Tehillim 92–93 | Psalms for the Sabbath Day

The sequence of Psalms from 92 to 100 forms a cohesive chain of psalms, with a strong connection between them. The opening of Psalm 92: "It is good to thank the Lord, to sing psalms to Your name, Most High, to sing Your loving-kindness in the morning, and Your devotion (="ואמונתך") at night" (92:2–3), is mirrored in the conclusion of Psalm 100: "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise; thank Him and bless His name, for the Lord is good; His steadfast loving-kindness is forever, His faithfulness (="אמונתו") for all generations." (100:4–5). Together, these Psalms form a unified movement. Many of the Psalms within this chain are familiar to us as part of 'Kabbalat Shabbat', the Friday evening prayer that welcomes the Sabbath.

Psalm 92 opens the sequence by presenting a new perspective on reality  the poet attains specifically on the Sabbath. He grapples with one of the central problems throughout the Book of Psalms: why do the wicked prosper? But he comes to an insight that leads him to sing a song of thanksgiving – the flourishing of the wicked is temporary. Something about the Sabbath, perhaps the break from the relentless pace and competition of the world, perhaps the reconnection with sanctity, grants the poet the perspective to recognize that though evil may appear rewarding, it is destined to wither like grass that dries out quickly. Using imagery drawn from the world of plants, the wicked are likened to grass and flowers that sprout quickly but vanish just as fast when the summer sun beats down: “Though the wicked may spring up like grass and all evildoers seem to flourish, they will be destroyed for all eternity” (92:8). In contrast, the righteous are likened to tall and sturdy trees, which grow slowly but are deeply rooted and long-lasting: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon” (92:13). Even in old age, they remain fresh: “Even in old age, they will still bear fruit, always lush and fresh” (92:15).

This idea is echoed throughout the Tanakh and aligns with the theme noted in Psalm 90, which opens the fourth book of Tehillim. God’s providence and Israel’s struggles unfold over long spans of time. In the moment, it may seem as though the wicked rises and lifts his head up, while the people of Israel, and the righteous among them, are diminished. But eventually, the narrative will reverse. The wicked will fade, and the righteous will flourish — one must simply wait and witness it unfold. This same theme reappears in Psalm 93, which is a song of praise and a declaration of God’s greatness. From the awareness that: “More powerful than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea, is the Lord on high” (Tehillim 93:4), it seems that the same greatness by which God once defeated His enemies in the past is the very greatness that will continue to appear “for evermore” (93:5).

This is the vision of "the day which will be entirely Sabbath," In the future, when God's presence is fully revealed in the world, the Sabbath will be ever-present. Sanctity will spread, envy and rivalry will vanish, and the clarity the poet experiences on the Sabbath will become the constant state of us all. Until then, "The eternal nation does not fear a long road."