Psalm 92:12-15 - September 19, 2009

Ps 92:12-15 "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." NIV

Oh the benefits of a righteous life! This passage celebrates the value of living rightly before God. God has given us a promise to flourish! Like a palm tree or a cedar of Lebanon that has been planted in the house of the Lord, cared for by the attentiveness of the dedicated priests who jealously nurture everything under their care, the righteous will flourish under the attentive care of a holy God! God is watching over you with the same attention that the priests cared for all that was under their care within the temple of God. Imagine the devotion to excellence that a dedicated priest must have possessed as they considered that every detail of the temple’s beauty was a reflection of the glory of the God whom they served. In the same way God attentively watches over the righteous because of this same principle. He is fiercely devoted to those who are fiercely devoted to Him because of His continued awareness that every life lived completely for Him is a reflection of His glory into the earth.
The psalmist has captured this concept beautifully in these few verses as He portrays life spent in nearness to God as life that will flourish. When our ways are pleasing to the Lord He brings us near to Himself and where God’s presence is flowing in abundance all that dwells within that presence flourishes. Consider the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve dwelled in the presence of God and all that was found there flourished in the midst of God’s empowering presence. Man is no longer in the Garden of God, but now through the gift of God, for every person made righteous through the blood of Christ, the Garden of God is now in us! And once again, where God is present, everything flourishes. God is perfect and upright, with no wickedness in Him and the more we give ourselves to Him in ever increasing purity, the more He gives Himself to us in ever increasing revelation! Truly Matt 5:8 states our hope and confidence,
“the pure in heart… will see God.”
This passage in Psalm 92 carries with it an additional encouragement for the righteous; the hope of longevity. Many people live their lives in pursuit of a moment of glory or a season of breakthrough. The power of Psalm 92:12-15 is the promise of sustained fruitfulness. Not only will the righteous flourish but we have the promise that we will stay fresh and green. Too many people enter the later seasons of their lives with a withered heart. Life seems to have drained them of hope and vision and they enter a season of decline into a place where they are simply waiting to be “taken home” to be with the Lord. This should not be! Psalm 92 gives us the promise of fruitfulness for the length of our days. Do not accept a withered life! DO NOT ACCEPT A LIFE WITHOUT PURPOSE! If you are still on the earth you still have a calling to fulfill. Our roles may change from season to season but Psalm 92 gives us permission to expect fruit that flows from a life that is fresh and green even in our old age!!!! Do not surrender to the state of your body, press into God for a revelation of your purpose in Him for every season of life!