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Well, good evening. Again, you can open your Bibles to Psalm 92. Psalm 92. So my hope tonight is that you'll see that the psalmist is very excited about what he's writing about, and that you'll give ear to what he has to say. And ultimately, if you haven't already, that you will join the chorus that he's speaking of, that you'll join the chorus giving thanks to God.

So don't miss out. You don't want to be left out of this group. Psalm 92, let's read. A Psalm, a song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High, to declare your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.

For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work. At the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O Lord. Your thoughts are very deep. The stupid man cannot know, the fool cannot understand this, that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever.

But you, O Lord, are on high forever. For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish, and all evildoers shall be scattered. But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox, you have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes are falling. Have seen the downfall of my enemies.

My ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord. They flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age. They are ever full of sap and green to declare that the Lord is upright.

He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Oh, wonderful. Well, we can just start by even looking at the text, a psalm, a song for the Sabbath. This is the only psalm in your Bible with this title, dedicated solely or primarily for the reading or singing on the Sabbath day.

Of course, the day that God set apart for ancient Israel to stop all business pursuits and worship him. It was a weekly realigning of sorts that God built into their week. So you can picture a family together, sundown Friday to every sundown Saturday, 24 hours together eating, reading, singing.

And this very well may have been one of the psalms that they were singing together. But in no way is it limited to their use in ancient Israel or only on one day. So as we go through this psalm, I urge you to join the chorus. And if you're going to join the chorus, or if you're going to consider, at least, you need to see three things.

First, its content. Second, what happens to those who do not. Don't join the chorus in giving thanks to God. And thirdly, those who do join the chorus. So we can start. Verse 1: The content. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High.

So, in a world that offers many ways to spend our time and resources, we often have to use judgment about how we're going to invest our time, things that profit or things that don't. But here in verse 1, we have a beautiful, objective truth, an advertisement that we don't have to decipher.

We don't have to wonder how it's good to spend our time. Simply profound. It is good to give thanks to the Lord. It's good for our soul. It's good for others. It's good for God's kingdom. On the other side of things, it's easy to see the evil that comes with a thankless world.

Thanklessness. Composed of self-proclaimed, self-made individuals who claim to have earned everything they have without a single helping hand, or especially the helping hand of God. But this thanklessness leads to a plethora of other sins. Selfishness, greed, pride, anger. Maybe that's one reason the psalmist wrote these things. To tell us that it's good to give thanks to God because it's bad to go the other way.

Thanklessness. Or some might say that this statement in verse 1 is not profound in itself. It's actually very boring and quite surface-level to say that it's good to give thanks to the Lord. Well, I would entirely disagree, but even if I grant that point, Held against the backdrop of the world in which we live today, which says, Submitting yourself to God is stupid, useless, foolish, and laughable.

It says it's a Sabbath. Why would I take time to spend thanking God for what he's done, give him glory, when I could be doing something more gratifying? Well, the scriptures say that it's good to be in a place of thanksgiving before God. So while we could camp on Thanksgiving for weeks, suffice it to say that thanksgiving to God takes place in the heart.

This verse isn't just a command to utter mere words from our mouths, thank you, God. But it's a call for us, in addition to this family, to realign their hearts every week. It's a call for us to realign our hearts, giving thanks to God. And until our hearts are aligned with God, we can't give true thanks to Him.

If we don't want what He wants, or love what He loves, or hate what He hates, or care about what God cares about, we can't give true thanks to Him. So when does Thanksgiving happen? It's when we recognize God as the Almighty and the sovereign creator of all things, who's so good, so faithful, the one to which all things belong, and the One who controls every molecule of our existence.

The great God-King that He is, we see all His goodness toward us, and especially the one work, of the person and work of Jesus Christ in forgiving sins, that's when thanksgiving happens. Recognizing God. As such. But if we aren't reconciled to God, if our sins aren't forgiven and our debt paid, we won't give thanks to Him because we can't.

In light of these things, it is profound that it's good to give thanks to God. It's good ethically for its right, it's good emotionally, it pleases our hearts, and it's good practically because it leads other people to Him, and it's a good place to be. Verse 1 goes on with what is good to say, to sing praises to your name, O Most High.

Have you ever thought about how it can be good to sing? Some of you are thinking, Oh, it's good that I'm not singing. I fall in that camp too. But let me tell you why it's good to sing, anyways, regardless of your vocal cords. What are we doing when we sing?

We're saying something that we think or that we're embracing. You think of something as simple as the national anthem: We're proclaiming support for the land where we live. Think of happy birthday. The one singing, expressing thankfulness for the person whose birthday it is, the person hearing the singing knows that those around are thankful for them.

