Scriptural text: Psalm 47, 93
Lesson Context: The writer of Psalm 93 uses his imagination to compare what he has not experienced to what he has. We have not directly seen the glory and power of God, but we can compare God’s glory and might to the glorious and powerful things we have experienced, knowing He surpasses them all. In a sense, the text is an exercise in imagination directed by God’s inspiration.
l. God’s Reign (Psalm 93:1-2):
la. “The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself.”
The emphatic position of ‘the Lord’ in the Masoretic Text leaves no ambiguity in the affirmation that it is Yahweh, and no other deity, who reigns in glory” (VanGemeren). God is adorned with the garments fitting His sovereignty; He is clothed with majesty and strength. They surround and mark Him like clothing marks the man.
lb. “The world also is established, that it cannot be moved.”
ll. God’s Words (Psalm 93:3-5):
A. Mighty in Power (vv. 3-4).
3. “The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.” There are strong things that seem to oppose God. A flood of water seems unstoppable and unsparing in its destruction. Like the mighty waves of the ocean, the floods rise up against God with their voice. 4. “The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” As fearsome and powerful as the mighty waves of the sea are, they are not higher or stronger than God. He reigns over all that might challenge or oppose, and over the mightiest things of this earth.
B. Great in Holiness (v. 5).
5a. “Thy testimonies are very sure.” As in other psalms, testimonies is a poetic reference to God’s word. The psalmist understood that the might, sovereignty , and strength of God was powerfully expressed in and through His word. 5b. “Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.” This mighty God is holy, different from any man or woman. His power and His sovereignty is a holy sovereignty. His holiness is connected to all He is and does, and could be said to adorn His very house. This is true both for the representation of His house on earth (the temple under the Old Covenant) and His ultimate house in heaven.
