Fresh and green

DEVOTION

PSALMS

FRESH AND GREEN

Ps 92

92:1 A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, 2 to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, 3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. 5 How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts! 6 The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, 7 that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.

8 But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.

9 For surely your enemies, O LORD, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. 10 You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured upon me. 11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."

NIV

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to his name. Although the psalmist is saying we should make music with the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp, it would be even better to make music in our heart. That our heart would proclaim his love in the morning and his faithfulness at night. There should be gladness in our heart because of the deeds of the Lord. Our heart will sing, and thus our voice at the works of his hands. We are the works of his hands. How great is the works of his hands. He has done so many great works in our life. There are too many to recount unless we write a book, or at least a long essay. We do sing, our heart is glad, it is overjoyed because of all you have done. We look at the heavens at night and see the multitude of stars, the universe on display. We look to the heavens in the day and rejoice at the light of the sun, the warmth, the blueness of the sky and at times dotted with great billows of clouds. We look to the ground and see wonderful trees, bushes, grasses and flowers of all kinds. We look to the joy of those animals you gave us, and the smiles those little pets you gave us bring to our face. Even the rain makes us feel your faithfulness as you water your earth. The seasons all have their beauty which is painted for us by the works of your hands to enjoy. We sing, we rejoice, we live with gladness of heart. The people of the world, the wicked cannot understand this kind of joy. They miss out on so much. They might flourish in the world for a moment, but they will also perish for eternity. Could we not help them to understand? Surely the Spirit is at work in their lives, certainly he is making every effort to convict them of their sin and need of repentance. But some will always suppress him, suppress the truth the Lord planted within them in their mother’s womb, for all men have the knowledge of God, they simply decide to suppress it with their evil deeds. Because of that, they will perish. But God will lift up our life. He will exalt us. He will pour fine oils upon us. What a blessing to know the Lord and to be known by him. We will flourish, our lives will be like a palm tree. Our lives will be as great trees bearing much fruit, even in our old age. When our bodies show the signs of age, it matters not for we continue to flourish, abounding with much fruit, staying fresh and green. There is no place for us to sit in our old age. They is not such word as retirement for the aged, for we remain green, fresh, bearing fruit, proclaiming the Lord is upright. We proclaim the Lord is our Rock and there is no wickedness in him. God does no bad thing to his people, God only does good, for God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Any wickedness, evil, wrongdoing comes from the evil one himself. But we will rejoice in the works of the Lord. We will continue to rejoice always be fresh and green. We will flourish.