The Lord Reigns

The Lord Reigns

Dr. J. Mike Minnix

Introduction

Pslam 93

This often neglected Psalm stands as a perfect example of the purpose of the Psalms. The Psalms were hymns sung in worship, developed out of personal experience, extolling the glory of the Lord and expressing the dependence of His people upon Him. This Psalm is short but it reveals a proper view of the Lord in the midst of life’s experiences.

It is likely that this Psalm was constructed after the people of God came out of the exile in Babylon. During the exile, it appeared that God had been toppled from His throne and that the false gods of the foreign nations had triumphed. After the people were back in Jerusalem, they sang of the majesty, glory, and sovereignty of the true Lord God.

This Psalm is a reminder to us that God is God, and even when the affairs of life seem to hide his hand and face, God is on His royal throne. We may not understand everything that happens to us, but we can be sure that God has not lost His place or His power.

In a large city in Sri Lanka there is a huge statue of Buddha in a reclining position. The face of Buddha is calm and his eyes are closed as if he is sleeping. His head is resting on one of his hands. The vision gives the appearance of one not concerned about anything. At fifty feet in length, it is amazingly huge. But, there is one thing that the image seems to be presenting – Buddha is sleeping as the entire world passes him by. How glad we are that our Lord is not sleeping while we are worshipping Him, and He is not indifferent to our struggles and hardships. This Psalm reminds us of that fact.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "“What can give greater joy to a loyal subject than a sight of the king in his beauty? Let us repeat the proclamation,  'the Lord reigneth,’ whispering it in the ears of the desponding, and publishing it in the face of the foe.” Indeed, to know that He is my God and that He is in control grants peace, power, and the promise of ultimate victory.

Let’s look at this Psalm and apply to our lives today.

I. The Lord Reigns Majestically

We sing:

“Majesty, worship His majesty,

Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise.”

What do we mean by singing that the Lord reigns in majesty?.

There is the humorous story of a young man dating his sweetheart. They were at the beach and so he sought to wax eloquent and recite poetry with the location as an aide. He said,

"Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll on.”

His girlfriend said, “Oh, honey, how wonderful you are – it’s doing what you told it to do!”

Well, we don’t tell the ocean what to do, but God does. Our Lord reigns over the world and the universe with majesty. Majesty speaks of greatness combined with beauty and power.

Peter stated in 2 Peter 1:16 that he and the apostles had been witnesses to the majesty of God in Christ. How majestic Jesus was as He taught, healed, forgave, suffered, died, and rose again. He is our Majestic Savior. As Peter and the Apostles observed the majesty of Lord, I'm sure there where many people around who walked by without seeing His majesty. In fact, the majesty of the Lord is at work in our lives everyday, and on some days He pulls out all the stops and reveals Himself to us. How sad that we sometimes fail to see His majesty, for we are too focused on our problems, personal pursuits, or simply indifferent that which He has and is doing for us.

In Jude 1:25 we read, "To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen." The majesty of Christ was, is and ever will be, for He is the Lord of glory forever. When we come to God, through Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are entering into the throne room of heaven. We must realize the majesty of Christ.

A. The Majesty of His Glory

The word glory, when used to speak of our Lord in the Bible, refers to His divine power. Thus, God made the heavens and the earth to display His glory. Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of the Lord. Looking at the Universe from earth is seeing a tiny measure of the majesty of God in the glory of His creation.

In Romans 1:21-25 we read, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

We note that man has often sought to create images to worship God, though God's majesty and glory are beyond anything man can use to resemble Him.

B. The Majesty of His Authority

There is something emotionally moving about being in the presence of true authority. My wife and I have been present when American presidents have spoken. When the president of the United States of America enters, a band plays "Hail To The Chief" and no matter which party he represents there is a measure of awe in the room. Why? The president represents the power and authority of the America. The awe of being in the presence of a national leader or military leader pales into insignificane when we think of being in the presence His Majesty - our Lord.

One day every saved person will be in His presence. The Lamb of God, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, will stride forth in our midst. There are no words in any language to describe what that will be like for us. The grateful Christian ought to ascribe majesty, glory, authority, and honor to Him in our prayers, our witness, our worship, and in our daily walk in this world.

One thing is sure, the Lord reigns in majesty whether man acknowledges it or not. Regardless of our attention or attribution, our God reigns majestically. But, also note that...

II. The Lord Reigns Mightily

The text tells us that the Lord is clothed in power and might. When I think of a statement like that, I envision one of our brave American Marines decked out in combat armor striding forth into the face of the enemy; or, I recall pictures of valiant men wearing armor of steel as they fought hand to hand in days long ago. But, when we think of the Lord clothed in power, we are going far beyond those images.

