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1 Yahweh is King;
he has put on splendid apparel; *
Yahweh has put on his apparel
and girded himself with strength.
2 [1] He has made the whole world so sure *
that it cannot be moved;
3 [1] Ever since the world began, [2] your throne has been established; *
you are from everlasting.
4 [3] The waters have lifted up, Yahweh,
the waters have lifted up their voice; *
the waters have lifted up their pounding waves.
5 [4] Mightier than the sound of many waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea, *
mightier is Yahweh who dwells on high.
6 [5] Your testimonies are very sure, *
and holiness adorns your house, Yahweh,
forever and for evermore.
--------------------
This is the accompanying psalm to the Track 2 Old Testament selection from Daniel 7, which will be read aloud in unison or sung by a cantor on the last Sunday after Pentecost, also called Christ the King Sunday [Proper 29], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If an individual church has predetermined to be on this path, this it will follow verses that include: “As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne.” That pair of readings will precede one from Revelation, where John wrote, “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from John, where Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
This is a five verse song of praise to Yahweh, not six. The Episcopal Church has split the first verse into two full verses and part of verse three. Verse two is the second half of what they show as verse three. That adds a number that is not present in the NRSV source they use. I have adjusted the numbering by placing the appropriate numbers in bold type, within brackets.
Also, according to the BibleHub Interlinear page for Psalm 93, they add the title to this psalm that says, “The Lord Reigns!” The NRSV places this title before Psalm 93: “The Majesty of God’s Rule.” These uses of “Lord” and “God” are paraphrases, as nowhere in this psalm are “lord” of “god” written. Five times, in five verses, David wrote the specific name “Yahweh.” That must be any presumed title for this song of praise: Yahweh Reigns!
This title comes from the first two words written by David [“יְהוָ֣ה מָלָךְ֮”], which transliterate as “Yah·weh mā·lāḵ.” Those words translate into English as stating (literally), “Yahweh reigns.” Because Yahweh is known to be the Father, as the supreme god, He is masculine essence; so, a substitution for “reigns” would be “in king.” In the word written by David that specifically names the one who reigns, as king, it lessen this specific naming to refer to Yahweh as a “lord” or “god.” That is because it says the translator: 1.) Does not personally know Yahweh; and, the translator lumps Yahweh in with all the lesser elohim, who are eternal angels, a.k.a. gods. Yahweh made all the elohim, so He is the Creator; and, that elevates Him to greater than god status. Plus, when Moses asks, “Who should I say sent me?” the answer was not tell them a lower “lord” or one of the many “gods.” He specified “Yahweh” [“יְהוָ֣ה”] and throughout Old Testament Scripture that specific name is written (as seen here in Psalm 93).
Because the NRSV translation is weak and absent of any specific naming of Yahweh, I will now present a literal translation of these five verses. Following each verse, I will then add commentary as to what David meant.
1. “Yahweh reigns is clothed is clothed Yahweh strength encompassing ; also set firm the world , not so it be shaken .”
After beginning “Yahweh reigns” or “Yahweh is king,” the word (transliterated) “lā·ḇêš” is repeated, meaning “is clothed is clothed.” Here, one needs to be cognizant that Yahweh can only be understood in human terms, where humans have forms (bodies of flesh), which are so weak (compared to animals) they cannot exist in the climates of the world without wearing clothes (they have no hides, pelts, or fur to speak of). This repetition following a statement about “reign” means “is clothed” first becomes the cloak of presence that human souls who serve Him as king wear. The repetition a second time means this “clothing” is not only relative to the servant, but the master is denoted “king” by those He allows to wear Him. This says “is clothed is clothed” reflects the union of two joined as one (divine marriage). This then is the presence of “Yahweh” on earth, which is the “strength” of His kingdom, while also being the “strength” within each subject that makes up that kingdom. This presence of “Yahweh” is “strength encompassing” all.
Following a semi-colon mark, a separate but aligned to this theme of “reign” makes it clear where Yahweh’s kingdom is. It is “set firm in the world.” In that, “the world” must be seen as where souls fill dead matter that is flesh. The elements of a human body are all from the “earth,” thus physical and material. While “the world” is one of the elements of the Creation, which Yahweh ordered His elohim to make; and, all created in ‘six days’ would become “set firmly” in place, one aspect of His Creation was for “the world” to be where souls (eternal entities) would be released to enjoy “the world,” until death returned the souls to Yahweh for judgment as to where the souls would go next.
The final segment of words in this first verse then says this element of Creation would be “set firm,” “not so it would be shaken.” While that becomes a set-up of life on earth, where souls would be released and returned to “the world” through reincarnation, the advent of religion was a creation of Yahweh, when He made the first man and woman (Adam and Eve) who would be priests, set to teach “the world” about the “reign” of “Yahweh.” Once the seventh day began, Yahweh became the king of a kingdom of two souls in the flesh, which would grow greatly over time. They taught other souls in the flesh how “to be clothed” and how to “clothe others” in the presence of Yahweh as their king; so, the kingdom of Yahweh grew greater and greater. Once a soul marries with Yahweh’s Spirit, that union “not so it would be broken.”
