Thursday, July 4 – Psalms 92, 93
1. To what animal’s strength does the psalmist compare the strength that God would give him? This applies to us today if we trust in the Lord. (Psalm 92:10).
2. To which trees are the righteous compared and why? (Psalm 92:12, 13).
3. According to Psalms 93:3, 4, in a magnificent metaphor, who does the psalmist say will raise their praise to God?
Commentary and Reflection:
Here are some quotes from Ellen White about the believer as a palm tree,
” The palm tree well represents the life of a Christian. It stands upright amid the burning desert sand, and dies not; for it draws its sustenance from the springs of life beneath the surface (The Review and Herald, September 1, 1885)” Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, page 487
“As the palm tree, drawing nourishment from the living springs, remains green and flourishing in the midst of the desert, so the Christian may draw rich supplies of grace from the fountain of God’s love and guide the weary and despairing souls, who are almost perishing in the desert of sin, to the waters of which they may drink and live. The Christian ever leads his fellow-men to Jesus, who invites, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.’ This fountain never fails us; we may draw and draw again.” (Signs of the Times, October 26, 1904).
“As the palm tree, drawing nourishment from fountains of living water, is green and flourishing in the midst of the desert, so the Christian may draw rich supplies of grace from the fountain of God’s love, and may guide weary souls, that are full of unrest and ready to perish in the desert of sin, to those waters of which they may drink, and live. The Christian is ever pointing his fellow-men to Jesus, who invites, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.” This fountain never fails us; we may draw, and draw again (The Signs of the Times, October 26, 1904)
“If the Christian thrives and progresses at all, he must do so amid strangers to God, amid scoffing, subject to ridicule. He must stand upright like the palm tree in the desert. The sky may be as brass, the desert sand may beat about the palm tree’s roots, and pile itself in heaps about its trunk. Yet the tree lives as an evergreen, fresh and vigorous amid the burning desert sands. Remove the sand till you reach the rootlets of the palm tree, and you discover the secret of its life; it strikes down deep beneath the surface, to the secret waters hidden in the earth. Christians indeed may be fitly represented by the palm tree. They are like Enoch; although surrounded by corrupting influences, their faith takes hold of the Unseen. They walk with God, deriving strength and grace from Him to withstand the moral pollution surrounding them. Like Daniel in the courts of Babylon, they stand pure and uncontaminated; their life is hid with Christ in God. They are virtuous in spirit amid depravity; they are true and loyal, fervent and zealous, while surrounded by infidels, hypocritical professors, godless and worldly men. Their faith and life are hid with Christ in God. Jesus is in them a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Faith, like the rootlets of the palm tree, penetrates beneath the things which are seen, drawing spiritual nourishment from the Fountain of life.” (The Signs of the Times, July 8, 1886).
“Psalm 93 celebrates Jehovah as Sovereign of the universe. It is a picture of the magnificent enthronement of Deity upon a throne established from everlasting to everlasting. The psalm is the first of a series of royal psalms (Ps. 93 to Ps. 101) glorifying God as Creator and Lord. Ps. 93 shows His power in control of creation, in the overthrow of His enemies, in the faithfulness of His word, and in the holiness of His house. The LXX includes in its superscription the phrase, ‘for the day before the Sabbath.’” SDABC, Introduction to Psalm 93
I pray that you may flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon.