Psalm 92:6

A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) A brutish man.—The Hebrew is apparently from a root meaning “to eat,” and so refers to the man of mere animal nature, who lives for his appetites.

Fool.—From root meaning “fat,” hence “gross,” “stupid.”

In the one case the moral sense has not come into play at all, in the other it is overgrown by sensuality, so that spiritual discernment, insight into the glories of the Divine mind, is impossible.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 92:6. A brutish man — Who cannot, or doth not, seriously consider things; whose mind is corrupted by sensual and brutish appetites; who is led by sense, and not by reason and faith, knoweth not — That thy works are so inexpressibly great and wonderful; neither doth a fool understand this — The depth of wisdom displayed in thy counsels, and of power in thine operations, or the particular work of God, described Psalm 92:7. “Glorious are thy works, profound thy counsels, marvellous thy dispensations in nature, in providence, in grace; but all are lost to the man void of spiritual discernment; who, like his fellow-brutes, is bowed down to earth, and knoweth no pleasures but those of sense. Here he hath chosen his paradise, and set up his tabernacle; not considering that his tabernacle must shortly be taken down, and he must remove hence for ever.” — Horne. Reader, is this thy character?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

92:1-6 It is a privilege that we are admitted to praise the Lord, and hope to be accepted in the morning, and every night; not only on sabbath days, but every day; not only in public, but in private, and in our families. Let us give thanks every morning for the mercies of the night, and every night for the mercies of the day; going out, and coming in, let us bless God. As He makes us glad, through the works of his providence for us, and of his grace in us, and both through the great work of redemption, let us hence be encouraged. As there are many who know not the designs of Providence, nor care to know them, those who through grace do so, have the more reason to be thankful. And if distant views of the great Deliverer so animated believers of old, how should we abound in love and praise!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A brutish man knoweth not - A man who is stupid, and who is like the beasts or brutes; that is, a man whose tastes and propensities are like the brutes, or who does not seem to act as if endowed with a rational nature. The idea evidently is, that there are many such people, and that it is not to be wondered at that they have no exalted idea of the greatness of God. As a matter of fact there are many in human form - many made in the image of God - who seem to have no more notion of God, and who see no more wisdom and goodness in his works, than the horse or the ox. Compare Isaiah 1:3.

Neither doth a fool understand this - A fool, in the sense that he has been made foolish and stupid by sin; that he does not worship and honor God. He has no right understanding in regard to the Maker and the Governor of the universe.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6. A brutish man knoweth not—that is, God's works, so the Psalmist describes himself (Ps 73:22) when amazed by the prosperity of the wicked, now understood and explained.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

A brutish man; who cannot or doth not seriously consider things, whose mind is corrupted by his sensual and brutish appetites; who is led by sense, and not by reason and faith.

This; the depth of God’s counsels and works mentioned Psalm 92:5, or that particular work of God described Psalm 92:7.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

A brutish man knoweth not,.... The lovingkindness of the Lord, and his faithfulness, nor how to show them forth, nor his great works and deep thoughts; man was made originally far above the brute creatures, and had them all under his dominion; but, sinning, became like the beasts that perish; and is in Scripture often compared to one or other of them, as the horse, ass, &c. a brutish man is one that only knows things naturally, as brute beasts do, and in which also he corrupts himself; he is governed by sense, and not by reason, and much less by faith, which he has not; one that indulges his sensual appetite, whose god is his belly, and minds nothing but earth and earthly things; and, though he has an immortal soul, has no more care of it, and concern about it, than a beast that has none; he lives like one, without fear or shame; and in some things acts below them, and at last dies, as they do, without any thought of, or regard unto, a future state:

neither doth a fool understand this; what is before said, or else what follows in the next verse, as Jarchi and others interpret it, concerning the end and event of the prosperity of the wicked; Arama interprets it of the Gentiles not knowing this law of the land, the sabbath, and so rejected it: a "fool" is the same with the "brutish" man, one that is so, not in things natural and civil, but in things moral, spiritual, and religious.

Geneva Study Bible

A {e} brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

(e) That is, the wicked do not consider God's works nor his judgments against them, and therefore most justly perish.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. A brutish man … a fool] Men who are mere sensuous animals, stupid and unreceptive, incapable of discerning spiritual things. Cp. Psalm 49:10; Psalm 73:22; Psalm 94:8.

this] Namely, the truth expressed in Psalm 92:7-8, that the wicked flourish only to perish, while Jehovah is eternally supreme. There should be a colon only at the end of Psalm 92:6.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. A rude, uncultivated man has no conception of the wonderful depth of God's thoughts - the marvellousness of those counsels which underlie the general scheme of things, and make it what it is (comp. Romans 11:33, 34). Psalm 92:6

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Statement of the ground of this commendation of the praise of God. Whilst פּעל is the usual word for God's historical rule (Psalm 44:2; Psalm 64:10; Psalm 90:16, etc.), מעשׂי ידיך denotes the works of the Creator of the world, although not to the exclusion of those of the Ruler of the world (Psalm 143:5). To be able to rejoice over the revelation of God in creation and the revelation of God in general is a gift from above, which the poet thankfully confesses that he has received. The Vulgate begins Psalm 92:5 Quia delectasti me, and Dante in his Purgatorio, xxviii. 80, accordingly calls the Psalm il Salmo Delectasti; a smiling female form, which represents the life of Paradise, says, as she gathers flowers, she is so happy because, with the Psalm Delectasti, she takes a delight in the glory of God's works. The works of God are transcendently great; very deep are His thoughts, which mould human history and themselves gain from in it (cf. Psalm 40:6; Psalm 139:17., where infinite fulness is ascribed to them, and Isaiah 55:8, where infinite height is ascribed to them). Man can neither measure the greatness of the divine works nor fathom the depth of the divine thoughts; he who is enlightened, however, perceives the immeasurableness of the one and the unfathomableness of the other, whilst a אישׁ־בּער, a man of animal nature, homo brutus (vid., Psalm 73:22), does not come to the knowledge (לא ידע, used absolutely as in Psalm 14:4), and כּסיל, a blockhead, or one dull in mind, whose carnal nature outweighs his intellectual and spiritual nature, does not discern את־זאת (cf. 2 Samuel 13:17), id ipsum, viz., how unsearchable are God's judgments and untrackable His ways (Romans 11:33).