Psalm 93 - The Majestic Lord Reigns

Introduction

With all that is happening in our nation and world right now it would be easy to want to go somewhere and hide or descend into despair. As children of God we ought not and must not do so. Why? The LORD reigns. The LORD is king over all creation. This is the message of this psalm.

Background

We have here an enthronement psalm. These are psalms that acknowledge and celebrate Yahweh as king over all creation. We don’t have historical information for this psalm and aren’t sure of it dating. We know it was “sung before the Sabbath in the Second Temple”. [1] The most important aspect of this psalm it is simple message: The LORD Reigns. We can break this psalm into three parts:

The Majestic LORD reigns from eternity (vs. 1 - 2)

The Majestic LORD reigns over the floods (vs. 3 - 4)

The Majestic LORD reigns faithfully (v. 5)

Exposition

Verses 1 - 2: The psalmist begins with a simple yet powerful declaration: The LORD reigns. Yahweh is King over all the earth. Unlike the ‘gods’ of the nations that only ‘rule’ over their lands and can be defeated, the LORD is the sovereign over all creation. His rule will never be overthrown but reign forever. He is adorned in majesty, that is, His glory is made manifest in His creative actions.[2] He is the God of power who has brought all things under His rule. The world therefore holds together by His power. Whatever happens in this world, it will continue because Yahweh sustains it. The God of Israel alone has been from ancient times. He has ruled from the beginning and all those whom have sought to cast off His rule have been defeated. He had no beginning and has no end. He is eternal and eternally worthy of praise.

Verses 3 - 4: The LORD reigns over the floods, which often signify chaos. He is the LORD who controls the forces of nature. We need not fear natural forces as they are subject to Yahweh. He stands above all and is praised by all creation (Ps. 19:1;148:3-4).

Verse 5: The word of the LORD is trustworthy and forever true. Charles Spurgeon puts it this way: “As in providence the throne of God is fixed beyond all risk, so in revelation his truth is beyond all question. Other teachings are uncertain, but the revelations of heaven are infallible. As the rocks remain unmoved amid the tumult of the sea, so does divine truth resist all the currents of man’s opinion and the storms of human controversy; they are not only sure, but very sure.”[3] The covenant God of Israel is faithful to Israel. What the LORD speaks shall be because He has the power to bring it to pass. He doesn’t go back on His word. He is forever a holy God and where He dwells is holy. The Majestic LORD reigns forevermore.

Bibliography

1. VanGemeren, W. A. (2008). Psalms. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition) (Vol. 5, p. 707). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

2. ibid.

3. Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 88-110 (Vol. 4, p. 135). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.