Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 93
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 93
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 93
"Jehovah reigneth; he is clothed with majesty; Jehovah is clothed with strength; he hath girded himself therewith: The world also is established, that it cannot be moved." — Psalms 93:1 (ASV)
The Lord reigneth. —Compare to Psalms 97:1 and Psalms 99:1. A better rendering is Jehovah has become king: this is the usual term for ascending the throne (2 Samuel 15:10; 1 Kings 1:11; 1 Kings 1:13; 2 Kings 9:13).
This term is also used in Isaiah of the re-establishment of the State after the Captivity (Isaiah 24:23; Isaiah 52:7), and by the latest of Israel’s poets in that prophetic strain which looks beyond time and this world (Revelation 19:6).
The robing and girding with the sword were part of the ceremony of inauguration of a monarch’s reign (see Note on Psalms 45:3).
The Lord is clothed... —A better rendering of these clauses is: majesty he has put on: Jehovah has put (it) on: with strength has girded himself.
For the same representation of Jehovah as a warrior arranging himself for battle, compare Isaiah 59:17 and Isaiah 63:1, or as a monarch robed in splendour, Psalms 104:1.
The world also is established. —This phrase would better begin Psalms 93:3.
That the earth should be solidly seated in its hidden foundation is itself a marvel. However, this wonder is mentioned only to bring into greater relief the thought of the next verse: that the throne of God—to which the earth is only as a footstool (Isaiah 66:1)—has its foundation firm and everlasting, free from the vicissitudes which beset earthly monarchies.
"The floods have lifted up, O Jehovah, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their waves." — Psalms 93:3 (ASV)
Waves. Better, for the parallelism, roaring: but literally, breaking of the waves on the shore.
Floods, here poetically for the sea, as in Psalm 24:2.
Lift up. The repetition of the verb the third time in a different tense adds to the force. In the Septuagint and Vulgate, this clause is from the voices of many waters.
"Above the voices of many waters, The mighty breakers of the sea, Jehovah on high is mighty." — Psalms 93:4 (ASV)
Sea. —Whether this description of a raging sea is to be taken literally, or as emblematic of war and its horrors, is doubtful.
"Thy testimonies are very sure: Holiness becometh thy house, O Jehovah, for evermore. " — Psalms 93:5 (ASV)
Your testimonies. —This statement must be taken in close connection with that of the preceding verse. The permanence of the covenant, and of the outward signs that attest it, is proof to the Israelite of the superiority of the Divine power over the forces of nature. We may extend the thought, and say that the moral law is a truer evidence of the existence of God than the uniformity of natural laws.
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