ARE YOU STILL GROWING? (Psalm 92)

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.”

These are the first five verses of Psalm 92 — and what a psalm it is. It brings us to see God as He is so we can see ourselves as we are.

How amazing that, as you peer through the window of God’s Word, that window becomes a mirror (James 1:21-25). The more clearly you see the greatness of God, the more you see yourself as He sees you. When you see your life through God’s lens, you begin to examine the deep places of your own heart.

Psalm 92 has a certain theme that is expressed in verses 6-15.

The theme is spiritual growth.

Verses 7-8: “When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever: But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore.”

Verses 12-14: “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.”

Notice the use of the words “flourish” and “flourishing” in these passages. They bring to mind the object lesson of the garden or the plant world, something God does often throughout scripture.

The animal kingdom is referenced in verse 10. “But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.”

Let me remind you that God is King over all and Creator of all. He uses these natural things to teach us spiritual truth.

Are you a flourishing Christian? Are you growing in such a way that the grace of God is flourishing in your life? To flourish is not just to grow, but to abound. That is what God wants His people to do.

Go back to Psalm 1 where we began our study. One of the marks of a Godly man is that he grows. If you are right with God you will grow, and there is no place to stop in your spiritual growth.

The most difficult growth sometimes is in maturity. As new believers, we are apt to grow because it is all new. Every step is a first step and it is exciting. But after you have been saved for a while, you start thinking that you have arrived. But that is never the case.

L.E. Maxwell said that the mark of a good Christian is the desire to grow in grace. That is not just for new believers; it is for all of us who have been born again, no matter how long ago it was.

Let’s look more closely at each of the four times the word “flourish” is used in Psalm 92.

Upward Growth

Verse 12 describes the flourishing of the palm tree. That is upward growth. A palm tree, by its nature, grows erect and upright. If you ever see one that is growing properly, it is very straight.

Naturally, the psalmist would have been referring to a tree grown in Israel known as a date palm. Those trees grow about one foot per year and can be as much as 100 feet tall. Imagine you are standing at the foot of one of those majestic trees and looking straight up. What is the tree doing? It is pointing to Heaven.

When we are growing as we ought to grow, there is a straightness and an uprightness about our lives that points to God alone. To be right with God is to be growing Godward, or nearer to the Lord.

The life of the palm tree is not in the skin but in the heart. It is not on the outer surface. This verse says that we should grow like one of these trees. My friend, are you growing on the inside, in your soul?

This palm tree is not only straight but also sweet. You may recall the references back in Exodus to “a land flowing with milk and honey.” In my research, I discovered something quite remarkable. I had always thought that honey was the kind that comes from bees but it is not. In the land of Canaan, most of the honey came from the date palm.

When you are growing as you should in your Christian life, you are not just straight. There is a sweetness that flows out of your life. It is a wonderful thing that ministers to you and also feeds others.

Downward Growth

The other tree mentioned in verse 12 is the cedar of Lebanon, which represents downward growth. The strength of the cedar is found in its root system. It is immovable.

Those who truly flourish, according to verse 13, are the ones “planted in the house of the Lord.” As with so many lessons we have studied in the book of Psalms, this is all about being in His presence. Are you rooted in the Lord today?

The palm tree and the cedar tree have one very important thing in common. Both are evergreens -they are always in season.

But there are also stark differences in the trees. The palm grows in the valley and drought conditions. The cedar grows in the mountains, in cold and stormy weather.

God wants us to grow in every season of life, under all conditions.

Outward Growth

Verse 14 emphasizes the fruit tree. It is a picture of outward growth, producing fruit for the glory of God. The reference to “old age” shows that the Lord wants us to be fruitful in every stage of life. The greatest time in your life is when you are closest to God because that is when you will produce the most fruit.

God wants all of His people to be fruit-bearing people, and He gets the glory for it, as illustrated in verse 15. “To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

These examples from the plant world are meant to remind us that all glory goes to the gardener. All of our upward growth, downward growth, and outward growth are because of God’s life in us.

Are you a flourishing Christian?

There is one other reference to flourishing in this psalm, and that is the wicked in verse 7. The wicked grow like grass, not like a tree. Grass grows much more quickly but does not last. It is cut or burnt up.

The real Christian does not grow up overnight. It is not instantaneous. It is a process, a lifelong pursuit of Jesus Christ.

Whoever you are and wherever you are on the journey, God wants you to grow and flourish. May the Lord help all of us to have a fresh start today in our own spiritual growth.