Psalm 93:5: God's Exalted Kingdom

"Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness

befits your house, O LORD, forevermore."

Psalm 93:5

This morning we turn our attention quickly to Psalm 93:5. In the context of this Psalm, we find the psalmist speaking of God's exalted kingdom. God is a God who reigns now in strength (1) from everlasting (2) over nature (3-4) forevermore (5). We do not need to fear anything since our God reigns and he reigns now.

Yet in verse 5 of this psalm, the psalmist says two very interesting phrases that I would like to consider today. First, the psalmist points out how God's "decrees are very trustworthy." Well, in order to discuss this, we surely ought to determine what a decree of the Lord is. Arthur W. Pink defines the Lord's decree as "his purpose or determination with respect to future things." In other words, God's decrees are the things in which God sets out to do in his world, and thus they are the things that happen, since God is sovereign. Nothing has ever come to pass that has not first been decreed by God. Yet here, the psalmist tells us that these sovereign decrees are not only all-encompassing, but they are also trustworthy. The decrees of the Lord which he sovereignly appoints are not in vain. They are worthy of having our lives built upon them, our souls nailed to them, and our hearts fastened with them. In God's exalted kingdom, his kingly decrees are not tyrannical; they are trustworthy.

Second, the psalmist points out that "holiness befits your [the LORD's] house." I had to google the definition of "befit" because it's not exactly a word I use on the regular, but it means exactly what it says: to be fit or to be appropriate or proper. What is proper and appropriate in the house of the Lord? What "fits" in the Lord's house? Holiness! And surely nothing else apart from holiness. Yet, what is holiness? Well, if you were to read The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul (which you should), you would find out that God's holiness is his "otherness" or his "transcendence." God's holiness is his righteous set-apartness that makes him different than the rest of creation. The Lord is not merely holy, but holy, holy, holy (Is. 6). And furthermore, this holiness is what befits the LORD's house. Since he is holy, his dwelling place is fit to be holy as well. In God's exalted kingdom, there is nothing but holiness.

But what do these statements mean for us today? Well, consider the following quote from Keith Brooks on Psalm 93:

"The majesty of God's Kingdom eclipses all others. He can do everything; with him nothing is impossible. Let not the Christian therefore fear the power of man which is borrowed, but fear Him who has power omnipotent and eternal."

Mr. Brooks says this very well. If the Lord's decrees are trustworthy and his house is holy, then he is worthy of our fear and adoration. The Lord's kingdom is not like man's kingdom, it is an exalted kingdom that his higher than any rule or reign on this world. Thus, we can take comfort in this kingdom, since it shall never spoil or fade. We can trust in God's holy decrees, since this psalm tells us that God's decrees are worthy of our trust. Furthermore, we ought to seek holiness, since the house of a holy Lord (which we have been invited into by the blood of Christ!) is holy as well. If we seek to be in his house, we must be holy.