And how does it all start? How does this chorus start? Usually, one brave person, happy birthday, and everyone jumps in, right? And I'm not going to sing more than one and a half words. So that's all. But do you get the picture? So, singing, human to human. How much more important, how much better is it to sing praises to God, the Most High God?

It's much more important, and it is very good. And according to the Psalms, the Most High God is said to thunder from the heavens, inhabit the holy city of God, uphold kings by his steadfast love, and he himself, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.

This is the character of the one to whom we are commanded to sing. Do you see why it's good to sing praises to his name? He deserves it. He absolutely deserves it. The psalmist continues with what is good in verses 2 and 3, saying, To declare your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.

And I just can't think of a better way to start the morning. There's something special about the dark hours of the morning. It brings us to God as we think about his goodness preserving us through another night of rest. While we were asleep, the God of the universe watched over us.

We can learn so much from a single verse about renewing our minds in the morning. It's this steadfast love that we think about in the morning that keeps us from being conformed to the world. Such an appropriate theme for the morning. And his faithfulness by night. When the sights and sounds of creation dim, the children of God don't cease to give thanks to him.

Evening is a wonderful time for retrospect. And do this, thinking about the busy day and all associated memories, thinking of the faithfulness of God and bringing about all that has come to pass. This was the expectation for ancient Israel on their Sabbath day of rest to think about, and it certainly is a theme for us to learn from.

Then the three instruments, the three instruments that we haven't seen here at Emmanuel. They give us a variety of praise. The lute is comparable to maybe an ancient guitar, the harp, as most of you have probably seen drawings of, maybe a triangular instrument with strings on it, and the lyre, a hand-held horseshoe-shaped instrument with strings.

But what's the point of the psalmist? Not the three instruments, but that every instrument should be used for praising God. And an instrument that the psalmist interestingly doesn't mention is the human heart. Not an instrument, I know. Maybe a bad question, but this is where worship starts, and it's certainly the most important instrument, what God demands above all else.

Charles Spurgeon says, Fine music without devotion is but a splendid garment upon a corpse. So if we play wonderful music, as this verse says, with all the finest skill, but have no devotion to God, we are nothing. So this is the chorus. This is what it sounds like.

And verse 4 continues, saying, For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work. At the works of your hands I sing for joy. This verse answers the question, why? Was the psalmist giving thanks to God in the first place? Well, because the works of the Lord have made him glad.

This psalmist is one who has been personally satisfied by God. He's tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord, and he wants us to join with him. Whether he's referring to the work of God being creation, which would be very appropriate given the Sabbath day for Israel is modeled after God's rest after the sixth day of creation, or if he's talking about day-to-day providence, we don't know what he's talking about, but in either case, there's reason for joy.

And how about us, thousands of years after this is written, being able to look more clearly at the work of the Lord? When we think about the life and death, the redeeming love displayed through Jesus, and we look at that work, there is no more wonderful work. And if it doesn't produce joy in you, then follow me through this.

Think of this: a man is in debt to a king. It's over a lifetime's worth of debt. He needs to pay back the king, but all the while the man is in shackles, enslaved to another person, a cruel master. No chance of ever repaying the king. The slave has dug himself into a deep hole with no real path out.

Even if he worked for the rest of his lifetime, he wouldn't earn enough to repay the debt. But he can't even do that because he's in bondage to a cruel master, stuck working, no real passion. Hope. Maybe you think of this. Probably heard recently a famous lawyer in our country got put in prison to serve back-to-back life sentences.

How can you serve that? All we can give is one life. But back to the illustration. You think of the slave. It may as well be a double life sentence. How can he serve that? Well, his debt is large and it seems to grow even as he works.

Now, suppose another man comes along. Pays the king fully, no more debt. Frees the man from the cruel master, no longer enslaved. What should the former slave do? At least rejoice. He's debt-free. He's no longer a slave. This is the Christian. Owing a debt to God we can't pay.

Our sins against Him cost us our life. Our payment is due to Him, but we are enslaved. But God has made a way to be forgiven and free. And when God reveals this work of redemption to a man, there will be joy and praise. So, as the psalmist in verse 4 is excited about the works of the Lord and they've made him glad, so we too ought to look at the work of the Lord and give thanks to him.

So, this is the content. This is the content of the chorus: giving thanks, singing praise, looking at the word of the Lord, the work of the Lord, being satisfied. And now I want to show you what happens to those who don't join the chorus. Starting in verse 5, it says, How great are your works, O Lord?

Your thoughts are very deep. The stupid man cannot know, the fool cannot understand this, that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever. So verse 5 acknowledges, again, the greatness of God and introduces this contrast between the thoughts of man and the thoughts of God.

The thoughts of God are deep, but the thoughts of man are shallow. Stupid and foolish men cannot know or understand that death awaits them, and all the wicked notices is what sits right in front of his face. Evildoers can't see past what the world has to offer. And yet, this is the reality of our world: that wicked people often do well.

