Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 92:14

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 92:14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age — They shall continue to grow in grace, and be fruitful to the end of their lives. It is a rare case to find a man in old age full of faith, love, and spiritual activity.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 92-93 God’s rule in an evil world

According to the title, Psalms 92:0 was for use on the Sabbath. God is pleased when people cease their ordinary work for a day in order to engage in worshipping him and proclaiming his love (92:1-4). As they meditate upon the nature of God, their thinking will be changed. They will see from God’s point of view and will understand things that are misunderstood by the ordinary person. They will see, for instance, that they need not puzzle over why the wicked prosper. God is the supreme ruler and judge, and he is always in control. In the end the wicked will be destroyed and their prosperity lost for ever (5-9).

By contrast, those who remain true to God will prosper. As a wild ox grows powerful, so the righteous will be strengthened. As privileged people are anointed with oil, so the righteous will be blessed (10-11). As magnificent trees flourish, so the righteous will be strong and fruitful. As a house built on a rocky hill is safe, so the righteous will be secure (12-15).
God is the sovereign Lord and he reigns in majesty. He existed before the universe and he rules over it (93:1-2). The opposition of the ungodly world is like a raging flood that tries to overturn his throne, but it is powerless to move him (3-4). His glory is displayed not only in his power but also in his holiness. People should therefore obey and worship him (5).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS

“They are planted in the house of Jehovah; They shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and green: To show that Jehovah is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

“They are planted in the house of Jehovah” “The psalmist thinks of the righteous as trees planted in the temple courts where they flourish in the presence of God.”The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., p. 501. It is unknown whether trees were actually grown on the grounds of the Jewish tabernacle or temple; but the metaphor is not teaching us about trees, but about the righteous. It is an eternal fact that “the righteous” are always “planted,” that is, established, in the service of God and in his consistent and continual worship.

Leupold commented that, “Regarding this verse (Psalms 92:13) as figurative language yields a good meaning.”H. C. Leupold, p. 662.

“Fruit in old age… to show that Jehovah is upright” The longevity and fruitfulness of God’s true worshippers is promised here, and there is a special quality of such fruitfulness in that it does not cease with the decease of the righteous. “Their works follow with them” (Revelation 14:13); and one reason why the “crown of righteousness” cannot be awarded to saints immediately when they die, but must wait, as Paul said, until “That Day,” is that the eternal achievement of any faithful soul cannot be fully known until it is concluded; and that conclusion occurs not at death, but at the Judgment.

And how about this present life? Is it really true that prosperity and longevity are provided for the people of God, as distinguished from the rest of mankind? The answer is a bold and unequivocal affirmative. Where is the world’s greatest prosperity? Where are the longest life-spans? Are such things to be found where the gospel of Christ is unknown? The answer is NO! Nothing any more clearly illustrates this than the example of Russia, once a nominally “Christian nation.” They renounced God and his holy religion in 1917; and after 73 years, the whole nation was starving to death, and who was feeding them? The United States of America was selling them 200 million metric tons of wheat every year for the last dozen years of that godless regime.

“To show that Jehovah is upright” The facts just cited not merely show that Jehovah is upright, but that he is truthful. He blesses those who serve him and lays a heavy hand of judgment upon those who do not serve him.

“The happy and flourishing old age of the righteous are a strong indication of God’s faithfulness and truth, showing, as it does, that God keeps his promises, and never forsakes those who put their trust in him.”The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 283. In cases of individuals, this great truth may not always be visible; but when the larger view, as evidenced in the nations of the world mentioned above, the astounding truth of what is written here shines like a beacon in the night.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

They shall still bring forth fruit in old age - As a tree that is carefully planted and cultivated may be expected to live long, and to bear fruit even when it is old. It is true that such a tree may be cut down; or that it may be blown down by winds and tempests; or that it may be unproductive, but as a general rule, and as laying the foundation of a reasonable hope, such a tree may be expected to live long, and to produce fruit even when it is old. So of one devoted early to God, and trained up under the influences of religion. The care, the culture, the habits of temperance, of industry, of moderation, and of sobriety so formed, are favorable to length of days, and lay the foundation for usefulness when old age comes. An aged man should be useful. He should feel that whatever wisdom he may possess as the result of long study and experience, belongs to God and to truth; that one great reason for sparing him is that he may be useful; that the world needs the benefit of his counsel and his prayers; that his life is lengthened out not for his own ease or enjoyment, but that virtue and piety may be extended in the world by all the influence which he can bring to bear upon it in advanced years. It may be added that, as a matter of fact, those who are thus trained and are thus preserved, are useful in old age. No one thus spared need be useless; perhaps almost none are. There is something appropriate for old men to do, as there is for the young and the middle-aged; and it should be the object of an aged Christian to find out what that is, and to do it. The word rendered “old age means literally grey or hoary hair.”