2. “set firm your throne at that time ; from antiquity you .”
In this verse the repetition of “set firm” [“tik·kō·wn” in verse 1] is continued in verse two [as “nā·ḵō·wn”]. Now the focus has moved from “the world” to “the throne.” One must realize that “a throne” is where a king sits, thus from where “Yahweh reigns.” The use of “at that time” [“mê·’āz”] is not only when Yahweh ordered His Creation, but when the seventh day was when He personally made man and woman to be where His “reign” would reside. Therefore, “from antiquity” [where Daniel named Yahweh “Ancient of Days”] means from the beginning of religion teaching a soul to serve Yahweh as king, to “you,” who sits reading these words. “You” would know nothing of Yahweh had He not “set firm” His “throne” in souls walking the earth in human flesh.
3. “have carried the rivers Yahweh have lifted the streams their voice ; take up the canals their pounding waves .”
In this verse there are three uses of “nə·hā·rō·wṯ, from “nahar,” which means “a stream, river” or alternatively “canal, current,” implying “a flood.” Also repeated three times is “nā·śə·’ū” [once as “yiś·’ū,” all from “nasah”], which means “to lift, carry, take,” while implying “accept, advance, arise, able to, armor, suffer to bearer, up, bring forth.” The use of “voice, sound” [from “kol”] and “pounding waves” all tie together to show the fluidity of Yahweh’s presence, where the outpouring of His Spirit follows the course of His subject, who then become the voice of Yahweh that waters the land and makes it fertile with the knowledge of Yahweh. The “pounding waves” becomes metaphor for the heartbeat that denotes love for Yahweh, by a soul that seeks divine marriage.
4. “from the sound of waters many , more majestic the breakers of the sea ; great height Yahweh .”
The element of “voice, sound” [from “qō·w·lām” in verse 3] is then made the focus of verse four [as “miq·qō·lō·wṯ”]. This says the “sound” for Yahweh sings out His name, just as David’s psalms sing praises to Yahweh. This is from the “waters” [“mayim”] that make up the bodies of flesh on the earth. This “sound” then comes from “many.” At the time of David, the “many” were the true Israelites. The meaning of that name [“He Who Retains Yahweh as His elohim”] is then compared in metaphor to the “breaker waves of the sea.” Here, the use of “waves” connect this verse to verse three, where were “lifted up the canals their pounding waves.” The rhythm of Yahweh’s presence is “more magnificent” than even tsunami waves caused by earthquakes under the Mediterranean Sea. As tall as those crashing waves might be raised, they are miniscule in comparison to the heartfelt “waves” of Yahweh’s Spirit upon one’s soul.
5. “your witnesses do confirm abundance , your house befits sacredness ; Yahweh length of day .”
In this verse, all the “voice” and “sound” of verses three and four are stated as “your witness,” which can equally be translated as “your testimony.” In that, the pronoun “your” can be seen both from the perspective of Yahweh within His wives and those through from whom Yahweh speaks, from that marriage. The use of “witness” means a personal experience is the source of “testimony,” not hearsay. All who speak of the presence of Yahweh within “confirm” the truth of Him and all the “abundance” that comes with marriage to His Spirit. Therefore, all who give such “testimony” are where Yahweh resides, each a “house of the holy,” as Saints born onto the earth. The final segment of words then becomes a statement both of the eternity of those souls in submission to Yahweh, but also to the fact that His presence become the “length of day,” when only the light of truth shines forever. “Yahweh length of day” says the darkness of death has been overcome, through the promise of salvation; and, it says the remainder of one’s life will be to shed the light of truth to seekers, in ministry to His name.
In this song of praise that accompanies the Daniel reading that tells of the meeting of the elohim, who were all seated on thrones surrounding Yahweh, where judgment would be cast upon Satan and his wayward angels [at the end of the sixth day], this Psalm 93 message places focus on the seventh day, when Yahweh reigns as the king of one’s soul. This makes it important to see the name of this Sunday – Christ the King – as not being a direct reference to Jesus. Just as when Samuel spoke to Yahweh and told him the elders of Israel sought a king (to be like other nations), Yahweh told Samuel, “I am their king.” As such all who sing this song of praise truthfully are confessing to be each a Christ [Anointed by Yahweh’s Spirit], in whose soul Yahweh is their king. In turn, this brings about the resurrection within one’s soul of Yahweh’s elohim who saves each soul – Jesus. The soul of Jesus becomes one’s high priest, within the soul-body that has become the “house of Yahweh,” through divine marriage.
As a song to be sung loudly on the last Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson to gain is submission of one’s soul to Yahweh, so one can receive His Spirit and let His presence reign over one’s soul. This is the only way for salvation, with redemption coming through self-sacrifice to His Will. One must serve Yahweh as a minister on earth, bringing other seekers into His realm.