Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

Chapter 5: Psalms 81–101

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Psalm 93 with Martin Luther – God’sWonderfully StrangeWorks

According to our psalm, the LORD on high is mighty (v. 4) can be understood like Ps 68:35: “You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people”; or Ps 65:4–5: “You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds”; and Ps 4:3: “Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself.” That is to say, he turns his servant over to every kind of suffering and death and trouble, and yet saves him at the same time. And when he abandons him the most, then he rescues him the most. And when he condemns, he saves most of all. In this way he has carried out his wonderful plan (according to Isa 28:21), while his work is strange, he does his own work. This he said in the preceding psalm: “How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts! Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand” (Ps 92:5–6). And the next psalm will have the same, when it says, “Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, . . . you grant them relief from days of trouble” (Ps 94:12–13). Therefore also in this psalm, since he had said that the persecutions of the saints are great, he marvels that through them God saves by the foolishness of the cross, and very many are offended at Him.