Rejoice in the Sovereignty of God!

In his book, “Made in our Image” author Stephen Lawson puts his finger on a principle problem within the church. And he explains the problem by way of his own confession. He says this...

I really thought I had God all figured out, so I was content to cruise through my spiritual life , taking the path of least resistance, even as I prepared for the ministry...Then unexpectedly, I ventured upon a subject in God’s word that confronted me, convicted me and challenged me like no other truth I had ever encountered. It was a topic so vast, so towering and so dominant that it overshadowed everything in my life. My heart was gripped as it had never been before. My soul was stunned as I studied it intensely for the very first time. The subject?... God. Here I was in seminary, preparing
for ministry, and I found myself asking the question. Who is God?

And he later identifies one of the most fundamental points of Theology as the “Sovereignty of God.”

A.W. Pink adds ...
“What do we mean by this expression (the Sovereignty of God)? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God.”

And just think about that for a minute “what does it mean to be God if you’re not in charge?” I’m not sure if you can come up with a meaning for God apart from his sovereignty. None of us would struggle if I passed around a quiz with the question, “God is Sovereign… True or False?”But I want to submit to you that the reason why our prayers are not powerful, why our worship is not vibrant, why our evangelism is not bold, and why our walk with God is not filled with joy the way it ought to be is because we have not answered that question correctly. We entertain low views of God and Psalm 97 is just the kind of corrective we need.

Psalm 97:1 The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.
7 Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, Who boast themselves of idols; Worship Him, all you gods.
8 Zion heard this and was glad, And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced Because of Your judgments, O LORD.
9 For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
10 Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown like seed for the righteous And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name.

From the very opening line of this Psalm we are called to attention, with the declaration “The Lord Reigns.” This Psalm does not offer an isolated declaration of the Lord’s sovereignty, it’s actually part of a cluster of Psalms which are known as “Enthronement Psalms”. We often think of the Psalms as a disconnected collection of poems but it’s easy to see that Psalms 93 - 99 belong together, because of their common focus on God as King. Each of these Psalms, with the exception of Psalm 94, explicitly speaks of His Sovereign rule.

Psalm 93:1
1 The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength;

Psalm 95:2,3
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods,

Psalm 96:9-10
9 Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns;

Psalm 97:1
1 The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad.

Psalm 98:5-6
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, With the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn Shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.

Psalm 99:1
1 The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!

Do you get the point? He reigns, He reigns, He reigns, He reigns! These Psalms are majestic. They transport us to the very throne room of heaven and say this is your God! The word “reigns” simply means “to be king .” God rules, He’s in charge, He is the sovereign.

There are many things that we could observe about the reign of God in Psalm 97 but I’ll just give you three.

God’s Reign is Universal:
God’s Sovereignty is not limited to the land of Israel but encompasses the whole earth. Twice in this Psalm He is called “the Lord of the whole earth” in verse 5 and then again in verse 9 “You are the Lord Most High over all the earth.” His reign knows no boundaries. It is declared from the heavens and extends to the furthest corners of the globe.

He is also declared Lord over Jew and Gentile alike. Back in verse 1 the phrase “many islands” refers to the distant lands inhabited by Gentile people. This same phrase “many islands” is used in Isaiah 41:5 and is equated with “the ends of the earth”. Verse 6 of this Psalm also refers to the “peoples” seeing the glory of God. The term “peoples” (sometimes translated as nations) is a common term for the Gentiles. What does that indicate? It means all men are invited to worship the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. God’s plan has always been for the whole world to rejoice in His reign, Jew and Gentile alike.

God’s Reign is Powerful:
The Reign of the Lord is a powerful reign. The elements of nature, which no man can tame are the mere servants of the Lord. Fire and Lightning are His (vss 3-4). Scientists tell us that “Lightning strikes the earth roughly 100 times every second and it claims more than 200 victims per year in the United States alone.” And while there are those who survive lightning strikes, there are other bolts that you just won’t walk away from. “Some bolts have an electric potential of as much as 100 million volts.” Our God is an Awesome God and the earth is right to tremble.

The mountains melt like wax in his presence (vs. 5). Mountains are known for their strength and permanence. Jesus uses the mountains to make a point about what is humanly impossible to move.

In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says...
“if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

Now Christ doesn’t want us throwing mountains around. He just chooses the mountains because they are an obvious example of something that is humanly impossible to relocate.

But here in Psalm 97 you have the mighty mountains just wilting at the presence of the Lord. The highest mountain will be forced to bow low before Him. And it’s at His very presence that this occurs. He just shows up and the mountains dissolve before Him. I mean talk about power!

Righteous Reign:
And lastly His Reign is a Righteous reign. It is this aspect of His rule that is most glorious. How could we rejoice in a reign that is Universal, and Powerful if it was not also Righteous? It is His righteousness that gives us reason to rejoice.

Verse 2 says “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” The foundation of His throne or the basis of His rule is perfect righteousness. He is not a judge who bends the rules because of political pressure. His judgments never violate His holiness but are predictable and consistently righteous. We can rejoice not in spite of His judgments but because of them. Verse 8 describes this when it says “Zion heard this and was glad, And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced (not in spite of but) Because of Your judgments, O LORD.”

His people understand that all will be made right. Evil will be punished, Righteousness will be rewarded and God will not overlook a thing. And we need to be reminded of this don’t we?

You can’t watch the news without seeing the threats of terror across the world. You can’t pick up a paper without reading about drug traffic and murder. You can’t listen to the radio without hearing the endless debates about marriage and abortion.
And those are just the headlines. We haven’t even mentioned the problems in the church. False teaching is everywhere you look and the church is worried more about the entertainment of the congregation than the exaltation of God. Husbands don’t lead their homes in sacrificial love. Wives are angry and unsubmissive. Children are disobedient and unthankful. Add to that sickness and death and pain and grief and isn’t it a relief to know that someone is in charge up there? The reign of our Sovereign Lord is universal and powerful and righteous. Are you rejoicing in His reign today? If you have submitted to the King you have no excuse!

In Christ Alone,
Pastor George