The Lord Reigns

 

Psalm 97:1-12

 

8-12-2022

 

The Lord Reigns

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!   Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.  Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.   His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.  The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.  All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!  Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O Lord.  For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth you are exalted far above all gods.   O you who love the Lord, hate evil!  He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.  Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.  Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!

 

The Lord reigns, but that does not sit well with the ungodly who love wealth and power.  The love of power is in all facets of life. It often begins in elementary school but where it shows its head is later in people like you and me, who are followers of Jesus and call it our flesh.  Each of us has flesh, and flesh likes to run the show, it does not want authority over it.  A person with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ has the power to make the flesh submit to the Holy Spirit, whereas the worldly person without Christ has no desire to be under authority. 

 

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.  Romans 1:18-23 gives us the same message with more clarity.  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.   For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.   For his invisible attributes,  namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.   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.                                      Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” Now back to Psalm 97,  “All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!”  News flashes, that the world the Psalmist lived in, and that the world you and I live in.  In fact, it all began after the fall of Adam who stood silent while Eve was under the attack of the old serpent, and like many men today they went passive while all that had value to them was being destroyed by that same old serpent.  So if you love the Lord, you should hate evil, and in Christ, you have the authority and power to stand against all evil.

 

Rejoice in the Lord, as the Psalmist tells us to do, “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name.”

 

My brothers in Christ follow Jesus, and not man, not emotions, make sure you are lining up with the will of God, and get counsel before any actions.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice