God is from everlasting

Psalm 93

1 The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;
    the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength.
He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
2     your throne is established from of old;
    you are from everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
    the floods have lifted up their voice;
    the floods lift up their roaring.
4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
    more majestic than the waves of the sea,
    majestic on high is the Lord!

5 Your decrees are very sure;
    holiness befits your house,
    O Lord, for evermore.

The psalm celebrates who God is. God is clothed in majesty and strength. That majesty and strength are seen in two ways.

First, God “established the world”. Yes, God created, but in using the word “established” we are reminded not only that God created the world at some time in the past – but also that God holds the creation now, secure in God’s rule. In a world where it seems everything is insecure – God remains a firm foundation, a place to be rooted, grounded.

Second, God’s throne, God’s rule, God is “from everlasting.” Notice this is not that God will be forever (although that is true), no, the focus here is that God has been from everlasting. Before anything was, God is. Before time, God is. In other words, nothing that has ever happened in the world has shaken God’s presence, God’s majesty, God’s rule.

For there have been times in the past when humanity acted to unseat, to get rid of God. But God remained in place. There have been times when nature itself seemed to be ready to unseat any hand that would try to guide it, tried to overthrow God. But God was unshaken.

It is this idea that vs. 3,4 reflect on. A flood seems unstoppable when it starts to flow, sweeping away everything in its way. Imagining a flood having a voice – the psalm writer imagines the flood roaring, thundering, its triumph as it rolls through. But God is not unseated by the flood – for God is “on high” (vs. 4) above the flood.  

With quiet certainty the psalm writer can say that God’s decrees, God’s ways, God’s laws are the sure way to go. They lead to stability in life. Living the way God has laid out for humanity is the path of holiness, of being secure in God forever.    

PRAYER:

We rejoice, O Lord, that you have established the world and that your rule has always been secure. You have been secure over the flood, secure over the storms of life, secure over the threats that thunder. And we rejoice. We thank you, as well, that the decrees you have given are also secure, leading us to a place of stability and security in you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.