Majestic

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. (Psalm 93:1-2 ESV).

I was sitting on the deck the other night, just before sunset, and Faith, my oldest granddaughter came running down the hill to sit with me. I think she just wanted to take a break from her homework, though I was very glad she chose to take it with me. The sun was setting with a blaze of colors stretching across the western sky in a particularly spectacular way. I simply said, “That sunset is going to be a good one.” She replied, “Grandpa, why do you like sunsets so much?” I guess I could have went on with some remarks about how beautiful the colors were. I could have even offered some practical information about how the sunsets in our area of Texas were great because we can see so much of the horizon for the lack of tree and relatively flat land. However, I had the presence of mind to draw our attention to the majesty of God revealed in it. Perhaps most of you who are reading this little devotional thought today have a basic understanding about what God's majesty is. I find it helpful to be reminded that it has to do with God's strength and glory. Kings and queens are called "Your Majesty" in recognition of their sovereignty. So God's majesty could also indicates his authority. I suppose others might equate God's majesty with his greatness. And, they would be correct. All of these notions of majesty are wonderful. Surely they represent attributes of God that compel us to worship. But these ideas are not the central focus of God’s majesty. The English word "majesty" comes to us from the Latin word maiestas, which means "greatness or dignity." In the Hebrew original of our reading today (Psalm 93), the word translated into English as "majesty" is ge’ut (pronounced guh-OOth). The standard Hebrew-English lexicon defines this word as "majesty." It is closely related to the word translated as "pride" in a negative sense (ge’ah). Both of these words derive from a root that means "to rise." So, if you think too highly of yourself, then you have ge’ah, which is not good. But when it comes to God, who is utterly great, who is the God above all other gods, then ge’ut is appropriate. This word doesn't convey God's pride in himself. Rather, it stands for God's reputation among people and that which deserves this glory. We might get the sense of the word by saying that God is rightly thought of more highly than any other being, in heaven and earth. God's being robed in majesty represents his being enveloped in the esteem of his creatures. God's great strength calls forth honor. God's glory demands praise. Thus, this psalm reminds us why we worship God even as it calls us to worship. In a sense, we join ourselves to the robe of majesty that surrounds God when we worship him. Check out tonight’s sunset and be reminded of God’s majesty!