Bible Commentaries

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

‘The Lord reigneth.’

Psalms 93:1

Our psalm is the first of several beginning with the words, “The Lord reigneth,” and there must have been a time in the Old Testament when the notion of a reign or kingdom of God was one of the predominant notes of religion.

I. Coronation (Psalms 93:1-2).—The opening words—‘The Lord reigneth’—might be more accurately rendered, ‘The Lord is become King,’ or they might be paraphrased by saying, ‘The Lord hath taken to Himself His great power and reigneth.’ It may seem strange language that at any point of time the Lord has become King; but it has plenty of parallels. There are times when God seems far away; people can forget Him, they can even doubt if He exists at all; but there are other times when to doubt the reality of religion seems an absurdity; God overshadows and overawes the soul; and eternity is far more real than time. This may be experienced in private life or in public events; and we should pray for such experiences. Of course, this impression of God being nearer than at other times is subjective; He is there all the time, if we only realised it; He is always on the throne.

II. Defiance (Psalms 93:3-4).—The result of this Divine coronation or reascension of the throne is given in the closing words of the first verse, ‘The world also is established that it cannot be moved.’ Evidently, before the Lord reasserted His sovereignty, there had been a period of wild commotion, when to the feeling of the godly it seemed as if the foundations were destroyed and the whole system of things was out of joint; but, when the King came back again, the disturbance was hushed, and everything settled down into order and peace. We should seek, when opposition to the Kingdom of God waxes high and its enemies become noisy and scornful, to answer their scorn with such proud confidence, as if we repeated the opening phrase of this psalm, ‘The Lord reigneth.’

III. Thanksgiving (Psalms 93:5).—The last verse is like the serene sunbeam which falls upon the sea after the storm has become hushed. It recalls that the deliverance which has taken place is, after all, only what might have been expected—only the fulfilment of prediction and a new proof that the Lord is true to Himself. His testimonies, or ordinances, are sure; as in nature the seasons do not fail, so in history moral law fulfils itself, and in the spiritual domain all that God has promised will certainly be fulfilled. The other inference—that holiness becomes the house of God—may mean primarily that the Temple had been proved to be inviolate—no enemy could touch it—but it has also a wider application. It is the mood in which all worship should be rendered, but never is the heart so full of the right spirit of worship as when God vouchsafes the sense of His nearness which this psalm depicts.

Illustration

‘This psalm is identified in subject with the preceding. Hengstenberg notices the reference of “the Lord on high is mightier” (Psalms 93:4) to “Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore” (92:8). They are also connected by the thought of the Sabbath-rest which remaineth for the people of God, which is the subject of this one.’