The Lord Reigns
Psalm 97
The Lord reigns.
That’s how Psalm 97 starts… and really there are a few Psalms that start that way (93:1; 99:1; 96:10).
This is easy to overlook, but it is something worth rejoicing and being glad over!
Why? Because it shows us who is in control.
On Sunday, we talked a bit about God being in control, and the Lord reigning on this earth is certainly proof of that.
We know Him—when we study His word we know Him.
We see how much He loves us and cares for us.
So if He is truly reigning on this earth—and He is—then we can surely rejoice!
It means that even though we might be going through a rough patch now, He’s ultimately in control, there’s someone driving the ship.
His righteousness and justice help us trust in Him.
He is shrouded in mystery with the clouds and darkness.
He is unknowable if He truly wants to be unknown.
But the truth is, He wants us to know Him.
How do I know that? Well, why else would He have given us His Word, the Bible?
As 1 Cor. 2:10 tells us, “God has revealed [His mysteries] to us through His Spirit.” And we recognize that it was through His Spirit that Scripture is revealed.
But His goings-on that are not revealed in Scripture are shrouded in mystery.
But what we do know is that righteousness and justice are fundamental to His nature.
That’s what it means for these things to be the “foundation of His throne.”
That can be a comforting thought or a scary thought.
But since we are all worthy of His judgment, it should be scary, unless you are a beneficiary of the grace offered by the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
Then and only then should we find this thought comforting.
This is particularly true when we consider that His fire burns up His enemies.
We might recall this being literally true in the case of the priests Nadab and Abihu.
They offered God something that He did not command, and they paid the price (Lev. 10:1-3).
Let us not be so careless, and treat the Lord as holy, honoring Him in the way He wants.
We saw the judgment He brings and vindication for the righteous, but His power is shown to be so great in (97:4-5).
His lightnings light the world—there are still so many mysteries surrounding thunderstorms that we still don’t understand to this day.
Not only that but there are 1800 thunderstorms happening somewhere on earth at any given moment.
His lightning does, indeed, light the world.
After lightning strikes, you not only hear the thunder, but, especially if it’s nearby, you feel it.
The earth trembles at such a great sound, and this is only a taste of the majesty of God.
He is so powerful, the mountains melt.
How much time do you think it takes for the mountains to fall?
We attribute that to erosion, of course, but imagine how much greater that would be in His presence.
Under normal circumstances, erosion would take many many years for a mountain to become a hill, to become a plane.
But what do you suppose happened in the Flood of Noah?
Great geologic upheaval occurred during that time, further signs of the judgment of God.
Mountains disappeared and others formed.
They melted like wax in a candle.
His righteousness and glory will be known.
This is further proof that He wants to be known.
The heavens, part of His Creation, created on Day 4, so wonderful and magnificent.
Stars, nebulae, galaxies, how amazing and glorious.
They all declare that God is great and that He reigns!
They declare His righteousness.
But even they pale in comparison to His glory, to His beauty and magnificence.
The people can certainly see the glory of the heavens, by looking up, training their telescopes on these wonderful things.
Through them they can see maybe a sliver of God’s glory.
But through Scripture, we can truly see His glory.
The rest of the Psalm urges us to serve Him and not idols.
Those who are righteous have cause to rejoice!
If you love the Lord, we are to hate evil!
So much evil exists in the world today—let us hate what the Lord hates.
And here’s the beautiful part (97:10).
That preservation and deliverance, isn’t that something worth rejoicing over?
Isn’t that something worth thanking God for?
This is why we ought to rejoice whenever we remember that the Lord reigns!
That preservation and deliverance can only be had by those who are His followers.
Does He reign in your life?
Do you recognize His sovereignty over you?
Become a Christian today and benefit fully from His righteousness and glory.