1A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to praise the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, 2to proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning and Your faithfulness at night 3with the ten-stringed harp and the melody of the lyre. 4For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your deeds; I sing for joy at the works of Your hands. 5How great are Your works, O LORD, how deep are Your thoughts! 6A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand, 7that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed. 8But You, O LORD, are exalted forever! 9For surely Your enemies, O LORD, surely Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. 10But You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; with fine oil I have been anointed. 11My eyes see the downfall of my enemies; my ears hear the wailing of my wicked foes. 12The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain, 15to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and in Him there is no unrighteousness.”
Matthew Henry's Commentary
Praise is the business of the sabbath. (1-6) The wicked shall perish, but God's people shall be exalted. (7-15) 1-6 It is a privilege that we are admitted to praise the Lord, and hope to be accepted in the morning, and every night; not only on sabbath days, but every day; not only in public, but in private, and in our families. Let us give thanks every morning for the mercies of the night, and every night for the mercies of the day; going out, and coming in, let us bless God. As He makes us glad, through the works of his providence for us, and of his grace in us, and both through the great work of redemption, let us hence be encouraged. As there are many who know not the designs of Providence, nor care to know them, those who through grace do so, have the more reason to be thankful. And if distant views of the great Deliverer so animated believers of old, how should we abound in love and praise! 7-15 God sometimes grants prosperity to wicked men in displeasure; yet they flourish but for a moment. Let us seek for ourselves the salvation and grace of the gospel, that being daily anointed by the Holy Spirit, we may behold and share the Redeemer's glory. It is from his grace, by his word and Spirit, that believers receive all the virtue that keeps them alive, and makes them fruitful. Other trees, when 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 their best work: perseverance is sure evidence of sincerity. And may every sabbath, while it shows forth the Divine faithfulness, find our souls resting more and more upon the Lord our righteousness.