Psalm 93:1 kjv
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.
Psalm 93:1 nkjv
The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
Psalm 93:1 niv
The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
Psalm 93:1 esv
The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Psalm 93:1 nlt
The LORD is king! He is robed in majesty.
Indeed, the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength.
The world stands firm
and cannot be shaken.
Psalm 93 1 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Psa 97:1 | The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice... | Echoes the core theme of God's present kingship. |
| Psa 99:1 | The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! | Reiterates God's reign and its impact. |
| Isa 52:7 | ...Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” | A joyful declaration of God's active rule, especially in deliverance. |
| Rev 19:6 | ...for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. | New Testament affirmation of God's ongoing, omnipotent rule. |
| 1 Tim 1:17 | Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor... | Describes the eternal and transcendent nature of God as King. |
| Dan 4:3 | His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures... | Confirms the unending and steadfast nature of God's reign. |
| Psa 104:1-2 | O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty… | Directly affirms God's garment of majesty and splendor. |
| Psa 65:6 | You who by Your strength establish the mountains, being girded with might... | Shows God's power actively establishing creation, akin to being "girded with strength". |
| Col 1:17 | He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. | Christ's pre-eminence and His active role in the stability of creation. |
| Heb 1:3 | ...upholding the universe by the word of His power... | Christ's active sustenance and ordering of creation. |
| Job 26:11-12 | The pillars of heaven tremble and are astounded at His rebuke... He stilled the sea by His power... | Illustrates God's overwhelming power and control over chaotic elements. |
| Prov 8:22-31 | ...before the mountains were born... I was there. | Wisdom's foundational role in creation's establishment, reflecting divine design. |
| Psa 89:9 | You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them. | Emphasizes God's sovereign control over chaotic forces, linking to cosmic order. |
| Psa 46:6 | The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts. | Demonstrates God's supreme power over nations, in contrast to their instability. |
| Eph 1:20-22 | ...Christ...far above all rule and authority and power and dominion... | Highlights the supreme authority of Christ, an aspect of divine kingship. |
| Rev 11:15 | The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord...and He shall reign... | Prophetic declaration of God's ultimate and universal reign. |
| Heb 12:28 | ...receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken... | Refers to the unshakable nature of God's kingdom, parallel to the stable world. |
| Rom 1:20 | For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power... | Acknowledges God's power and divine nature evident in creation. |
| John 1:3 | All things were made through Him... | Affirms Christ's role in the making and ordering of all things. |
| Isa 40:26 | Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? | Invites contemplation of the Creator's power in sustaining the cosmos. |
| Psa 29:10 | The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as King forever. | His kingship is eternal, even amidst cosmic or earthly floods (chaos). |
Psalm 93 verses
Psalm 93 1 Meaning
Psalm 93:1 declares the absolute and eternal sovereignty of the Lord God. He is depicted as King, adorned with magnificent splendor and might, establishing the stability and order of the created world. This verse establishes a foundational truth: God’s reign is not a past event or a future hope, but a present reality that ensures the enduring order of the cosmos, contrasting with the transience and instability of earthly powers.
Psalm 93 1 Context
Psalm 93 is one of the enthronement psalms (along with Pss 47, 96, 97, 98, 99). These psalms celebrate the Lord’s kingship, often using the declaration "The Lord reigns!" (YHWH malakh). Historically, these psalms might have been used in temple worship, perhaps during festivals, affirming God’s current and continuous rule over creation and history. Culturally, they provide a powerful monotheistic counter-narrative to the polytheistic mythologies of ancient Near Eastern peoples, where gods often vied for power or where cosmic order was maintained by continuous struggle. This psalm’s declaration of God's established, unshakeable world (v. 1) and His supreme power over mighty waters (v. 3-4) directly confronts Canaanite and Mesopotamian storm-god myths, asserting Yahweh's unique, uncontested, and inherent dominion without struggle. The surrounding psalms also emphasize God’s holiness, righteousness, and justice in His reign, building on the foundation laid in verse 1.
Word Analysis
- The Lord (יְהוָה - YHWH, Yahweh): This is the Tetragrammaton, God's personal covenant name. It signifies His self-existence, eternal nature, and faithful relationship with His people. The use of YHWH emphasizes that it is the specific God of Israel, not any general deity, who reigns supreme. This stands as a polemic against the numerous local and national gods of surrounding cultures.
- reigns (מָלָךְ - malakh): This Hebrew verb is in the Qal Perfect tense. While typically indicating a completed past action, here, in a poetic and theological context, it describes an established, continuous, and ongoing state of kingship. It signifies not merely that He became king or will be king, but that He is now and has always been king. This active, present kingship brings order and security.
