As I have stated on a number of occasions, the book of Psalms is but the poetical version of the messages of the prophets. If one understands the forecasts made by them, one can then comprehend the messages of the psalmists. On the other hand, if one does not know what Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the rest of the prophets said regarding the future, one cannot comprehend the messages contained in the psalms. Nearly every thought regarding the future which appears in the prophecies is echoed in "Israel's Hymnal." All to frequently we have thought of the book of Psalms as devotional material solely. This is a mistake. There is much devotional matter in the Psalms, but they are largely prophetic. Israel looked forward to the future, to the Golden Age which is yet to come. In order to keep this vision constantly before the minds of the people, the Lord committed these great predictions to the psalmist and had these poetical versions of the prophetic words sung at the services of the Temple.

In order that we may understand Psalm 93 and enter into its excellencies, we must first note the clear teaching of the prophets regarding the theme touched upon here.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Israel's "Great Confession," and one of the most important passages in all the bible, when literally translated reads as follows:

"Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our Gods is Jehovah a Unity."

The word, Jehovah, is used in the scripture in four different ways. Its use in each case is determined by the context. It is employed variously, referring at times to:

1. The Holy Trinity
2. God the Father
3. God the Son
4. God the Holy Spirit

One must study each context to determine which is its special meaning in a given passage. When we examine Psalm 93, we come to the conclusion that Jehovah here refers to the Son, the reason being that in the latter part of verse 1 the earth's being established and delivered from the calamities is referred to. This condition will exist only during the Millennial Age. According to Psalm 2 Jehovah the Son is destined to reign in Mount Zion. This is determined by the decree of God the Father to Him:

"Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill in Zion.
"I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son;
This day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I will give thee nations for thine inheritance,
And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shall break them with a rod of iron;
Thou shall dash them in pieces like the potter's vessel"
(vss. 2:6-9).

In this passage we see Jehovah the Son personally reigning in Mount Zion. Again the psalmist in speaking of the great Kingdom Age, said that God had chosen Zion as His habitation and that He would dwell there. Zephaniah the prophet likewise foretold the literal reign of our Lord in the city of Jerusalem: "Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemies: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shall not fear evil anymore. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not; O Zion, let not thy hand be slack. 17 Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing" (Zeph. 3:14-17). It is quite evident from this prediction that Messiah will reign literally and personally in the city of Jerusalem--the literal city in the Holy Land which will be purged of all wickedness and re-created the joy of the whole earth. Isaiah spoke of Jerusalem and of its being the place where the God of Jacob will be. To Him, as He sits enthroned in Jerusalem, the nations will flow continually in order to be taught of Him (Isa. 2:1-4). A most beautiful picture of the reign of King Messiah as He is enthroned in Jerusalem is set forth in Isaiah 33:20-21: "20 Look upon Zion the city of our solemnities thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. 21 But there Jehovah will be with us in majesty a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither gallant ships pass thereby." It will be the literal city of Jerusalem that Jehovah will be in majesty with His people. To these prophecies Jeremiah adds his famous one found in chapter 3, verse 17: "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered into it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart." Jerusalem will be called the throne of Jehovah because His throne will be there and He will be established upon it.

Our psalmist, in the first half verse 1 has therefore brought together in one terse statement, which has been quoted above, the teaching regarding the personal, literal reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in the great millennial Jerusalem.

Here and there in the prophetic word we find prophecies to the effect that the earth will be established, that it cannot be moved. What is the significance of such forecasts? When God created the material universe, it was perfect. Satan, the first and highest of His created beings, finally revolted against God and brought sin and disorder into the universe. At that time a cataclysmic event occurred. The earth which had been perfect, was then reduced to a state of desolation and waste (Gen. 1:2). Following that disaster there was six days of reconstruction during which God was repairing the wreckage and preparing the earth for man whom He created on the sixth day of that period of labor.

The earth was wrecked by the Deluge which came in Noah's day. Mighty and far reaching effects resulted there from. Certain conditions existed prior to the Flood. After that event new conditions came into existence. For instance, prior to that catastrophe, longevity was the order of the day. Man lived to be between 900 and 1000 years of age. After that disaster longevity was reduced by one-half. Evidently there were changed conditions which shortened the span of life.

In the days of Peleg the earth was divided, as we learn from Genesis 10:25,26. There probably was but one continent originally, and one sea as we see in Gen. 1:9. In the days of Peleg, however, that one original body of land was divided, as we see in the present land and water distribution today.

A glance at the strata of the earth shows that our globe has under gone many convulsions during its history. O that we could properly interpret the hieroglyphics of the rocks correctly and understand the many changes that have taken place during the centuries!

There will be greater and more mighty changes that will occur during the Tribulation Period. These will occur not only in the earth but in the heavens as well. Many of these changes are referred to in such passages as Isaiah 24:1-20; Isaiah, chapter 34; Jeremiah 4:23-31; II Peter, chapter 3; and Revelation, chapters 6-19.

