Psalms Book 4: Songs of Exile | Video DevotionalSample

Recap

Yesterday, we saw that God gives rest and provides for all his people’s needs. Today, we will learn that God controls the seas.

What’s Happening?

Psalm 93 is about God calming the seas. To the original readers of this psalm, the sea was a metaphor for the chaos before the world began and the chaos of enemy nations attacking God’s people (Genesis 1:2; Exodus 14:23, 28). But Psalm 93 says that God is King over all forces of creation, especially the seas. Like the sun piercing the darkness of the storm clouds below, God’s power can cut through waters that toss and foam (Psalm 93:4). The psalmist praises that no rebellious wave can reach so high as to shake God’s throne (Psalm 93:2). The oceans, the wildest and most disorderly parts of creation, can all be calmed with a simple command from God (Psalm 93:4-5). The psalmist praises that only God can calm the seas.

Where is the Gospel?

Jesus is the God described in Psalm 93. When a violent storm threatened to drown his disciples under their chaotic power, with only a word, Jesus commanded the waves to be still, and the sea obeyed his command (Mark 4:37-39). On another occasion, when a storm tossed his disciples and their boat, Jesus walked on the waves themselves. Jesus showed his disciples that he was the God of Psalm 93 and the King who can tame the chaotic seas (Matthew 14:24-25, 32-33).

As we said previously, the seas were often a metaphor for enemy nations. And Jesus proves that he not only holds sway over the forces of nature but also the power of nations. The religious and political authorities of his time raged against him and challenged his authority. Like rogue waves, they swept him away in trials and torture and drowned him in death (Matthew 27:20). The swirling chaos of the nations engulfed him, and Jesus sank lifelessly to the grave. But Jesus rose to the surface and walked out of the grave, proving that he was mightier than anything the forces of politics and nature could throw at him (Acts 2:24). No natural or political enemy can match him in power (Matthew 28:18). His throne sits higher than the waves of evil can reach. He is the eternal ruler who reigns forever on God’s unshakable throne.

A Time of Prayer

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open my eyes to see the God who is more powerful than the oceans. And may I see Jesus as mightier than the chaos of nature and nations.