“The floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their pounding waves.” That truth hit home to me on my first trip to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. It was so strange to see steps leading nowhere, sidewalks and trees remaining in place but house after house just – gone. Oh, yes, the writer of Psalm 93 is right: the forces of nature are truly astounding, awesome in the truest sense of the word.

But that’s why the psalmist’s main point is so amazing – God’s power is even greater than the greatest storm, the greatest tornado, the greatest hurricane, the greatest earthquake we can imagine. After all, God is the One Who set the world on its foundation (verse 1). Since He is the source and author of strength, His throne and His authority are thus more permanent, more lasting, more enduring than anything in the universe (verses 1-2). It is only the Lord Who truly reigns over everyone and everything.

So why should we want any other king? For the amazing truth is that this God of unimaginable power and might would choose to speak to weak and sinful people like us, and in a way that is completely trustworthy (verse 5). So, how could any of us possibly be better judges of right and wrong than He is? How can we doubt that His ways of holiness are the best possible guide for living that we could have?

So, in the face of such power and love, let us bow before His authority, seeking to bring all our thoughts, feelings, and actions into line with His good and perfect will. For as verse 5 says, such holiness is only fitting for those who belong to Christ, those who are the living stones that make up the house of the Lord (I Peter 2:5).

Psalm 93 (NASB)

The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
2 Thy throne is established from of old; Thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their pounding waves.
4 More than the sounds of many waters, Than the mighty breakers of the sea, The LORD on high is mighty.
5 Thy testimonies are fully confirmed; Holiness befits Thy house, O LORD, forevermore.