1/12/25 Weekly Bible Lesson: Majesty of a King's Reign

Background of Text — In the United States, the images of kings are not readily available. Americans are not comfortable with crowns, thrones, scepters, or royal robes. Yet our beliefs have not been the case for most of human history. Over the centuries, it has been very common to have a monarch be the head of a nation. Even the nation of Israel desired to have a king to be like the other nations (1 Samuel 8). The reality is, however, there is a king, and He is the God over all! Psalm 93 deals with this truth. 

In the Jewish Bible during the time of Jesus and the first-century church, a note was added that this was a praise song for David, and it was to be read before the Sabbath day as preparations were taking place. Why would a people, the Jews, take a day off from work unlike any of the other nations? Because God had commanded it; their king had decreed it. This psalm prepares the heart of the worshipper. When Christians have this view, our hearts are better equipped to worship the Lord as well. 

Verse 1 

The psalm begins “Yahweh reigns!” This declarative statement is a statement of truth, as well as praise. The reality is Yahweh has always ruled over the entirety of His creation. We do not need to defend His reign because He is “I am” (see Exodus 3:14). Too many times His followers feel the need to defend God, but He does not even defend Himself. He is simply “I am” who reigns. 

The psalmist praises God because of how He is robed: in majesty and strength. Kings clothe themselves with robes of splendor, yet our King is clothed by His very nature. His being robed in majesty points to the amazing works that God does, while His strength is described using military language. A good king is ready to go to battle to defend his people, and God has certainly done that. 

When mention is made about the world being firmly established, this is yet another statement of praise for Yahweh because He is the One who created the world. It is truly remarkable that creation has such amazing predictability. One example is the sun rises and sets every day. None of us have any reason to doubt tomorrow will be any different. This is continued praise because the King who reigns is the perfect creator of the universe. 

Verse 2 

Here we read God’s throne has been “established from the beginning.” There could be a temptation to think God has a beginning, but God has always been. This declaration understands mankind’s place: we have a beginning, and God was there! A similar thought is given in Psalm 45:6, “Your throne, God, is forever and ever.” God’s reign and rule will always be, and nothing is able to remove Him! 

Verse 3-4 

In these verses, the psalmist references “the floods” and “the sea.” In the ancient world, the sea was looked at as the dwelling place of evil and chaos. With this in mind, we can have a better understanding of the disciples’ fear that they were seeing a ghost when, in fact, Jesus was walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-32, Mark 6:45-52). Furthermore, we can understand that one reason the disciples worshiped Jesus after He got into the boat was because this event was much bigger than Jesus’s walking on the water; He was showing complete lordship over evil. The same reality was demonstrated when Jesus calmed the storm while He and the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee in Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, and Luke 8:22-25.  The disciples asked, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Once again, the miracle is amazing, but the spiritual truth that is displayed is even more so. That is the idea here in Psalm 93: even when wickedness intimidates humanity, the truth is “the Lord on high is majestic.” 

Verse 5 

The testimonies or statutes of God are reliable, and they stand firm. The psalmist’s thoughts are certainly going back to the Mosaic Law. For Christians, we understand all of God’s Word is reliable. He gives us His Word to follow for our own good, and because we love Him. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (John 14:15). We most certainly love the Lord and want to follow His commands because we know they are for our own good, but they are also absolute truth that the reigning King has given. We are not in a place of authority to modify them. They stand firm! There is no reason to change them. 

Finally, the psalmist states that holiness adorns His house. Likely the psalmist’s mind is thinking of the Tabernacle or the Temple. These were holy because they were where God dwelled, but for us today, no building on the earth contains God, rather Christians are where the Lord lives on this earth (see 1 Corinthians 3:16). Therefore, we need the grace of Christ to forgive us so that we can be a proper home for the Lord to dwell, but we must also choose to be holy because God deserves nothing less (see 1 Peter 1:13-16). 

Consider 

Are we allowing God to reign as king? Does the chaos of the world overwhelm us, or do we trust He is greater? Are we striving for holiness because our King is holy?