They shall be fat - The meaning is, that they shall be vigorous, or have the appearance of vigor and health.

And flourishing - Margin, as in Hebrew, “green.” This image is taken from a tree, as if it were still green in old age, or gave no indications of decay.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 92:1-15 is a psalm for the Sabbath day.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night ( Psalms 92:1-2 ),

It's just a good thing to praise the Lord in song, to just show forth the lovingkindness of God. Every morning, start the day with a song. Every evening, end the day with a song. For the faithfulness of God. Lord, You've watched over me. You've kept me all through the day.

Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For 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. A brutish man does not know; neither doth a fool understand this. But when the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever ( Psalms 92:3-7 ):

My father for years was a sales engineer for the southern county's gas company when we were growing up in Ventura. And life in the home of a salesman during the Depression years was feast or famine. If Dad had a lot of sales, good commissions, we had... we feasted. When the sales weren't so good, then it was tight around the house. But fortunately, my dad was a super salesman and the Lord really blessed him in his sales. And he was a super salesman for the gas company, but also for the Lord. He was a super witness for Jesus Christ. Always witnessing wherever he'd go to sell a refrigerator, stove, or whatever; he'd always leave a witness for the Lord.

He was coming towards the end of the month and he hadn't had any sales that month. He'd been up in Ojai trying to close a deal and it didn't close. And he was riding home in the car and not knowing really what to do. Because, where are we going to get the money for the month's bills? and so forth. Because there will be no commission, just the salary this month, and he couldn't live on the salary. And my father was a very emotional type person. He was capable of great highs and great lows. And he was very low at this point, very depressed. And he was looking out in the field and he saw the cows out there just eating the grass. And he said, "They look so contented like they didn't have a worry in the world." They must have been Carnation cows. But he said to the Lord, "Lord, it isn't fair. Here I am, your child, I'm your servant. And I'm so worried and so upset because I don't know how I'm going to be paying my bills, and look at those dumb cows out there. So peaceful, so contented eating the grass and the whole field is full of green grass. They've got all that they could ever want and yet here I am; I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills. Lord, it isn't fair that I should have to worry when I'm Your child and those cows can have it so good. They don't have a worry in the world." And the Lord spoke to him and said, "Yes, but they don't have any future. And you have a future with Me."

The psalmist here declares, "The brutish man doesn't know, nor does a fool consider or understand this. But when the wicked spring forth as the grass, when those workers of iniquity flourish, they're going to be destroyed forever." Don't be envious of them. Foolish to be envious of them, because they're going to get wiped out. And so it is great folly to envy the wicked. So many times we, I think, are guilty of that. We look at the wicked and we think, "Lord, they seem to have everything they want, and here I am trying to serve You and I've got all these problems and all." We don't take into consideration the end results, what the future holds. "But they shall be destroyed forever."

But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. For, lo, your enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of unicorn: and be anointed with fresh oil ( Psalms 92:8-10 ).

The enemies of the Lord, they're going to perish. The workers of iniquity, they'll be scattered. But Lord, You'll exalt me.

My eye shall see my desire upon my enemies, and my ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me. The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon ( Psalms 92:11-12 ).

When my dad got back to the office in Ventura, there were some people there looking at a stove. He went up to them and he said, you know, began to point out the features they said, "We want it." He signed them up for the stove. Pretty soon some people came in, bought a refrigerator, and before the day was over, he had enough sales to provide great commissions for that month, and God just really took care of us in a very beautiful way. My father won the award several years running of the most outstanding salesman in the United States for the Servel Corporation. Won many awards for that. In fact, he had a very interesting experience. He was out in the Miners Oak area, had just signed up a customer for a new stove, refrigerator, furnace, and then started witnessing to the guy. And the guy was real antagonistic to the Christian witness and got so mad he began to curse my dad. He said, "Let me have the contract back," and he ripped up the contract. And he said, "I don't know how the gas company can afford to hire fools, men that talk to people about Jesus Christ and all," and just really berated him.