- He is robed in majesty (לָבֵשׁ גֵּאוּת - lavesh ge'ut):
- robed (לָבֵשׁ - lavesh): Literally "He has put on," suggesting an intentional act of adornment. Clothes represent one's status or role.
- majesty (גֵּאוּת - ge'ut): Refers to grandeur, splendor, glory, excellence, and sublime exaltation. It denotes the awe-inspiring nature of God's sovereign presence and character, far beyond any earthly king. This contrasts sharply with the ephemeral grandeur of human monarchs.
- the Lord is robed (יְהוָה לָבֵשׁ - YHWH lavesh): This repetition serves as an emphatic restatement, doubling down on the imagery of God's majestic apparel. It underscores the certainty and significance of this divine clothing, setting the stage for the next declaration of His strength.
- He has put on strength (עֹז הִתְאַזֵּר - oz hith'azzer):
- strength (עֹז - oz): Denotes might, power, vigor, fortitude. This refers to God's inherent omnipotence.
- has put on / as His girdle (הִתְאַזֵּר - hith'azzer): The Hithpael stem of 'azar (to gird, equip). Girding oneself involves fastening a belt or sash, historically done to secure loose garments, prepare for strenuous activity, or don armor. Here, it implies active, ready, and prepared strength. God's strength is not passive but poised for action, upholding His rule and managing the cosmos. It implies an readiness to sustain and defend His established order.
- the world also is established (אַף־תִּכּוֹן תֵּבֵל - aph tikon tevel):
- also (אַף - aph): A particle emphasizing an additional consequence or certainty. "Indeed" or "even so."
- is established (תִּכּוֹן - tikon): From the verb "kun" (to stand firm, be set, be made ready). This indicates a divinely ordered and secure foundation. It signifies stability, steadfastness, and an enduring order within creation, directly resulting from God's active reign.
- the world (תֵּבֵל - tevel): Refers specifically to the "inhabited earth" or "habitable world." It is the sphere of human life and activity, which God ensures is stable and functional. This stability allows for life and human history to unfold under divine governance.
- that it cannot be moved (בַּל־תִּמּוֹט - bal timot):
- that it cannot (בַּל - bal): A strong negative particle, conveying absolute impossibility or certainty of prevention.
- be moved (תִּמּוֹט - timot): To totter, shake, sway, stumble, be overthrown. This emphasizes the profound and enduring stability of God’s established order, particularly for the habitable world. Despite human upheaval, natural disasters, or cosmic chaos (as hinted at in later verses of this psalm), God's firm establishment of the world prevents its ultimate undoing. This is a divine guarantee of cosmic order.
Psalm 93 1 Commentary
Psalm 93:1 is a declarative affirmation of God's perpetual and active kingship, forming the bedrock of biblical theology. The immediate pronouncement, "The Lord reigns," is not a wish or a future prophecy, but a present reality. He is not a king in repose, but one robed in two critical attributes: majesty and strength. "Majesty" speaks to His intrinsic, awe-inspiring glory and supreme worth, the inherent splendor of His divine being that separates Him from all creation and other gods. "Strength," depicted as a girdle, implies not merely latent power but power girded for action – ready, active, and holding all things together. This imagery emphasizes God’s sovereignty over the universe.
The most profound implication follows: because the Lord reigns with such majesty and girded strength, the world—the entire cosmos, particularly the habitable earth—is divinely "established" and "cannot be moved." This provides a profound sense of cosmic security. It means that the fundamental order of creation is not subject to chaos, human folly, or demonic forces. God's active governance ensures its foundational stability. This cosmic order serves as a stable stage for the unfolding of human history, divine purpose, and salvation. It provides reassurance that even amid tumultuous times on earth (as Psa 93:3-4 implies), the ultimate ground of existence is steadfast, secured by an unchanging, all-powerful, and sovereign King. This foundation empowers believers to trust in His providence and redemptive plan, knowing that His kingdom is an unshakable kingdom.
Bonus Section
- The repetitive structure, especially the doubling of "the Lord is robed," is a common Hebrew poetic device (repetition with variation, or parallelism) that underscores emphasis and certainty, impressing the truth of God's attributes upon the reader.
- This verse can be understood as a declarative praise and also a polemic. It is praise for YHWH's absolute, non-negotiable reign, distinct from and superior to all other supposed deities of the ancient world whose existence and power were often depicted as volatile or contested. It implicitly dismisses the pagan concept of a chaotic, unstructured universe by proclaiming the order established by a single, powerful God.
- The idea of the world being "established, that it cannot be moved" does not imply geological stasis, but rather its fundamental cosmic order and purpose being divinely guaranteed. While physical shaking occurs, the underlying framework and God's ultimate control remain unassailable. This contrasts with Babylonian creation myths where the world was formed from the remains of a defeated goddess, implying ongoing fragility.