Psalm 093

Introduction

We’ve been working our way through the psalms on Wednesday evenings and tonight we come to Psalm 93 which proclaims that our God reigns. It’s a short psalm, but it can be divided into three parts. Verses 1 and 2 tell us that the Lord reigns. Verses 3 and 4 tell us that’s he’s mightier than the seas. And verse 5 is about his statutes and his house.

Verses 1 and 2

Verses 1 and 2 tell us that the Lord reigns. God’s name, the LORD, appears in capital letters. This is God’s covenant name and it speaks to us of his commitment to his people. He has bound himself to his people with a promise to be our God and to deliver us from our sin and misery by his Son and to take care of us always. And so, it’s that God — the God who has bound himself to us — he’s the one who reigns. In Old Testament times, the different nations believed in different gods. And the pagans claimed that one god ruled over the sea and another god ruled over the land and another god ruled over this and another one ruled over that. But here’s the psalmist proclaiming that our God, the Lord, reigns. Full stop. That is to say, he doesn’t only rule over the people of Israel. His sovereignty is not confined to one people or to one place. Instead he reigns over all. He is the ruler of all.

And the psalmist says that he is clothed with majesty. Whereas earthly kings dress themselves in royal robes and with silver and gold and with jewels to make them look majestic, the Lord our God dresses himself in majesty itself. In other words, he himself is majestic. When Isaiah saw the Lord in that vision which he records for us in Isaiah 6, he cried out, ‘Woe to me!’, because he was overwhelmed by the sight of the Lord, who was seated on a throne, high and exalted. Even the holy angels could not look directly at the Lord, because he is so glorious and majestic.

And not only is he robed in majesty, but he is armed with strength. So, he is mighty and powerful. He is strong. A more literal translation is that he has put on strength as his belt. And the image of putting on a belt conveys the idea that he is ready for action. When a soldier is off duty, he can take off his belt and relax. But when he’s on duty, he’s got his belt on and the rest of his armour and he’s ready for action. And our God is ready for action, because he’s got his belt on. And his belt is strength. It’s power. And so, our God, the Lord, is majestic and powerful and he reigns over all.

The psalmist then goes on to say that the world is firmly established and it cannot be moved. A tree that is firmly established, with roots going deep down into the ground, cannot be moved easily. However, if you dig down far enough, and loosen the roots, or cut them, then you might be able to move the tree. But that cannot happen to the world. It cannot be moved, says the psalmist.

Why is that? Why is the world firmly established? Why can it not be moved? It’s because of the Lord, isn’t it? He reigns over the world and his throne, or his rule, was established long ago. How long ago? A hundred years ago? A thousand years ago? Two thousand? Ten thousand? No, his throne was established in eternity, because the Lord himself is from all eternity. He is the eternal God, who is without beginning and without end and his reign is without beginning or end. He always was the ruler and he always will be the ruler.

And so, while it might seem to us from time to time that the world is in danger of being destroyed, and while it might seem to us from time to time that events in the world are out of control, we need to remember and believe that our God reigns and his reign will never end. And the God who rules over all for ever will continue to uphold the world.

Verses 3 and 4

Let’s move on to verses 3 and 4, where the psalmist says that the Lord is mightier than the seas.

He starts in verse 3 by saying that the seas have lifted up, the seas have lifted up their voice, the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. The verse is structured in a way that conveys a sense of panic, because we can imagine him looking out over the sea and saying: Look at the sea! Look at the sea. It’s thundering! Look at the sea. It’s pounding! And the sea is frightening, isn’t it? We have managed to conquer so much of nature so that we’ve spread out over the world and we’re cultivated the land to grow food and we’ve built cities to live in and we’re able to travel easily from place to place so that distance means nothing to us now. We’ve even been able to send astronauts into space and we’ve discovered the answer to all kinds of mysteries and our doctors are able to heal us of diseases and to inoculate us from infection. We know so much and we’re able to do so much. We’ve conquered so much of the world of nature. It’s amazing. And yet, we’re still humbled by the power of the sea. When there’s a storm, the waves pick up great big ships and toss them about as if they were nothing. And the waves crash against the shore and cause concrete and stone to crumble. And when there’s a flood, houses and cars and trees and animals and people and everything else are just swept away. The sea and floods humble us, because they are so powerful and can do so much damage and there’s nothing we can do to stop them.

