The Lord Who Reigns! - The Book of Psalms

Main Idea:
• Real faith is rooted in seeing God for who he really is: as exalted, mighty and holy King over all things. This vision of the true God must make us both tremble and rejoice.

1. See the glory of the King
a. God is all powerful and has full control
b. God is holy

2. See the judgement of the King
a. He Works Unstoppable Justice and Righteousness in the World

3. See the gladness of the King

Scripture references:

• Psalm 97
• Romans 1:21-23
• Ps. 33:10-11, 13-16
• Ps. 99:1-3
• Hebrews 12:28-29
• Rev. 6:15-17

Key Concepts:

• God's glory
• God's lordship and sovereignty
• God's holiness
• God's total justice and judgement against sin
• True peace, joy and gladness only comes to those who tremble at his glory

Application Questions:

• What is your view of God?
○ Does your view of God bring BOTH trembling and fear AND gladness and joy?
○ Here's the thing - unless he is a God that makes you tremble, he is also not going to be a God that makes you rejoice, because he is not powerful enough.
○ But also, unless he makes you overflow with gladness and joy, then you have a wrong view of his holiness, power and justice. If all you do is tremble and fear - but have no joy in this God then you failed to see that he is the God who has USED HIS POWER to come to your rescue.
• Do you worship this God? Do you view the Jesus of the gospels as also the exalted LORD of the universe?
• Do you base your christian on your emotions? Or do you allow the unstoppable FACT of his power and glory to be your foundation?
○ Yes, the resurrected Jesus is not sitting physically with you at the breakfast table to have a cup of coffee - but do you realize that his Lordship and Reigning presence as your King is JUST AS PRESENT??
○ The fact that we fail to see him as King in our daily lives does not make him less so.
• Is your view of God reflected in the dangers and threats that surround you in life?
○ All the hype today is the laws, the government overreach, the fear over vaccines and COVID. Yes lets talk, let's do our homework, let's think and do our best to make decisions - but let's not allow these things to cause us to change our view of God - Jesus reigns supreme, he is holy, righteous and unstoppably in control. He comes to the rescue of his saints. He brings gladness to our hearts.
○ Learn to bring in the power of this truth into those battles, into the greatest troubles of your heart.
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We live in a time when it is very popular to talk about self improvement.
Fitness, health, therapy, diet, supplements - its popular to talk about how you can take control of your life and how your whole life flows out from the choices that you make.
And this is true to an extent.
But it's not the full truth. The Bible teaches us that "the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom/knowledge". In other words, our view of God, our relationship to him and our perspective of him is the beginning of all correct thinking and living.
In other words, deep down at the foundation of all of your behavior is your perspective on God.
Speaking of the work of sin and sinful motivation in the human heart, Paul says this in Romans 1
"21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless 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, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles."
Notice how the whole outflow of idolatry in the human heart flows out of a knowledge of God, and a desire to avoid giving him thinks and worshipping him.
As human beings we are born with a built in awareness of God and his law - and everything that we do, every one of our actions is in some way connected to that knowledge.
For example, when we say something like, "You know, of course I believe God is holy and he is King, that he is the most important one, but I just don't read my Bible or pray much because its just really hard to stay focused and honestly I just get bored with the Bible" - you are actually telling me a lot about what you think of God.
You believe he is important, but not THAT important that he gets your attention.
If I live my life with a very shallow intake of truth, and I have not deep alarms in my heart, I am actually showing that even though God and his truth is important, I am OK without it.
You would never admit that or even agree with it verbally, but the undeniable evidence is in your daily behavior - if you are living your life and you feel OK you are proving that you actually think its OK to live without submitting to God and his truth.
This is also connected to a false view of our emotions. We think that if I try to read the Bible, and if I am bored, then that is just a fact - the bible is boring, and I can't really change what I feel about it.
YES YOU CAN. Your feelings only flow downhill from your convictions.
Your feelings are not as permanent as you think. Here is a simple test - if Jesus appeared to you in the flesh as you are making your morning coffee and asked to join you - your feelings would get in line really quickly. You would not be bored. All of a sudden you would not think your phone is so distracting.
You are confronted with a fact - and your feelings get in line with it.
EVERYTHING we do is a reflection of what we think about God. We are ALL theologians - we all have a view of God that makes our lives possible.
Our tendency as sinners is to make God small - to make him fit into a box that allows us to live as we want.
This is why when the Bible calls us to see God for who he is, to renew of vision of God - it calls us to look up, to see his greatness, his power, his authority, his supremacy.
We have a deep need to be confronted with the fact of God's exalted and holy nature. We need our perspective to be invaded with the greatness and power of God.

