The Lord Reigns

“The LORD reigns…” (Psalm 93:1)

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Some truths break upon the soul like fire: they come quickly, with much heat and light. Others rise to our awareness more gradually, like the creeping realization that the ground is beneath your feet — and, indeed, has always been there. The truth under present consideration is this latter kind, and comes in the opening words of the ninety-third psalm: “The LORD reigns.” This, I’m sure, is a familiar observation for most — and perhaps feels a bit elementary — but that’s precisely the reason we should focus upon it. Though simple, it contains worlds of wonder. 

The reality of God’s reign is treated as a brute fact throughout the entirety of the psalm. It is presented as an immovable fixture of reality comparable to the permanence of the world itself. Just as the world has been “established” and shall never be moved, so Yahweh’s throne is “established from of old” (v. 2). It, too, shall never be moved. 

Even when this claim is put to the test, it retains its integrity: “The rivers have lifted up, O Yahweh, the rivers have lifted up their voice, the rivers lift up their pounding waves” (v. 3, LSB). Tumult and chaos abound all around us, yet God is “mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!” (v. 4). God’s throne, in other words, is established in the heavens. As another psalm puts it, “his kingdom rules over all” (Ps. 103:19). 

The fact of God’s universal and unchallenged dominion over the earth concludes with a word of practical praise: “Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore” (v. 5). Reflection upon the nature of this King has resulted in these twin observations: on the one hand, the word of the King is utterly dependable; on the other, holiness is the only fit response to His majesty and goodness. It is the beauty of His temple. 

The immovable nature of God’s reign is something we should come back to frequently and often. In times as chaotic as our own, the need of the hour is certainly stability. Just as a shipwreck victim longs to feel land beneath his feet, so we long to remember the solidity and security of former times. What we need to remember, therefore, is that even when the floods rise up—even when the rivers continue their relentless pounding—the throne of Yahweh remains fixed and immovable. He has robed Himself in majesty; He has dawned strength as a belt (v. 1). The nations may rage all they want, but whether they like it or not, “The LORD reigns.”