Sometimes they don't do well. God loves to humble the proud and bring low what was on high. But there are also those who seem to be very blessed by their wicked lives. Who comes to your mind when you think of the most materially successful and secure people in our world or our nation?

Well, the top three that came to my mind. One thing they have in common is ungodliness. And in fact, there's two sins that they actually all share in common: they've destroyed their families and relationships by immoral acts. Or anger, and they strongly advocate for the killing of unborn babies.

How can the most secure, successful people be so wicked? I don't know, but don't be fooled. Our text says, Though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever. And of these three men that I'm thinking of, I know at least two of them have been confronted publicly by Christians to forsake their evil ways, repent of their sins, be forgiven fully by placing their faith in Christ.

And guess how many thought that was a great idea? Neither of them. Why? That's because they don't understand their end. Just like this psalm tells us, intellectual battles with unbelievers rarely, if ever, result in conversion and faith. They don't understand or know the truth. The scriptures tell us this is going to be true of wicked people.

1 Corinthians 2.14 says, The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. And he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The only thing fools can understand is that which appeals to their own senses, what they see, feel, or experience.

No discernment about who they are or the God who made them. They're spiritually dead, and they will be brought low, and they are doomed to destruction forever. And this verse is imprecatory, meaning it has. A curse attached with it. That's not the whole attitude of the psalm. This psalm is rather joyful, but this part contains the truth about the wicked.

They will be destroyed. Destruction is their end. But another English translation, if you're reading from the NASB, captures more fully this reason that wicked people flourish. Verse 7 in the NASB reads: When the wicked sprouted up like grass, and all who did injustice flourished, it was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.

And it gives a more full picture that the purpose of wicked people flourishing is that they would be destroyed, that it would be on display for us. And it's not hyperbole. There is doom and punishment that goes on forever and awaits those who curse God and want nothing to do with him.

It's supposed to be a warning. Contrast, verse 8, but you, O Lord, are on high forever. So this is the middle verse of our psalm. Seven verses before, seven verses after. Some would say the climax of this passage. The Holy One reigns supreme forever, the Lord on high, evil cast down.

The position of the wicked, doomed to destruction brought low. The position of the Lord on high, and on high being a place of authority over the world. And this is what the stupid man fails to see. Fools observe all that's in their sphere, and when they do well, they think they have it all.

Figure it out and have achieved the highest high. But what they fail to see is that they will be brought low forever because the Lord is the one on high forever. And this is the simple truth that changes everything for the Christian: that we are not God. God is the one with authority.

And it should be noted, this is eternal. Others rise and fall, but God inhabits the holy place forever. Verse 7 about eternal punishment. Verse 8, eternal glory. The psalmist goes on in verse 9. For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish. All evildoers shall be scattered.

So a recap, in case you missed it, don't miss this. The way of the wicked is not advantageous, even if it seems so. Profits a man nothing to lose the world, to gain the world and lose his soul. Don't confuse delay for dismissal. Don't confuse God's delay for dismissal.

The presence of divine patience doesn't eliminate the coming judgment. And this is true for all who don't join the chorus. So now you've seen the content of this chorus, giving thanks to God, singing praises to Him, satisfied by His work. You've seen what happens to those who don't join the chorus.

Now let's look at those who do join the chorus. Verse 10. But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox. You have poured over me fresh oil. So the psalmist takes this picture of unconquerable strength, a wild ox, and says, This is what you have made me like.

This is far from boasting. This is glorifying to God. And God, who sits in the highest place of power on high, gets to appoint other people to places of power. And this is why we should rejoice. That God, who is strong, gives strength, that He gives it all the time, especially in times of need.

He says, You've poured over me fresh oil in verse 10. You think of pouring over of oil as anointing or blessing. You can think of Psalm 23, verse 5 and 6, maybe a familiar passage to you. It says, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So, David, anointed by God. What follows? Goodness and mercy. This is what is true of the righteous.

They are taken care of by God. God takes care of his people. It's from this place of being taken care of, security and safety, that we get. Verse 11, my eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies. My ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. So the destruction of evil people is not a secret.

It's not hidden. It can be. And will be observed openly. The enemies of God are doomed to destruction, and the enemies of God's people are doomed to destruction. Vengeance belongs to God, and he will repay. The righteous, however, will not be marked by such doom and disaster. Quite the opposite.

Actually, look at verse 12. The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. So finally, evil's behind. This is the righteous. Who are the righteous? Those who have been forgiven for their sins. Those who have come out of rebellion and resisting God, or put negatively, it's those who no longer seek their own way in life because they've realized the truth that they don't know best.

