“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. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” — Psalm 93:1-2
If I were to give this study a title, I think I should call it “The Lord in Control.” What is affirmed here is His government, but the perspective is, I believe, essentially future when what is now invisibly true and perceived only by the saints will be manifest to every living soul on earth. For the present men are permitted to deny Him and to defy Him, but in that day there will be no contest.
There is a great day coming toward which the Psalmist is looking, and with reference to which Psalm 2 is a great commentary. For now, “the heathen rage…and the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed,” defying His reign. But in that day He will “break them with a rod of iron; and…dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” And in that day “The kingdoms of this world [will] become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever [Rev. 11:15].” That is the culmination of the psalmist’s prophetic vision here.
As we reflect on that glorious prospect, our text (and context) offers some particulars of His coming reign. First, it will be a reign of majesty. When the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is manifested, the glory of His Person will make the most lavish inauguration in the history of earthly kings and kingdoms look like cartoons in a child’s coloring book by comparison. It falls into the “eye hath not seen nor ear heard” category.
Second, it will be characterized by incredible might: “The Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith He hath girded Himself.” As noted above, from Psalm 2, the power and might of His presence will scatter His enemies like fragments of a clay pot shattered with a bar of iron. No rebel forces will cross the borders of His Kingdom, except to be utterly destroyed. (See Rev. 20:7-10)
Thirdly, His will be a reign of moral excellence: “Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever [Ps. 93:5].” His reign will redefine the character of the whole world, and His word will be the standard by which every action will be judged. Gone forever will be the trivia and trash, the degeneration and violence that are both the plague and pleasure of “this present evil world.” There will, indeed, be ‘order in the court.’
Oh, glorious day! For now “the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt [Isa. 1:20],” and “the floods [lift up]…their voice; [and] their waves,” but “The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea [vs.. 3-4].” It is no wonder then, that ultimately there will be “no more sea.” (Cf. Rev. 21:1)
The apostle Peter records a glimpse of that glory. “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount" [II Pet. 1:16-18].
Adding to the excitement that should be ours as believers, when contemplating this glorious revelation, is the stunning fact that the redeemed will share in the splendor of His eternal reign, not merely as subjects of His kingdom, but as co-regents with Him! “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever [Rev. 22:3-5].”
How gracious is the exhortation of the Holy Spirit through the Psalmist, then, in the second Psalm addressed to the “kings and judges” of the earth, but appropriate for every citizen of the planet;“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.“
Have YOU complied?!
For our eternal good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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