Here the Psalmist praises God for being able to give thanks to Him (v. 1). He recognizes that doing so (like worship in general) is not a right but a privilege, granted not on the basis of the psalmist’s personal merit, but of God’s lovingkindness (Note 1) and faithfulness (Note 2). These terms are employed in parallel elsewhere in God’s Word to underscore God’s unconditional mercy and grace. His chesed love (Note 1).
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
to declare your faithful love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
with a ten-stringed harp
and the music of a lyre.
For you have made me rejoice, Lord,
by what you have done;
I will shout for joy
because of the works of your hands.
How magnificent are your works, Lord,
how profound your thoughts!
A stupid person does not know,
a fool does not understand this:
though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be eternally destroyed.
But you, Lord, are exalted forever.
For indeed, Lord, your enemies—
indeed, your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
You have lifted up my horn
like that of a wild ox;
I have been anointed with the finest oil.
My eyes look at my enemies;
when evildoers rise against me,
my ears hear them.
The righteous thrive like a palm tree
and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.
Planted in the house of the Lord,
they thrive in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
healthy and green,
to declare, “The Lord is just;
he is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Psalm 92 CSB
- Chesed, also hesed, Hebrew, agape (Greek); unconditional extravagant love, the compulsion to give and to love without limit those who have no merit. Chesed is one of the attributes of God’s character, maybe the attribute since His love encompasses all His other attributes (God is love). Chesed love cannot be defined or experienced apart from the fullness of God’s character. It is a supernatural, multifaceted love that is only realized, practiced, and experienced through God. Although not the same as human love, it can be experienced by humans (Jonathan and David, 1 Samuel 18:3; Ruth and Boaz, Ruth 3:10). God’s chesed love is why God never gives up on His children, even though they repeatedly fall into idolatry and sin. It is the reason He sent His only Son on a rescue mission.
- See Psalm 100:5.
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