A. His Awesome Power

There is no human idea we can formulate to fully envision the awesome power of our Lord; however, one way to view it is to remember Him standing before His apostles after His resurrection from the dead. There He stood, having overcome sin, Satan,and the sepulcher. He had placed the boot of authority on the chest of death and stepped out of the grave in awesome power. Thus, there is nothing He cannot do and no enemy He cannot defeat.

Stand on a mountain and look across the incredible expanse, and remember that He formed every mountain with merely His word. Gaze upon the sea and remember that underneath resides untold life forms that our God made by simply saying, "Let it be." Look up into the night sky and see the glistening stars and note that scientist tell us that there no less than 100 octillion in number (that is 1 followed by 29 zeros).  How mighty is our God? He is beyond full expression and understanding! He is THE mighty God!

But, also notice His ...

B. His Abiding Presence

He is present and never past. He worked in the past and He will work in the future, but He is the great I AM! He was, He will be and He IS. His power and presence are forever. As my first year Hebrew professor once said, "He is was, He is is, and He is will be!" He is the great I AM! The same might God that made all things has come to live in our hearts through the sacrifice of His Son and the presence of His Holy Spirit.

Let us consider also that ...

III. The Lord Reigns Eternally

Our text speaks of His throne being everlasting. Indeed, it is. I was watching a program on television recently about kings and queens in Great Britain. The thrones and crowns they wore were interesting, and some of them are still kept in a safe place. But, those who wore those crowns are gone. Only our Lord is eternal. He never lays down His crown.

A. The Permanence of His Throne

When we look at our Lord, we see One who has permanent, everlasting, and has eternal power. He will never abdicate His office, or resign His position. No one can overcome Him, overthrow Him, or remove Him. He cannot be impeached, and history has proven that all who rise against Him fall.

All human power is temporary. It is interesting to watch one president take office in America and the other leave. In a moment’s time, the most powerful person in the world becomes just another American citizen. He (someday perhaps she) has not one word of authority over any branch of government, over any soldiers, over any office, over not one FBI agent – in fact, once the new president has taken the oath of office, the former president has no more authority over the US government than you or I.

Everything on this earth is aging and wearing out. We can patch it up, renovate it, re-paint it, and even rearrange the atoms to make a new thing, but we cannot change the fact that the world is heading for the junk yard full of mere cosmic stuff. Thank God that He has planned a New Heaven and a New earth, because this one, just like each of us, is wearing out.

But, we need to be aware of...

B. The Plan from his Throne

God has a plan and He will carry it out, for He is always there to see that His work is accomplished. A king does not reign without a plan – and our Lord has informed us that we who have come to Him through grace will reign with Him forever. No one can thwart His intentions and plans. How wonderful to know that we serve an everlasting King on an everlasting throne with an everlasting plan that includes us.

James Russell Lowell wrote of God's supervision when he penned the following lines:

"Truth forever on the scaffold,

Wrong forever on the throne.

Yet that scaffold sways the future,

And, behind the dim unknown

Standeth God within the shadow,

Keeping watch above His own."

God is ruling and reigning from His throne regardless of who appears to have power on earth. He is Lord of all, for all eternity.

IV.  The Lord Reigns Triumphantly

The Lord is victorious and will triumph over every foe. He can use the smallest things to bring about the greatest plans.

John Wesley was holding a meeting in a small town, and an ungodly man who was fond of music decided to attend. This man wanted to hear the music but he certainly did not wish to hear John Wesley preach. He sat quietly through the music but tried to cover his ears when Wesley stood to speak, however, it is said that a fly lit on his nose. There was no way to remove the fly but to remove one of his hands from one of his ears, and at that precise moment, we are told that Wesley spoke the words of Jesus, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" He man was so shocked that removed his other hand from his ear and listened to the sermon. In that very hour, the hard-hearted man was saved.

He is a triumphant God and overcomes all obstacles in His path. You can trust Him and you can depend on Him in every situation.

Conclusion

This Psalm ends with the word, “Forever!” That is a great word for our Lord. He is the forever God. Just think of anything else that is “forever”. You can’t think of anything that lasts forever without it involving the Lord Himself. Everything we see, everything we have, and everyone we know is passing from this world. The only hope of anything eternal is in our Lord Jesus Christ, and hope in Him is eternally secure.

The following lines were given to me by a former State Senator in Georgia who read them to the Michigan Senate after he had undergone a cancer operation:

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve;

I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health that I might do greater things;

I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy;

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;

I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for but everything I hoped for;

In spite of myself, my prayers were answered -

I am among all men most richly blest.”

Yes, God knows best and He will give us the best when we recognize His sovereignty and power with true faith.

We all need to turn once again to our Lord and trust Him with whatever we are facing at this very hour? Let us bring the needs of our families and friends to the Lord, rather than merely fret about the situations they are in. We serve a living, loving, and lasting Lord.

Someone in this service needs to turn by faith to Christ at this very moment. You have never trusted Him as your Lord and Savior. He is calling to you and desires to have you with Him forever. Come to Him – now!