And so my dad came home and was discouraged coming home, because you don't like... it's hard to suffer reproach for Christ. When my dad got home, there was a letter there. He opened it up and it was, "Congratulations, you've won first place in the United States again for Servel for the fifth year in a row, and this year we're going to send you to San Diego to the World's Fair in San Diego, and all expenses." And there is a check in there and everything else. In fact, there was a picture and it was a hundred-dollar bill. "Let me be the first to congratulate you for what you've done." All these prizes.

Well, there was a football game going that night and my dad said, "Come on, son, let's go to the football game." So we headed for the football game and we were playing that night against a team and the stadium was just packed. We got there a little late. And way up towards the top there were a couple of seats, so Dad and I made our way up there and we sat down. But as we were getting in, Dad looked, and right behind us was the guy that that afternoon had just cursed him and said, "I don't know how the gas company can afford to hire fools," and all. Dad had the letter still in his pocket, and so he just handed the letter back to the guy. And the guy let out a few oh's, and says, "Come on back tomorrow, Mr. Smith, I really do need that refrigerator and stove."

Oh, "my eye shall see my desire upon my enemies, my ears shall hear my desire the wicked that rise up against me. The righteous shall flourish."

Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age ( Psalms 92:13-14 );

So some encouragement here. The next part I don't know though.

they shall be fat ( Psalms 92:14 )

Just fulfilling the Word, how can you help it, you know?

fat and flourishing; To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him ( Psalms 92:14-15 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 92

In this psalm, the unknown writer praised God for the goodness of His acts and the righteousness of His character.

"Psalms 90-92 are united by the development of concepts and the repetition of vocabulary. These psalms lead the worshiper from a meditation on the transiency of life (Psalms 90), a call for wisdom (Psalms 91), to a climactic celebration of divine deliverance and protection (Psalms 92)." [Note: Ibid., p. 602.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Praise for God’s righteousness 92:8-15

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Palm trees produced tasty fruit, so they symbolized fruitfulness. Cedars were not subject to decay, so they stood for long life in the ancient Near Eastern mentality (cf. Psalms 92:7). Both types of trees were also beautiful and desirable. The writer likened the godly to these trees planted in the temple environs. They represent people who delight in drawing near to God (cf. Psalms 1:3; Psalms 52:8). Such people praise God for His consistent righteousness. Because of His unwavering righteousness, He is a sure foundation-similar to a large rock-on whom people can build their lives (cf. Matthew 7:24-27). [Note: See Richard D. Patterson, "Psalms 92:12-15: The Flourishing of the Righteous," Bibliotheca Sacra 166:663 (July-September 2009):271-88.]

Reflection on God’s good acts and His righteous character gives His people optimism as they face life. As believers, we can see things in their proper perspective and go through life rejoicing.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

They shall still bring forth fruit in old age,.... Being thus planted and watered, they shall not only bring forth the fruits of righteousness, but shall continue, and go on to do so, and even when they are grown old; contrary to all other trees, which, when old, cease bearing fruit; but so do not the righteous; grace is often in the greatest vigour when nature is decayed; witness Abraham, Job, David, Zachariah, and Elisabeth, and good old Simeon, who went to the grave like shocks of corn, fully ripe:

they shall be fat and flourishing; or "green", full of sap and moisture, abound with green leaves and precious fruit; or, in other words, abound in grace, and be fruitful in every good work: being ingrafted into the true olive, the church of God, they partake of the root and fatness of it; having a place in the house of the Lord, they are satisfied with the goodness and fatness thereof, and are made to drink of the river of divine pleasure; and being in the courts of the Lord, where a feast of fat things is provided for them, they eat and feed, and so thrive and flourish; the allusion is to fat and flourishing palm trees g.

g "Praeferat Herodis palmetis pinguibus----". Horat. Ep. l. 2. Ep. 2. v. 148.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:   8 But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.   9 For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.   10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.   11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.   12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.   13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.   14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;   15 To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

      The psalmist had said (Psalms 92:4; Psalms 92:4) that from the works of God he would take occasion to triumph; and here he does so.