When the time foreseen in Psalm 93 arrives, the Lord Jesus Christ will have stabilized the earth, will have lifted the curse, and will have created the heavens above anew and the earth beneath anew, which created activity and labors will establish the earth so that it will not be moved during the time of our Lord's reign of one thousand years' duration. There will be no hurricanes or tornadoes, no storms, no earthquakes, no calamities that will trouble that tranquil and peaceful reign. It is therefore to this stabilized condition of the earth to which the psalmist makes reference to our passage.

At the conclusion of the millennial reign however--at the judgment of the great white throne--the present material order, which now exists and which will continue through the Millennium, will pass away. Jesus foretold that it will pass away: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35). The Lord simply foretold that it would pass away but John told us that this event will occur at the judgment of the great white throne: "And I saw a great white throne and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them" (Rev. 20:11). After the fleeing away of the present heavens and earth, John looked in every direction and could not discover them. There was no place to which they had fled. How could this be? God created the universe out of nothing and He can cause it to go back to nothing. One is just as reasonable as the other. According to Revelation 21:1 John saw the new--the eternal--heavens and earth. All things are made anew--from the ground up--that will be in the eternal order.

In view of these predictions let us be certain not to confuse a prophecy such as Psalm 93:1 with those which refer to the eternal order. Let us apply it to the Millennial Age to which it refers.

According to verse 2 this throne upon which our Lord will be seated is established of old. This is in perfect accord with what the Lord Jesus will say to those who are put upon His right hand: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). Before the creation of the material universe, God planned the course which history should take. He created all intelligent beings, including man, with the power of the freedom of choice. He never forces anyone's will. He always stops short of coercion of one's personality. Nevertheless, He has charted the course of history through the centuries, leaving man free to make his own choices and determinations. The Apostle Paul spoke of the plan of the ages (Eph. 3:11). In this plan and as its culmination is the decision to establish a glorified new Jerusalem, which, as we have already seen, will be in the literal land of Israel on this earth. Thus in accordance with the prearranged plan and purpose of God, Messiah's throne will be established in Jerusalem at the proper time.

The psalmist, addressing Jehovah who is enthroned in glory and power and reigning, says: "Thou art from everlasting." When we compare this scripture with others we see that the Messiah is none other than the second person of the Trinity who enters the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth. He takes on the flesh of the seed of Abraham, according to promise. He is perfect man and perfect Deity. He is the God-man. Let us think of Him as one personality, for such is the scriptural teaching. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). But the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This One, after His sufferings, was raised from the dead and His human nature was glorified. It is this One who is destined to rule the world and whose existence is said to be from everlasting. As we see from the quotation from the Gospel according to John, the Word was in the beginning with God, was in association with God, and was God--as divine as God the Father. Nevertheless He took upon Himself the form of man and tabernacled among us. He assumed the form of a servant and became obedient as a servant, unto death; yea, the death of the cross (Phil., chap. 2). In studying the person of our Lord who is, according to this promise to reign, see Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6.

According to verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 93 there will be a great change and transformation with reference to floods, winds, and waves. At times they have become boisterous and destructive in the past and have these same characteristics at present. But at the time here foreseen, they are represented as lifting up hands in surrender to God and their voices in praise to Him. Of course this is a bold use of the figure of personification. The message conveyed by it is that the mighty breakers of the seas will be submissive completely to the will of God and will no more be destructive as in the past or at the present. Their actions will reflect the glory and power of God.

In verse 5 the psalmist declared: "Thy testimonies are very sure." Jesus declared, as we have already mentioned, that the heavens and the earth will pass away but that His words would not past away. There is no word from God without power. God watches over His Word to perform it. Every prediction which the Lord has made will be fulfilled exactly as foretold. The psalmist, in vision seeing this glorious Kingdom Age and realizing that the conditions which will then exist are the fulfillment of the Word, declared that God's testimonies are sure and certain. Everyone who knows the Lord Christ Jesus even now will say "amen" to this declaration. We know that His Word never fails. Moreover we know Him who we have believed and we are persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed to Him against that day. Praise God for the certainty of His Word and for the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is righteous, just, good, loving, kind; but He is also holy. In fact that holiness seems to be the dominant attribute of His being. When the era foretold in the psalm arrives, God's holiness will be realized by men as never before. Men shall see Jehovah--King Messiah--in all His beauty and holiness. He will be in the Temple of God in Jerusalem which at the time will be called the House of Prayer for all the nations. That will be a holy spot because Jehovah himself in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ will be there. Everything connected with that sacred edifice will be a reflection of the holiness of God. All services connected with it will be pitched on the highest plane of holiness and purity.

The nations will flow to Jerusalem from year to year, going there to worship Jehovah of hosts, the great King, and to be taught of Him. Thus the House of God at that time will be the center of all spiritual activity and will be the very reflection of His holiness.