Psalm 93[a]
Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom
1 The Lord is King,[b] adorned in splendor;
the Lord has clothed and girded himself with strength.
[c]He has made the world firm,
never to be moved.
2 Your throne has stood firm from the beginning;
you have existed throughout eternity, O Lord.
3 The waters[d] have lifted up, O Lord;
the waters have lifted up their voice;
the waters have lifted up their roar.
4 More powerful than the roar of mighty waters,
more powerful than the crashing waves of the sea,
mighty on high is the Lord.[e]
5 Your decrees[f] are firmly established;
holiness adorns your house,
O Lord, throughout the ages.
Footnotes
- Psalm 93:1 This is one of the nine psalms of the kingdom (Pss 47; 93–100), most of which feature the liturgical acclamation “The Lord is King,” in which is centered the whole faith of Israel. All these hymns exalt the kingdom of God that extends over the entire universe and dominates the course of time. God reveals his kingship when he brings forth the world; he does so even more when he chooses Israel. Nonetheless, creation and history are still only the beginning and promise; the kingdom of God will be manifested in all its glory at the end of time (see Rev 4:11; 11:15-17): a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem—such are the images that allow us to glimpse the joy of a new humanity gathered together in the glory of God (see Rev 21:1—22:5). The acclamation of the psalms of the kingdom already vibrates with this ineffable hope.
Psalm 93 exalts the Lord who reigns, robed in majesty. He affirms his greatness by the forces of creation that he rules, by the law—or “decrees”—that he gives to his people, and by the temple of Jerusalem that he consecrates to his mysterious presence. From his earthly experience, the believer acclaims the splendor of a kingdom that can have no end.
In all truth, we can regard this psalm as applicable to Christ’s kingship and sing: “Christ is King.” For he vanquishes in himself and in his followers all hostile powers (Satan, death, and sin), delivering believers from the reign of death and transferring them into his kingdom (see Eph 1:2). This is the extraordinary wonder that he continues across the centuries until the full deliverance of his Church and the definitive destruction of his enemies will occur (see Rev 20–22). - Psalm 93:1 The Lord is King: a liturgical acclamation that sums up the entire faith of Israel (see Pss 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; see also Zec 14:9).
- Psalm 93:1 The Lord established his kingdom on earth when he created the world and everything in it (see Ps 24:1). Hence, the world will not be moved no matter what pressure is brought to bear on it by hostile forces (see Pss 10:6; 104:5), because the Lord has established his rule over it. Indeed, the Lord is eternal (see Ps 90:2), but his rule was established when his throne was set up at the beginning of history with the creation (“from the beginning”; see Isa 44:8; 45:21; 48:3-8).
- Psalm 93:3 Waters: the waters of the primeval chaos that the Lord mastered through his creative word (see Pss 33:7; 104:7-9; Gen 1:6-10; Job 38:8-11; see also note on Ps 65:8). They can also stand for the enemies of God and his people (see Job 7:12; Isa 8:7; 17:12; Jer 46:8; Dan 7:2; Rev 17:15) as well as the ocean currents, whose powers were feared by the pagan nations as indicated in the mythical account of Baal’s victory over the sea god Yamm.
- Psalm 93:4 The Lord is the Master of the thundering storms and surging waves by his simple word (see Christ’s calming of the storm by a single word in Mk 4:39).
- Psalm 93:5 Decrees: these divine judgments constitute revelation in the wide sense insofar as they are the norm of human life (see Ps 119). As stable (see Ps 19:8) as the physical universe and as inviolable (see Ps 95:8-11) as the sanctuary of Jerusalem, this revelation will be the foundation of the Lord’s definitive kingdom, inaugurated from the creation and already effective in Israel (see Isa 51:9f, 13; 52:7). Holiness adorns your house . . . throughout the ages: the temple, home of the King of Israel, is consecrated forever (1 Ki 8:13; 9:3; Jud 9:1-8; Ezek 42:13f; Rev 21:27). Those who approach the most holy God (see Ps 99) are also consecrated (see Ex 19:6; Lev 10:3; 19:2).