Do you ever talk like this? “Well, I never! I never thought I’d see the day. I never thought you’d do that.”
Anyone interested in Hebrew poetry will find Psalm 93 a fascinating study. Early on, we thought about various kinds of parallelism. Much of it falls into two main categories. Synonymous Parallelism, often with “and” as the hinge word, links two similar ideas. The first verse of the previous psalm says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High” (Ps 92:1). The second most popular is Antithetic Parallelism, where opposing ideas are presented. Here is a well-known example: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Ps 20:7). A third kind, not as frequent, is Emblematic Parallelism, where comparisons are made using similes and metaphors. Psalm 42:1 reads, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” But Psalm 93 has two examples of another form, called Climactic Parallelism, which uses successive lines to build to a climax or summary. Here’s the first line: “The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty,” and your heart says, “That makes sense.” Then it adds, “The Lord is clothed,” but doesn’t tell you with what. Will he say “majesty” again? No, this time he says, “He has girded Himself with strength.” Why is that important? Because our little planet depends on Him. “Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved” (v 1). And how long are we secure? As long as God’s throne is secure! “Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting” (v 2). You see how it builds? From speaking about the Lord, then adding you and me, to the whole world. And from the old days to the everlasting day. Here God is in the calm of heavenly supremacy. Next, we’ll see Him facing earthly storms.