1. See the Glory of the King

1 The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coasts and islands be glad.
2 Clouds and total darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and burns up his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax
at the presence of the Lord—
at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
all the peoples see his glory.
Notice how this whole Psalm is revolving around the proclamation of a FACT: The Lord reigns!
In many ways this is the message of the whole Bible. The Bible is not trying to sell us the idea of God and his kingdom. Its trying to warn us about the unstoppable reality of it.
Most of the time, God's immediate glory is not visible to us.
The Psalmist is trying to give us a series of human images that give us a sense of what would it be like to come into the presence of the pure and unstoppable power of the God of the universe.
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to face the power and glory of the God who created and upholds all of reality? The molecules that make up your face, your hands and your brain - are held together by SOMETHING. And that something is the God who created it all out of nothing.
God is presented here as the Lord who reigns - the absolute King who sits on a throne above all creation.
Clouds, darkness, fire and lightning. It's like, when you just a glimpse of who he really is, the very fabric of reality begins to be torn apart and starts to melt.
Mountains turn to wax. The earth trembles.
The Psalmist is emphasizing two things about God here:
a. God is all powerful and has full control.
Clouds and total darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and burns up his foes on every side.
5 The mountains melt like wax
at the presence of the Lord—
at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
when have you experienced power in your life?
• a fast car
• a big check
• an AR-15
Imagine pure, total, infinite and unstoppable power.
God's power is unstoppable. He is the true King over the world and no one and nothing can stand in the way of that.
It is easy for us to think that we live in a world of choas. It is easy for us to beleive that governments have power. Its easy for us to be overwhelmed today by the various powers that surround us in the world. Nuclear weapons, billion dollar companies, artifial intelligence, terrorist groups...
But on a very foundational level NONE of them really have any power.
There is only One who is in charge. There is only One throne in the whole universe - and God sits on it.
Ps. 33:10-11, 13-16
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.
Fire goes out on all sides and consumes his enemies.
The mountains melt like wax.
The earth sees and trembles.
Of course we do not understand all his ways. Why does he allow evil leaders and governments to prevail at times? When will he execute justice? We don't know. But part of our submission to him as Lord is submitting ourselves to him even though we don't see all the answers.
Our God is a God of pure and completely unstoppable unending power.
We are small. God is King over all creation. He rules all things. He sees everything. There is no escape from his power and dominion.
b. God is Holy
This is a concept that is often foreign to us today. The biblical concept of holiness has two parts - something that is totally separate and above everything else, AND something that is totally pure and perfect.
"clouds and total darkness surround him..."
A lot of the images in this Psalm are directly pulling from the story of when God showed up to meet with the people of Israel in the desert - he descended onto Mount Sinai in a trembling cloud of darkness, fire and lightning.
When the people saw this they fell to their faces and were sure they would die.
God totally unlike us - he is totally and utterly pure and perfect in every way, and he is completely other, he is nothing like us or anything in the world - he MADE all of reality. He is totally outside of everything that is made.
He is not constrained by anything in this world - and when he ENTERS into it with even a slight hint of his true self - the creation starts to fall apart.
Ps. 99
"1 The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble.
He is enthroned between the cherubim.
Let the earth quake.
2 The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great
and awe-inspiring name.
He is holy."
“The clearest sensation that a human being has when he experiences the holy is an overpowering and overwhelming sense of creatureliness. That is, when we are in the presence of God, we are humbled and become most aware of ourselves as creatures. This is the opposite of Satan's original temptation, "You shall be as gods.”" R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God
Isaiah's vision of God's holiness in Isaiah 6 reminds us of this as well.
I am just a creature. I am made. I am dust. And I am dirty. He is creator. He is eternal. He is perfect.
Have you ever had that moment of realization of God's holiness?

