Psalm 92 Summary

As we wrap up this little series on Psalm 92, I’d like to revisit it as a whole.  After all, while there is much that can be learned from verse to verse in the Bible, it is a complete message, with valuable lessons at every level.

To start with, let’s remember to put praise first.  I believe that we will spend eternity giving glory to God (perhaps through various activities, and almost certainly not just sitting on a cloud playing a harp), but we shouldn’t wait until Jesus’ return to start that process.

• Praise God in the morning and at night, and in-between.
• When you see beauty, creativity, and intelligence in creation, praise God.
• When you remember God’s blessings to you, praise Him.
• When God answers your prayers as you have asked them, praise Him for His provision.
• When God answers your prayers by saying “no” or “wait”, praise Him for doing what is best.
• When you are hurting and cry out to God, remember His faithfulness and praise Him then, too

Let’s also remember that injustice is temporary, and evil will not win in the end.  Thinking otherwise is ignorant (whether unintentionally or on purpose) and unwise.  Look ahead to the reconciliation of all things, when our justification comes from God and everyone sees the cost of sin.  Until then, let us trust in God’s power and His character, and praise Him that we can be confident that He is already victorious: we just need to look for the triumph of good over evil, and wait until the passage of time gets us to the point where this is ultimately settled.

Let’s make sure that we’re not God’s enemies, now that we know what will happen to them.  Or, maybe we should say that we should ensure that we don’t remain or become God’s enemies, since He offers us reconciliation even after we made ourselves His enemies along the way (see Romans 3:21-26).

And, let’s find our strength in God’s strength, whether we do so in a nice clean church building, outside in the dirt where He makes beautiful flowers grow, or anywhere in-between.  If (or since?) we believe – really believe – that God can do anything, do our prayers reflect that?  Do our choices reflect that?  Do our attempts to do better on our own reflect that, when we should turn things over to Him?

As the Lookout (cited below) says, “The Lord remains no matter what. He desires that people worship him, but his royalty is not threatened if people choose not to do so…People who worship God come and people who do not worship God go, but God remains. He is consistent within himself; he exists whether people worship him or not.”

To close, do you remember the children’s song that went, “Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah.  Praise Ye the Lord!”?  (In fact, these two things mean the same thing: Hallelujah translates approximately to “Praise the Lord”.)  In VBS, I remember the kids being divided up into two groups.  One would sing the “Hallelu”s, while the other would sing the “Praise Ye the Lord”s.  This would usually turn into a shouting contest, as each group tried to be louder than the other.

However, maybe this is the simple lesson that we need to remember every day: Hallelujah.  Praise Ye the Lord.

From Sunday School lesson prepared for October 30, 2022

References:

• The Lookout, October 30, 2022, © 2022 Christian Standard Media.
• Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
• The College Press NIV Commentary, Psalms, Volume 2, Walter D. Zorn, © 2004, College Press Publishing Co., Joplin, MO.