any believer in Christ may have this confidence, but it is supremely true of Christ, the man of Psalm 92. The triumph and deliverance spoken of in Psalm 92 were experienced by him in his glorious resurrection, and they also foretell of that coming day of eschatological glory, when all the church shall at last be delivered out of this present darkness and arrive at last into the “realms of endless day.”2

The gladness of Psalm 92 as it pertains to Jesus Christ surely overflows to the church. In the psalms, the exalted “horn” spoken of in verse 10 often refers to the king of David’s line. The imagery of a flourishing tree is often used in reference to kings. The strong connections between Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 and the repeated imagery employed here in Psalm 92 (flourishing trees; a day of coming and assured victory) reinforce the message that the promises of Psalm 92 will find their fulfillment in God’s Messiah and thus overflow to his church.

One can easily imagine the words and mindset of Psalm 92 being taken up by the Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry. Indeed, Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that Christ, “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We are also reminded that the Christian’s hope is grounded on the sure and certain victories of King Jesus. Psalm 92 finds its fulfillment in 1 Corinthians 15 as the risen Christ conquers every rebel power and “hands the kingdom over to God the Father”:3

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Cor 15:24–26)

Andrew Bonar puts it poignantly:

Is this the Lord Jesus? Is he the Righteous One? It may be, he is referred to as the model Righteous One, the only true full specimen of God’s palms and cedars, though his members in him come in for their share. Indeed, is not he the true Adam, who takes up this Sabbath-song with all his heart and soul? On his resurrection morning, and on the morning of the resurrection of his own, it suits him more than any other.

If Sabbaths now are days of grace to men, what shall that great Sabbath be? O what shall saints be then . . . how much more when the “house of God” is the “palace” of the Great King! . . . [This is] The Righteous One’s Sabbath-song, anticipating final rest and prosperity.4

Surely, Psalm 92 is a psalm that tells us of the Savior.

Delighting in His Day

In closing, there are any number of applications we could make. As we have meditated on the truths displayed in Psalm 92 and the general themes pertaining to the Lord’s Day, the Christian Sabbath, perhaps we realize how we ought to prioritize and cherish the day as a blessing and good gift from our Father

Perhaps it strikes us that our hearts should sink for friends who are really persuaded that the fourth commandment is removed, that there is no longer a set-aside day to experience God in his glory as he is among his gathered people. What a treasure such folks have misguidedly cast aside.

In my experience, whenever the topic of the Lord’s Day or the Christian Sabbath comes up, ninety-nine times out of one hundred, the conversation devolves into: “Yes, but . . . can I do this? Can I go shopping or work in the yard on the Lord’s Day, etc.?”

Dear readers, in my estimation, I liken such a mindset to the newlywed couple who spends their whole Caribbean honeymoon at the hardware store, or to the man who passes up the Thanksgiving banquet in his dining room because he is convinced that the fourth Thursday in November is the optimal time for him to seed his lawn before winter. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). At its heart, the issue is: What is the Lord’s Day for?

Friends, the bottom line biblical reality is that we have a God to enjoy and a Savior to praise, and God has given us an entire day each week to do exactly that! He rose on that first day of the week for us! We have his ransomed people to be with and his Word to enrich our souls—we have feasting for our souls all day long to take up our schedule. Why in the world would we ever trade such a day away for paltry substitutes? Cannot lesser things be dealt with on other days? Shall we not take full advantage of the weekly feast day of the soul that the Lord has been pleased to give?

Perhaps the Puritan George Swinnock best captured the conviction of the psalmist:

Hail, thou that art highly favored of God, thou map of heaven, thou golden spot of the week, thou market-day of souls, thou daybreak of eternal brightness, thou queen of days, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among days . . . All the graces triumph in thee, all the ordinances conspire to enrich thee; the Father ruleth thee, the Son rose upon thee, the Spirit hath overshadowed thee . . . On thee light was created, the Holy Ghost descended, life hath been restored, Satan subdued, sin mortified, souls sanctified, the grave, death and hell conquered . . . Oh the mountings of mind, the ravishing happiness of heart, the solace of soul which on thee they enjoy in the blessed Saviour!5

May it be that we would come to love the Lord’s Day more and cherish it as a God-given means to glorify him and enjoy him forever.

Notes

  1. Allan Harman, Psalms: A Mentor Commentary, vol. 1–2, Mentor Commentaries (Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor, 2011), 675; Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1975), 363.
  2. A line from the hymn, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” which comes from an ancient, fifth-century Greek liturgy.
  3. Christopher Ash, The Psalms: A Christ-Centered Commentary, 4 vols. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024), 3.559.
  4. Andrew A. Bonar, Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860), 280–81.
  5. Thomas Smith ed., The Works of George Swinnock, 5 vols. (London: James Nisbet and Co, 1868), 1.258–59.\

©Sean Morris. All Rights Reserved.

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  • Sean Morris
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    Sean was educated at Grove City College, Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson, MS), and the University of Glasgow (Scotland). He is an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, and serves as a minister at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, TN. He also serves as the Academic Dean of the Blue Ridge Institute for Theological Education. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Historical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sean lives in Oak Ridge with his wife, Sarah, along with their children and useless beagle.

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