DUNCAN/Dressed in majesty
If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Psalm 93. As we come to this Psalm we’ll learn a very important thing about the Christian life. And it’s simply this: Believers read their life in light of the character of God Himself.
Now let me outline this Psalm for you before we read it together. The Psalm comes in three parts. The first two verses simply assert this: God is King. Then the second part of the Psalm you find in verses 3 and 4, and it’s this assertion: Life is scary, but God is mighty. And then, finally, the third part of the Psalm you’ll find in verse 5, and it’s the assertion that God is trustworthy and righteous.
I. God is King
Verses 1 and 2 are about God’s character. They’re all about His person. In other words, he says, “I know that you feel overwhelmed, that you feel that you’re in a fallen world where there is great evil, and you are utterly out of control. But before we think about that, I want you to think about something that’s bigger than that. I want you to think about God.” And so he begins with this affirmation: “The Lord reigns; He is robed in majesty. The Lord is robed; He has put on strength as His belt.”
What’s the point? God is King! It’s the virtual picture of a coronation ceremony, isn’t it? The king is robing himself with all his kingly vestments, and he’s going to appear before his subjects and they’re going to shout, “Long live the king!” The psalmist is saying, “Your God is King. He is reigning. He is in charge. His rule is not uncertain or insecure, and that makes all the difference in this life.” It makes all the difference because though this world may be out of your control, it is not out of His control.
Did you know that the cultures around Israel had yearly ceremonies to celebrate their god being crowned and acceding to his throne? It is very interesting that Israel did not have such a yearly ceremony. Do you know why? It is because their God was never crowned. He’d always been King. There wasn’t some point in time when He acceded to the throne. His throne was founded in this world forever. There has never been a time when He wasn’t reigning. This means that no matter what is happening in your life, God is still in charge. And for the believer that is a very comforting thought.
II. God is Mighty
And that leads us to the second point in this Psalm. Look at verses 3 and 4: “The floods have lifted up, O Lord; The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their roaring.” It is a picture of a wild, uncontrolled, dangerous, and horrific storm at sea. Tidal waves are churning, and the ocean deeps are stirred, and the traveler on the boat is storm-tossed and in mortal danger. The Hebrews were scared to death of the sea. They wanted to stay on dry ground. And so the sea is a powerful picture of forces that are uncontrollable, unexpected, and dangerous. And what’s the message of verses 3 and 4? The message is simply this: Life here is storm-tossed and filled with danger, but God is mightier than the waves, and He rides upon the storm. Why are we comforted in the storm? Because Jesus is Lord! He’s mightier than the storm we’re enduring. He is sovereign. He is in control even over that storm.
I don’t know what your problem is today. The problem may be with your job. A child may have broken your heart. A husband or a wife may have left you. You may feel like the rug has been pulled completely out from under you, and there is no support system. But no matter what your trial, no matter what your insecurity, no matter what your uncertainty, no matter what is overwhelming your soul, God is King. And He is mightier than anything that you are encountering, and that is very good news for a Christian.
III. God is Trustworthy and Righteous
In verse 5, the news even gets better, because this God is not only mighty, He is trustworthy and righteous. “Your decrees are very trustworthy; Holiness befits Your house, O Lord.” The psalmist is saying that God is not only mighty, but God the King acts with integrity, and He is faithful, righteous, and good.
One of the things that disappoints us most is when those public officials which we have vested with authority and power and might act immorally, and they abuse that power for their own ends. It deeply disappoints us. And here is the psalmist saying, “The thing about God is His might is always used for right, because He is just. And, therefore, you may be assured that His exercise of might will never disappoint you. And you can count on His exercise of might because He is trustworthy.” I don’t know where you are, but I do know that you need that comfort.
But I’ve got to say just one more thing! The only person who can have this comfort is the person who says, “Jesus is my Lord.” And the Apostle Paul, in I Corinthians 12:3, says, “No one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.” Do you know what he’s saying? He’s saying no one can really believe in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior unless the Holy Spirit has transformed his or her heart, so that we have a heart of faith rather than a heart of stone. And if you are not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, then His lordship is not a comfort for you, it’s a terror.
In Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s song ‘Jesus is Lord,’ they close that song with these words: “Jesus is Lord! A shout of joy; a cry of anguish.” Now that’s a strange thing to say. Why would “Jesus is Lord” be a shout of joy and a cry of anguish? Well, at the Second Coming of the Lord, for those who have embraced Him as Savior, the sight of the coming Christ is going to be an immeasurable shout of joy. But for those who have turned their backs on Him, for those who have worshiped themselves, it is going to be the deepest cry of anguish. For those who have named Him Lord and Savior, He will take His children home. For those who have been indifferent to Him and who have rejected Him, He will reject them forever. And so it will be a cry of joy for those who know Him by grace, but it will be a cry of anguish for those who know Him not. May God cause all of us to trust in Him, so that we may shout with joy when He returns.