Psalms 92:7,8

The tenses in Psalms 92:7 (cp. Psalms 92:10) do not merely express a general truth, but point to some particular event.

When the wicked did flourish as the herbage,

And all the workers of iniquity did blossom,

It was that they might be destroyed for ever:

But thou art on high for evermore, Jehovah.

The simile suggests the rapid growth and equally rapid ruin of the wicked. See note on Psalms 90:5. Their triumph is the preparation for their fall. Cp. Psalms 37:35 ff.; Psalms 73:18 ff.

The simple stately rhythm of Psalms 92:8 a single line well expresses the contrast of the unchanging supremacy of Jehovah to the upstart pretentiousness of the wicked. They deify themselves, claiming all power in earth and heaven (Psalms 73:8-9), only to vanish and leave Jehovah's sovereignty more openly manifested (Psalms 83:17-18).

There is an obvious reminiscence of this verse in 1Ma 9:23, "And it came to pass after the death of Judas that the lawless flourished and all the workers of iniquity sprang up."