2. See the Judgement of the King

a. He Works Unstoppable Justice and Righteousness in the World
Because he is a King of total power and perfect holiness it is inevitable that he has a response of perfect justice and judgement upon all who stand against him.
"3 Fire goes before him
and burns up his foes on every side.
...
7 All who serve carved images,
those who boast in worthless idols, will be put to shame.
All the gods must worship him."
it is the nature of God that cuts all creation into two categories: those who acknowledge him and those who do not. Blessing and judgement.
Idolatry: not just actual idolatry. If you do not see God as Lord, if you do not see him as the Holy King who is over you - you will automatically be bowing down to something else, some other thing that takes control of your heart.
Notice the emphasis here is not JUST that all those who worship idols will be judged.
Verse 7 ends with a declaration: all gods must worship him!
gods: supernatural beings - angels, spirits, demons.
Notice that the emphasis here is, Just like his power and his holliness is UNSTOPPABLE - it means that ALL will come face to face with him. All WILL acknowledge him sooner or later.
The massive difference is the timing and the outcome: See him today, bow to him, worship him - and live in his gladness and joy.
Or you run from him - and you still meet him. But then there will be no where to run. And it will end in judgement, death and destruction.
All the gods will worship him - all the spirits, all the powers, all the angels, all the rebels, all the governments, all the rulers.
Hebrews 12:28-29
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Rev. 6:15-17
15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?”
There is no neutrality here folks. There is no such thing as "almost christian" or "kind of christian".
You are either worshipping the king, or you are worshipping idols - your selfish desires, your pride, your plans.
Kids - especially those who grew up in the church: do you understand that Jesus is not just Savior who calls us, he is also the Holy Lord who rules all things? Do you understand that you are either following Jesus or you are following sin? Do you understand that you are either worshipping Jesus or you are rebelling against him?
Jesus is not just a product that we are trying to sell. He is a Lord, a King who is COMING and we are trying to warn everyone! Run to him today before its too late!
One of the reasons we think that our temptations are so big and powerful, one of the reasons we think our desires are so hard to battle - is that we have forgotten the justice of our holy God.
He is HOLY. He is with us always. He sees all. And he will come to judge all sin.
In his presence none can stand.
In his presence all our stupid and foolish desires melt away.
what is your view of God?
If your view of God does not make you tremble, you've got the wrong god!

3. See the Gladness of the King

One of the ironic things about this Psalm is that even though it is presenting God in this terrifying and powerful sense - the response that it calls out in those who believe in him is gladness and joy.
Yes we fear this God and yes we tremble - but that trembling and fear is also accompanied by the mind-blowing realization that this God, this King - is OUR King.
What does God use his power, lordship and strength for??
He uses it to save. To redeem sinners to himself. To bring lost sheep home. To rescue the weak from the evil.
He is OUR rescuer. He is our hope. He is our protector.
"10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects the lives of his faithful ones;
he rescues them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the righteous,
gladness for the upright in heart."
Yes the night is dark, yes we will face evil and difficult things. Yes we will have to endure battles.
But know this - as certain as the rising sun - light dawns on the righteous.
What is the meaning of a sunrise? it is to remind you that victory is coming. Your King reigns.
As those who read this Psalm from the perspective of the NT and the death of Jesus we see an even richer encouragement - every sunrise reminds us of the sunrise of the third day, when Jesus rose in victory over death. His resurrection is the gaurentee of ours.
The King who reigns as Lord over all creation, the Holy and untouchable one - is the King who left his throne to suffer in our place. This might Lord is the one who paid for us with his own blood.
This is a King who makes us tremble. But more than that, this is the King who fills our hearts with the song of gladdness, freedom and joy!!!!!
Application:

• What is your view of God?
○ Does your view of God bring BOTH trembling and fear AND gladness and joy?
○ Here's the thing - unless he is a God that makes you tremble, he is also not going to be a God that makes you rejoice, because he is not powerful enough.
○ But also, unless he makes you overflow with gladness and joy, then you have a wrong view of his holiness, power and justice. If all you do is tremble and fear - but have no joy in this God then you failed to see that he is the God who has USED HIS POWER to come to your rescue.
• Do you worship this God? Do you view the Jesus of the gospels as also the exalted LORD of the universe?
• Do you base your christian on your emotions? Or do you allow the unstoppable FACT of his power and glory to be your foundation?
○ Yes, the resurrected Jesus is not sitting physically with you at the breakfast table to have a cup of coffee - but do you realize that his Lordship and Reigning presence as your King is JUST AS PRESENT??
○ The fact that we fail to see him as King in our daily lives does not make him less so.
• Is your view of God reflected in the dangers and threats that surround you in life?
○ All the hype today is the laws, the government overreach, the fear over vaccines and COVID. Yes lets talk, lets do our homework, lets think and do our best to make decisions - but lets not allow these things to cause us to change our view of God - Jesus reigns supreme, he is holy, righteous and unstoppably in control. He comes to the rescue of his saints. He brings gladness to our hearts.
○ Learn to bring in the power of this truth into those battles, into the greatest troubles of your heart.

The key to maintaining sanity in our crazy world is to tremble and be glad before our King.