      I. He triumphs over God's enemies (Psalms 92:7; Psalms 92:9; Psalms 92:11), triumphs in the foresight of their destruction, not as it would be the misery of his fellow-creatures, but as it would redound to the honour of God's justice and holiness. He is confident of the ruin of sinners, 1. Though they are flourishing (Psalms 92:7; Psalms 92:7): When the wicked spring as the grass in spring (so numerous, so thickly sown, so green, and growing so fast), and all the workers of iniquity do flourish in pomp, and power, and all the instances of outward prosperity, are easy and many, and succeed in their enterprises, one would think that all this was in order to their being happy, that it was a certain evidence of God's favour and an earnest of something as good or better in reserve: but it is quite otherwise; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever. The very prosperity of fools shall slay them,Proverbs 1:32. The sheep that are designed for the slaughter are put into the fattest pasture. 2. Though they are daring, Psalms 92:9; Psalms 92:9. They are thy enemies, and impudently avow themselves to be so. They are contrary to God, and they fight against God. They are in rebellion against his crown and dignity, and therefore it is easy to foresee that they shall perish; for who ever hardened his heart against God and prospered? Note, All the impenitent workers of iniquity shall be deemed and taken as God's enemies, and as such they shall perish and be scattered. Christ reckons those his enemies that will not have him to reign over them; and they shall be brought forth and slain before him. The workers of iniquity are now associated, and closely linked together, in a combination against God and religion; but they shall be scattered, and disabled to help one another against the just judgment of God. In the world to come they shall be separated from the congregation of the righteous; so the Chaldee, Psalms 1:5. 3. Though they had a particular malice against the psalmist, and, upon that account, he might be tempted to fear them, yet he triumphs over them (Psalms 92:11; Psalms 92:11): "My eye shall see my desire on my enemies that rise up against me; I shall see them not only disabled from doing me any further mischief, but reckoned with for the mischief they have done me, and brought either to repentance or ruin:" and this was his desire concerning them. In the Hebrew it is no more than thus, My eye shall look on my enemies, and my ear shall hear of the wicked. He does not say what he shall see or what he shall hear, but he shall see and hear that in which God will be glorified and in which he will therefore be satisfied. This perhaps has reference to Christ, to his victory over Satan, death, and hell, the destruction of those that persecuted and crucified him, and opposed his gospel, and to the final ruin of the impenitent at the last day. Those that rise up against Christ will fall before him and be made his footstool.

