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Psalm 93:3-5
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 93:3-5
New Catholic Bible
3 The waters[a] have lifted up, O Lord;
the waters have lifted up their voice;
the waters have lifted up their roar.
4 More powerful than the roar of mighty waters,
more powerful than the crashing waves of the sea,
mighty on high is the Lord.[b]
5 Your decrees[c] are firmly established;
holiness adorns your house,
O Lord, throughout the ages.
Footnotes
- Psalm 93:3 Waters: the waters of the primeval chaos that the Lord mastered through his creative word (see Pss 33:7; 104:7-9; Gen 1:6-10; Job 38:8-11; see also note on Ps 65:8). They can also stand for the enemies of God and his people (see Job 7:12; Isa 8:7; 17:12; Jer 46:8; Dan 7:2; Rev 17:15) as well as the ocean currents, whose powers were feared by the pagan nations as indicated in the mythical account of Baal’s victory over the sea god Yamm.
- Psalm 93:4 The Lord is the Master of the thundering storms and surging waves by his simple word (see Christ’s calming of the storm by a single word in Mk 4:39).
- Psalm 93:5 Decrees: these divine judgments constitute revelation in the wide sense insofar as they are the norm of human life (see Ps 119). As stable (see Ps 19:8) as the physical universe and as inviolable (see Ps 95:8-11) as the sanctuary of Jerusalem, this revelation will be the foundation of the Lord’s definitive kingdom, inaugurated from the creation and already effective in Israel (see Isa 51:9f, 13; 52:7). Holiness adorns your house . . . throughout the ages: the temple, home of the King of Israel, is consecrated forever (1 Ki 8:13; 9:3; Jud 9:1-8; Ezek 42:13f; Rev 21:27). Those who approach the most holy God (see Ps 99) are also consecrated (see Ex 19:6; Lev 10:3; 19:2).
