Surf’s Up

A devotion of Psalm 93.

1 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

The word majesty invokes a picture of swelling up, increasing, lifting or mounting up, of good things. Spurgeon says, “What can give greater joy to a loyal subject than a sight of the king in his beauty? Let us repeat the proclamation, ‘the Lord reigneth,’ whispering it in the ears of the desponding, and publishing it in the face of the foe.” This verse speaks of splendor and awe that Yahweh inspires. Our mighty Ethan is rock solid and faithfully grand in goodness and power.

2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

“Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God,” Ps. 90:1, 2. As commentator Guzik says, this is no upstart kingdom. It is not likely to fold up when hard times hit. It is before all things, determines all things, and will be standing tall and strong when all else dissolves.

3 The floods have lifted up,

O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice;

the floods lift up their waves.

4 The LORD on high is mightier

than the noise of many waters, yea,

than the mighty waves of the sea.

Do not miss the poetic structure and beauty of these verses. Gigantic swells mount and swallow up everything in their wake. They reflect the mounting up we saw in verse 1. They taunt and mock him, seeking to imitate his majesty. The breakers thunder, foam, and pound dramatically. They are deafening, unrelenting, unceasing. They march forth proudly to destroy, unstopped. But our God is mightier than that noise. With a whisper he shushes the winds and the waves and they obey his voice. He created them and they are but a representation of his bigness, his power, and his strength.

In the same way, the nations raise their mighty heads and roar threateningly. Chaos and destruction ensue. In history and today, trouble brews and bursts its banks. “You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them,” Psalm 89:9.

5 Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.

Holiness entails being set apart. There is nothing like him. There is no comparison and no equal.

“O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep,” Ps. 92:5.