      II. He triumphs in God, and his glory and grace. 1. In the glory of God (Psalms 92:8; Psalms 92:8): "But thou, O Lord! art most high for evermore. The workers of iniquity who fight against us may be high for a time, and think to carry all before them with a high hand, but thou art high, most high, for evermore. Their height will be humbled and brought down, but thine is everlasting." Let us not therefore fear the pride and power of evil men, nor be discouraged by their impotent menaces, for the moth shall eat them up as a garment, but God's righteousness shall be for ever,Isaiah 51:7; Isaiah 51:8. 2. In the grace of God, his favour and the fruits of it, (1.) To himself (Psalms 92:10; Psalms 92:10): "Thou, O Lord! that art thyself most high, shalt exalt my horn." The great God is the fountain of honour, and he, being high for evermore, himself will exalt his people for ever, for he is the praise of all his saints,Psalms 148:14. The wicked are forbidden to lift up the horn (Psalms 75:4; Psalms 75:5), but those that serve God and the interest of his kingdom with their honour or power, and commit it to him to keep it, to raise it, to use it, and to dispose of it, as he pleases, may hope that he will exalt their horn as the horn of a unicorn, to the greatest height, either in this world or the other: My horn shalt thou exalt, when thy enemies perish; for then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, when the wicked shall be doomed to shame and everlasting contempt. He adds, I shall be anointed with fresh oil, which denotes a fresh confirmation in his office to which he had been anointed, or abundance of plenty, so that he should have fresh oil as often as he pleased, or renewed comforts to revive him when his spirits drooped. Grace is the anointing of the Spirit; when this is given to help in the time of need, and is received, as there is occasion, from the fulness that is in Christ Jesus, we are then anointed with fresh oil. Some read it, When I grow old thou shalt anoint me with fresh oil. My old age shalt thou exalt with rich mercy; so the LXX. Compare Psalms 92:14; Psalms 92:14, They shall bring forth fruit in old age. The comforts of God's Spirit, and the joys of his salvation, shall be a refreshing oil to the hoary heads that are found in the way of righteousness. (2.) To all the saints. They are here represented as trees of righteousness,Isaiah 61:3; Psalms 1:3. Observe, [1.] The good place they are fixed in; they are planted in the house of the Lord,Psalms 92:13; Psalms 92:13. The trees of righteousness do not grow of themselves; they are planted, not in common soil, but in paradise, in the house of the Lord. Trees are not usually planted in a house; but God's trees are said to be planted in his house because it is from his grace, by his word and Spirit, that they receive all the sap and virtue that keep them alive and make them fruitful. They fix themselves to holy ordinances, take root in them, abide by them, put themselves under the divine protection, and bring forth all their fruits to God's honour and glory. [2.] The good plight they shall be kept in. It is here promised, First, That they shall grow, Psalms 92:12; Psalms 92:12. Where God gives true grace he will give more grace. God's trees shall grow higher, like the cedars, the tall cedars in Lebanon; they shall grow nearer heaven, and with a holy ambition shall aspire towards the upper world; they shall grow stronger, like the cedars, and fitter for use. He that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. Secondly, That they shall flourish, both in the credit of their profession and in the comfort and joy of their own souls. They shall be cheerful themselves and respected by all about them. They shall flourish like the palm-tree, which has a stately body (Song of Solomon 7:7), and large boughs, Leviticus 23:40; Judges 4:5. Dates, the fruit of it, are very pleasant, but it is especially alluded to here as being ever green. The wicked flourish as the grass (Psalms 92:7; Psalms 92:7), which is soon withered, but the righteous as the palm-tree, which is long-lived and which the winter does not change. It has been said of the palm-tree, Sub pondere crescit--The more it is pressed down the more it grows; so the righteous flourish under their burdens; the more they are afflicted the more they multiply. Being planted in the house of the Lord (there their root is), they flourish in the courts of our God--there their branches spread. Their life is hid with Christ in God. But their light also shines before men. It is desirable that those who have a place should have a name in God's house, and within his walls, Isaiah 56:5. Let good Christians aim to excel, that they may be eminent and may flourish, and so may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, as flourishing trees adorn the courts of a house. And let those who flourish in God's courts give him the glory of it; it is by virtue of this promise, They shall be fat and flourishing. Their flourishing without is from a fatness within, from the root and fatness of the good olive,Romans 11:17. Without a living principle of grace in the heart the profession will not be long flourishing; but where that is the leaf also shall not wither,Psalms 1:3. The trees of the Lord are full of sap,Psalms 104:16. See Hosea 14:5; Hosea 14:6. Thirdly, That they shall be fruitful. Were there nothing but leaves upon them, they would not be trees of any value; but they shall still bring forth fruit. The products of sanctification, all the instances of a lively devotion and a useful conversation, good works, by which God is glorified and others are edified, these are the fruits of righteousness, in which it is the privilege, as well as the duty, of the righteous to abound; and their abounding in them is the matter of a promise as well as of a command. It is promised that they shall bring forth fruit in old age. Other trees, when they are old, leave off bearing, but in God's trees the strength of grace does not fail with the strength of nature. The last days of the saints are sometimes their best days, and their last work is their best work. This indeed shows that they are upright; perseverance is the surest evidence of sincerity. But it is here said to show that the Lord is upright (Psalms 92:15; Psalms 92:15), that he is true to his promises and faithful to every word that he has spoken, and that he is constant to the work which he has begun. As it is by the promises that believers first partake of a divine nature, so it is by the promises that that divine nature is preserved and kept up; and therefore the power it exerts is an evidence that the Lord is upright, and so he will show himself with an upright man,Psalms 18:25. This the psalmist triumphs in: "He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him. I have chosen him for my rock on which to build, in the clefts of which to take shelter, on the top of which to set my feet. I have found him a rock, strong and stedfast, and his word as firm as a rock. I have found" (and let every one speak as he finds) "that there is no unrighteousness in him." He is as able, and will be as kind, as his word makes him to be. All that ever trusted in God found him faithful and all-sufficient, and none were ever made ashamed of their hope in him.