Proverbs 14:12 says, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. So the righteous are those who have come out of that. The righteous are the ones who believe God and trust him. The righteous, being compared to the palm tree and the cedar tree, is far different from the wicked previously in our text being compared to grass, which is weak, fickle, fragile, can be scorched by the sun in a day, plucked up by a child.

Trees are not so. They're strong and steady. So we see tree analogy: strength, security, endurance. The righteous compared to a palm tree shows they can't easily be uprooted. Have you ever seen a palm tree in a storm, or maybe on the news, in a storm, bending, almost touching the ground, almost never breaking or being uprooted?

They're perfect for making it through a storm. So the righteous, the believer, flourishing like a palm tree. The conditions and storms do not avail in the trials of life, but the righteous always come out on the other side. The righteous compared to a cedar tree shows they won't be tossed to and fro by every circumstance, every wave or wind of doctrine.

The righteous doesn't believe everything he hears, get dominated by his circumstances. But why a cedar tree from Lebanon? Why not a cedar tree from Brian? You could get the picture with any cedar tree, but I think there's a special detail in the cedar tree from Lebanon. You know that cedar was a prized product of Lebanon.

Lebanese cedar was used to build the temple in Jerusalem in the days of Solomon. And even to this day, right in the middle of the Lebanese flag, a cedar tree. So the righteous growing like a cedar in Lebanon, excelling in beauty, usefulness, steadfastness, strength, unshakability. This is the reputation of the righteous.

Verse 13. They, the righteous, are planted in the house. Of the Lord. They flourish in the courts of our God. So the tree analogy continues, expressing proximity, nearness. And this is where the righteous can be found. This is where we were made to be. We were made to be close to God.

It's not embarrassing to be close to God. It's not foolish. It's not a waste. It's not expensive. Those in close proximity to God flourish, and those far away perish. Flourish or perish. We think about our own kids, or if you are a kid in your own home, far away from the family, perish.

What do parents want? Kids, come in, flourish. Same for the righteous and God. Verse 14, 15 say, They still bear fruit in old age. They are ever full of sap and green to declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

So nature further helps us with this point. A tree. A tree bearing good fruit indicates good health of the tree. A person bearing fruit for God indicates a heart for God and the person. So think of this family reading this psalm together on the Sabbath. Kids looking up to older siblings or parents.

Think of your own life. How helpful it is to see older people fearing God. Bearing fruit for him. This is expected from the believer. He'll bear fruit in old age because our righteous God preserves his own, and real righteousness causes permanent change. Real righteousness doesn't wane with time.

Real love doesn't wane. That's what we can expect in old age. Have you ever seen the inside of a living tree? Probably recently with our wind, our storms a few nights ago. What does the sap and the moisture say and the green about the tree? Well, that it's budding with life, of course.

It's growing, ready to develop deeper into the soil and further into the sky and accomplish what it was set out to do, what it was made to do. The sap and green show the tree is ready to go. So the trees full of sap and green. The righteous, full of sap and green.

What are the righteous ready to do? To be the chorus, to declare the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. The Lord being upright, in that there is no perversity or crookedness with him. There's nothing that's off about God. My rock, in that he is immovable.

No unrighteousness in him in that he's pure. He's upright. He's holy, loving. And if you think of the most noble people to ever live, stack up all their nobility. Against the Lord's, he makes them look like swine. And that's why it's foolish to subscribe to any person or movement or partner with any religious system built on the likability or wisdom of a mere man.

But the righteous look to God and build their life upon him. So we can look at the chorus that's been on the psalmist's lips one last time. Verse 1, he's giving thanks and singing praise. Verse 4, he's singing for joy. And now in verse 15, the three-part confession that the Lord is upright.

He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. There is one rock in this world who we should build our lives upon: God Himself. There is no unrighteousness in Him, no second-guessing, no hesitation, there is no sin, no rebellion or grudge with this master. He doesn't want to tear down and torment, He wants to bless, build up, uphold, and we won't be lost with Him.

All that the world has to offer us is sand. God offers so much more. You heard this morning, the world promises so much and delivers so little. That's why it's good to give thanks to God, sing praises to His name. So, if this text about the righteous does not describe you in the least bit, let it be the siren and warning it's supposed to be: Build your life upon the rock.

Don't be the stupid and foolish man who doesn't understand. This psalm is the answer key. You can know what will happen to you. Ask God to show you the truth about himself, about sin, about his son, forgiveness. And you'll find yourself right in the middle of the chorus, giving thanks and singing praises to his name forever.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for this evening together as a body. We thank you for your word, which is holy and perfect. And though even our best efforts before you are nothing, we pray you bless us. You bless the reading of your word and take care of us.

I pray for our hearts to be tender to it and that we would go forth this week in faith, obedience, loving you and loving one another. Thank you, Father, for this evening. Amen.