But there is one who is mightier than the seas. And it’s the Lord who reigns over all. So: Mightier than the thunder of great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty. Since he’s on high, then he’s higher than the seas. He’s above them. In fact, he’s above everything. There’s no one higher than the Lord. There’s no one over him. And he’s able to control the seas. Think of the days of Moses and how the Lord opened a way for his people through the Red Sea. Think of the days of Joshua and how the Lord opened a way for his people through the River Jordan. Think of the Lord Jesus, who is God the Son, and how he rebuked the wind and the waves and made everything calm. Our God, the Lord, is mightier than the seas.

Some of the commentators think that the psalmist has some of the ancient gods in mind here. In ancient paganism, the god of the sea, who was known as Yam, was said to fight against Baal. Who was stronger? Who was mightier? However, it’s not Yam who is in control. Nor is it Baal. It’s the Lord our God.

And so, he’s the one we should turn to and appeal to when we’re in danger or when we’re in trouble or when we’re afraid. We should turn to him, because he’s mighty God, who is mightier than the mighty seas, and he’s mightier than everything else. And since he’s mightier than everything else, then he’s able to help us. There’s nothing he can’t do.

And since he has bound himself to his people with a promise to be our God and to deliver us from our sin and misery by his Son and to take care of us always, then we know that he’s willing to help us and he’s willing to use his great power for our good. So, we’re not going to a stranger for help, but we’re going to our God who has already revealed his great love for us by giving up his Son for our salvation. And since he was prepared to do that for us, then there’s no good thing which he will withhold from us.

And so, this psalm reassures us that our God reigns. And he’s mightier than everything else. And we can look to him for the help we need.

And I should also add that he’s mightier than Satan and all his demons. And therefore he’s able to extend the kingdom of his Son throughout the world through the reading and preaching of his word; and neither the opposition of Satan nor the sinfulness of men and women will be able to stop our God from building his church and extending his kingdom on the earth. And so, this psalm makes us hopeful about the spread of the gospel in the world, because nothing is able to prevent the Lord from doing all that he has planned.

Verse 5

That takes us to the final verse where the psalmist says that God’s statutes stand firm. He’s now referring to God’s word, which includes his laws and commandments as well as his promises. And when he says that they stand firm, he means they are true and trustworthy. We can always rely on what God has said. His word is true. Many of the laws which earthly kings pass are wicked. Many of the things they say are not true. But our God is different, because his word is true. And so, we should always pay attention to what he has said and we should strive to do his will and to obey his laws and to believe his promises.

And then the psalmist adds that holiness will adorn God’s house. The houses or the temples of the pagan gods were places of sin and debauchery. But God’s house, his temple, was holy, because God is holy. And God’s people are to be holy. In fact, we are his house. We are his temple. We are his temple, because he lives in us by his Spirit. And we are holy in God’s sight, because the Lord Jesus shed his blood on the cross to cleanse us from the guilt of our sin. And so, God now regards us as holy in his sight. And his Spirit, who dwells in us, enable us to overcome the power of sin in our lives. The Spirit makes us willing and able to do God’s will here on earth and to obey his commandments and thereby to become more and more holy in practice. And he will continue to work in us and in all of God’s people in every generation for endless days. And then, when we come into God’s presence in the life to come, he will make us holy for ever and for ever.

Conclusion

The psalmist declares in verse 1 that the Lord reigns. And the Lord does reign. He reigned over the heavens and the earth in Old Testament times and he demonstrated time and time again that he is Lord over all. And then, when the time was right, he sent his Only Begotten Son into the world to rule on his behalf. The Triune God gave to his Son all authority in heaven and on earth so that he now rules over all things and all events and all people. He rules over Satan and all his demons and he rules over all people everywhere. And he rules over all for the sake of his people to ensure that God’s plans for his people will be done and that his kingdom will be extended throughout the world.

And even though the world seems out of control at times, Psalm 93 reassures us that the Lord our God reigns. He’s in control. It may not seem that way to us, but we must continue to believe and to trust him to work out his purposes and to use even the sins of men and women for his own good purposes. And he’s able to give us the help and strength we need to stand firm against the Devil’s wicked schemes and to resist sin and to do God’s will in our daily lives and to live for his glory. And the day is coming, when Christ the king will return to judge the world and to punish his enemies and to reward his people and we will reign with him over the new heavens and earth for ever.