01 December, 2016

Psalm 92:7—“… it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.”


O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. When the wicked spring as the grass and all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever (Ps. 92:5-7 KJV).



(I)

Rev. Herman Hoeksema

[Source: The Standard Bearer, vol. 33, issue 20 (Sept. 1957)]

1. The psalmist is speaking of the great works of the Lord and His very deep thoughts. The meaning is, of course, that the very deep thoughts of God are revealed in His great works. The deep thoughts of the Lord are His eternal counsel and purpose with, regard to all things in time, and those thoughts He Himself realizes and executes in the world. They are deep; because they cannot be discerned on the surface of things. Superficially considered, it might seem as if the Lord blesses and is gracious to everybody, wicked and righteous alike, for they all receive the good things of this present time. In fact, it would almost appear as if the Lord favours the wicked more than the righteous, for they receive more of the things of this present time.

2. However, the psalmist, who has learned to know the deep thoughts of the Lord and to understand His great works, realizes that this is not the case. It is not true that the Lord is favourable to all men in the things of this present time; it is still less true that He favours the wicked more than the righteous. The very contrary is true. God makes the wicked spring as the grass, and He causes all the workers of iniquity to flourish in order that, by these means, they may become great in iniquity and ripe for everlasting destruction. Such are the deep thoughts of God. He loves the righteous and hates all the workers of iniquity.

3. It is only the brutish man and the fool that does not understand this. But he to whom the Lord reveals His great works and deep thoughts, understands and loves this truth. 


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(II)

Rev. Herman Hoeksema

[Source: Protestant Reformed Theological Journal, vol. 2, no. 1, Dec. 1968]

Here the poet sings of the glory of God’s works and the depths of his thoughts. “O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.” What is that glory of the works of God? Of what is the poet thinking as a manifestation of the depth of God’s thoughts? This is expressed in verse 7: “When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever.” The niphal infinitive used here denotes the purpose of their blossoming forth. This is God’s purpose, for the poet has said in the preceding verses that in their blossoming forth he beheld a work of God and the depth of his thoughts. Through those things by which the wicked flourish as the green herb, God brings them to everlasting destruction. Their prosperity is their curse from God!


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(III)

Rev. Martyn McGeown

[Source: “An Answer to Phil Johnson’s ‘Primer on Hyper-Calvinism’”]

In Psalm 92, the Psalmist contrasts two plants. One is the wicked man: “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” (v. 7). The word “that” indicates purpose: “it is so that they shall be destroyed forever.” God’s purpose in the temporary springing up and flourishing of the wicked is their destruction. That is not common grace. The second is the righteous man: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing” (vv. 12-14).


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(IV)

More to come! (DV)




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